Health plans take issue with portrayal in Obama administration's new insurance portal

Health insurers are crying foul over the political messaging in the Obama administration's new healthcare.gov portal - particularly an image of a suitcase full of money labeled with the words "Stopping Overpayments to Big Insurance Companies." The image refers to the healthcare reform law's billions of dollars in cuts to private Medicare Advantage plans. 

The plans cost more on average per patient than traditional Medicare, which has long upset many Democrats. But Medicare Advantage plans say they provide more benefits and better care coordination.

"This website is supposed to provide seniors, working families and small employers with objective information on all of their health care options,"  said Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans. "Unfortunately, it also subjects them to campaign-style propaganda."