Conservative Blogger
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Lawmakers sound alarm over failing ObamaCare co-ops
Congressional lawmakers are raising alarm over the rapid collapse of several so-called ObamaCare "co-ops" -- government-backed alternative health plans -- that are failing, leaving tens of thousands of customers scrambling for coverage, and billions in taxpayer-funded startup loans at risk.
To date, nearly half of the 23 co-ops established under the Affordable Care Act have gone or are expected to go under by the end of the year. The latest to be barred from selling insurance on the official marketplace is in Arizona.
In a letter to the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., pressed the Obama administration for answers on what is being done to address the crisis -- and recoup some of the federal taxpayer loan money that has gone to the failing start-ups.
The senators said nearly 870,000 people nationwide have enrolled in the co-ops, and noted they originally were intended to boost competition and provide more affordable options.
"The CO-OPs are not living up to these expectations," they wrote. "To date, eleven ACA CO-Ops -- in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Nevada, Tennessee, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah -- have collapsed.
"As a result, hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose their health insurance plans and will have to scramble to find new plans, most likely with higher premiums and deductibles."
Asked about the letter, an HHS spokeswoman stressed that the start-ups "face a number of challenges, from building a provider network to pricing premiums in a new market, and unfortunately, not all will succeed." She said in a statement that when regulators make the decision to close a co-op, "we work with local officials to do everything possible to make sure consumers stay covered."
HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell last week said the administration is looking at ways to help the remaining co-ops.
The co-ops -- or Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans -- were created within ObamaCare as a compromise for liberals unable to secure the creation of a government-run insurance program. Under the plan, taxpayers provided $2.4 billion in loans to set up the nonprofit co-ops as alternatives to major insurers.
The loans were used as start-up money and as reserve funds to meet solvency standards set by state regulators -- but, the alternative insurers have struggled to get off the ground. An inspector general audit released over the summer found that in 2014, only one -- Maine's -- of the 23 made money that year. And it found half of them lagged far behind their enrollment projections.
Over the last several months, many of those co-ops have failed.
In Arizona, the state Department of Insurance last week filed an order against Meritus Health Partners and Meritus Mutual Health Partners, as CMS removed it from the insurance marketplace. The co-op's ability to write and renew policies was in turn suspended, meaning roughly 59,000 Arizonans covered by Meritus now have to find new coverage during open enrollment, which started Sunday.
A similar situation is playing out in New York, where state and federal authorities say the shutdown of Health Republic Insurance of New York should accelerate after they found it is in worse financial shape than they knew when it was ordered to stop writing new policies a month ago.
New York's Department of Financial Services initially said coverage for about 100,000 individuals should continue through Dec. 31. Now it says it's in consumers' best interest to end policies Nov. 30. The department says the same applies to Health Republic's small group plans, which covered 101,500 people.
The issue flared at a hearing Tuesday before the House Ways and Means Committee.
"Only in Washington would a group of bureaucrats think they knew how to micromanage `competition' instead of letting consumers and markets do what they do best," said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, who chairs the health subcommittee.
But Mandy Cohen, chief operating officer with CMS, told lawmakers that co-ops have played an important role in fostering competition and choice in the law's health insurance markets, now in their third year.
"There have been successful co-ops which have provided consumers in their states an additional choice of health insurance and have improved competition," Cohen said in written testimony. "And there also have been Co-ops that for a number of reasons have faced compliance, technical, operational, or financial difficulties."
Aside from concerns over the future of other co-ops, Hatch and Alexander questioned what could be done to recoup taxpayer loans. They voiced concerns that federal officials might be allowing "creative accounting" by the co-ops to make them look more profitable than they actually are.
They asked CMS to provide information on possible "remedies for the recovery of funds from terminated co-ops," on "enhanced oversight" for the insurers, and on other details.
Hatch is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; Alexander is chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the 11 co-ops in question represent a total cost to taxpayers of $1.1 billion.
