AUGUSTA – A coalition called Health Care for America Now says insurance company profits and executive salaries are too high.

The group, which includes labor unions and Democratic-leaning organizations, held a news conference in Augusta on Thursday. Leaders reiterated their call for guaranteed, quality health care that everyone can afford.

The coalition singled out Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine and its parent company, Wellpoint.

Anthem spokesman Mark Ishkanian said the insurer’s profits averaged less then 4 percent over the last eight years – less than the national industry average. Ishkanian said it’s incorrect to blame profits for high insurance costs when other forces are at work, such as rising costs of paying medical claims for subscribers.