‘Ben can’t do the job’: Trump rips Carson after latest poll
Donald Trump, after holding back at last week's debate, challenged Ben Carson's fitness for office on Tuesday, saying "Ben can't do the job."
He blasted Carson after a second poll showed the retired neurosurgeon taking the lead over Trump nationally. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed Carson leading Trump, 29-23 percent, among GOP primary voters. Asked about the findings on Fox News, Trump said he doesn't know what it is about Carson that's attracting a following.
"I like Ben, but Ben can't do the job, I mean there's no question about it," Trump said. "He's not going to be able to negotiate with China. It's not his thing ... It's not in his wheelhouse, he's never done it before, and I don't think it's, you know, meant for him."
Trump went on to call Carson "very weak on immigration" and called his position on Medicare the "end of his campaign."
Trump asserted that Carson wants to end Medicare -- though Carson recently told "Fox News Sunday" that's no longer the case. Carson said he changed his mind after talking to a lot of economists.
"That was the old plan," Carson recently "Fox News Sunday," saying he now prefers so-called health savings accounts as an alternative to Medicare.
Though Trump is back to attacking Carson, both candidates are effectively outsiders in a race still heavily populated by current and former senators and governors. Carson, defending his appeal in a recent interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," said the government was set up for "citizen statesmen, not for career politicians."
Carson has mostly avoided criticizing any other candidates, at debates and off-stage.
Trump, too, avoided sparring with Carson at last week's debate in Colorado. The candidates instead ended up banding together, during and after the debate, to criticize the CNBC moderators -- and, in the last couple days, seek changes in the debate process.
That push, though, remains in flux. More than a dozen campaigns met in suburban Washington on Sunday, a meeting that produced a draft letter to debate host networks seeking assurances on a range of topics -- including assurances that candidates would be allowed to give opening and closing statements.
But Trump has since thrown a wrench into that push by saying the campaign would continue to "negotiate directly" with networks on debate criteria. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina also have not signed onto the new push, though other campaigns are reviewing the letter. The push for changes is not expected to affect the upcoming Nov. 10 GOP debate, hosted by Fox Business Network.
Trump, meanwhile, on Tuesday was promoting a new book titled "Crippled America."
The book speaks directly to voters, making the case that Trump has the experience and business savvy to accomplish things that traditional, all-talk, no-action politicians can't. It comes as Trump is continuing to adjust to a new phase of the campaign in which the once undisputed front-runner is now facing heightened competition from a number of his GOP rivals.
"This book is designed to give the reader a better understanding of me and my ideas for our future," Trump writes. "I'm a really nice guy, but I'm also passionate and determined to make our country great again."
While two recent national polls have shown Carson leading Trump, the billionaire businessman continues to lead -- by double digits -- in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire.
Note: Of course take this with a grain of salt as this report came from fox news!
GOP reportedly asks IRS to audit Clinton charity's finances
The Republican National Committee reportedly has asked the IRS to audit the finances of one of the Clinton family's charities following its refusal to re-file tax forms even after acknowledging errors in reporting donations from foreign governments.
Reuters reported the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) said this week that it had decided against re-filing so-called Form 990s because the errors "had no impact" on the total amount of income it reported to the IRS. The charity claimed that the total amount of income was correct, but the breakdown of government and private funding was not. As a result, CHAI spokeswoman Maura Daley said the organization "does not believe a re-filing is necessary."
In April, Reuters reported that the CHAI had failed to note grants from foreign governments separately from total revenue on its Form 990s in 2012 and 2013. At the time, the organization said it would re-file the documents for both years. It had previously re-filed returns from 2010 and 2011 for over-reporting the amount received in government grants by over $100 million.
The Clinton Foundation also said it would re-file its Form 990s after wrongly reporting that it had received no money from foreign governments on its tax returns for 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Reuters reported, citing tax experts, that it was unusual for a charity to make such large mistakes several years in a row. An IRS spokesman told the news agency that charities should re-file a Form 990 if it becomes aware of an error.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus requested the audit Tuesday in a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.
The Clinton Foundation and its affiliated charities have come under increased scrutiny as Hillary Clinton has cemented her status as the clear front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. She resigned from the foundation's board earlier this year ahead of announcing her candidacy, but her husband Bill and daughter Chelsea remain directors.
Republicans and ethicists have repeatedly criticized the foundation for being less than forthcoming with its ties to foreign governments, especially during Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state. Earlier this year, the charities admitted that they had not fully complied with an ethics agreement limiting donations from foreign governments that the Obama administration insisted Clinton agree to before becoming secretary of state.
San Francisco sheriff loses re-election bid amid 'sanctuary city' controversy
Embattled San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi convincingly lost his bid for re-election Tuesday after spending months in the national spotlight as the face of his city's controversial "sanctuary city" policy on illegal immigration.
Mirkarimi, 54, was defeated by Vicki Hennessy, a former sheriff's official who had the endorsement of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and the sheriff deputies association. With 42 percent of precincts reporting, Henessy had received 63 percent of the vote to 31 percent for Mirkarimi.
Mirkarimi and his office received heavy criticism after Mexican illegal immigrant Francisco Sanchez allegedly shot and killed 32-year-old Kate Steinle on San Francisco's waterfront July 1. Sanchez had been released from Mirkarimi's jail in March even though federal immigration officials had requested that he be detained for possible deportation.
San Francisco declared itself a sanctuary city in 1989, passing an ordinance that bans city officials from enforcing immigration laws or asking about immigration status unless required by law or court order. A follow-up ordinance in 2013 allows detention only under a court order targeting violent felons. Last month, San Francisco's board of supervisors unanimously approved a resolution to maintain the city's sanctuary status.
San Francisco and other cities and counties have routinely ignored requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officals to keep people in custody. The jurisdictions say they can't hold arrestees beyond their scheduled release dates without probable cause.
Hennessy has previously said the sheriff's order barring the San Francisco jail from cooperating with immigration officials is misguided. There are cases, she said, when federal immigration officials should be notified that the jail is about to release an inmate who is in the country illegally.
Since Steinle's death, Mirakimi's oversight of the department had been plagued by other high-profile mishaps and controversies. He had his driver's license briefly suspended for failing to properly report a minor accident while driving a department-issued car, and he also flunked a marksmanship test.
Before those two incidents, a drug gang leader escaped from jail, and guards were accused of staging and gambling on inmate fights.
In November 2014, Mirkarimi was forced to apologize for the bungled search for a San Francisco General Hospital patient whose body was found in a stairwell weeks after she wandered from her room. The sheriff is in charge of the hospital's security, but deputies didn't search the building until nine days after her disappearance. The city paid the patient's family $3 million to settle a lawsuit.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
TransCanada asks US to suspend pipeline application
TORONTO – TransCanada, the company behind the controversial Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the U.S Gulf Coast, has asked the U.S. State Department to pause its review of the project.
TransCanada said Monday it had sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry requesting that the State Department suspend its review of the pipeline application. The pipeline company said such a suspension would be appropriate while it works with Nebraska authorities for approval of its preferred route through the state that is facing legal challenges in state courts.
The move comes as the Obama administration was widely expected to reject the pipeline permit application.
"We have just received TransCanada's letter to Secretary Kerry and are reviewing it. In the meantime, consideration under the Executive Order continues," State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said.
The White House declined to comment, referring all questions to the State Department.
The State Department review is mandated as part of the application process because the pipeline crosses an international border. The State Department does not have to grant TransCanada's request for a pause in the review process and instead can continue the review process.
Ahead of TransCanada's announcement Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama intended to make a decision on the pipeline before his presidency ends in January 2017, although he declined to elaborate on the timeline. Hillary Rodham Clinton and her main challengers for the Democratic nomination are already on record as opposing it. All of the leading Republican presidential candidates support the pipeline.
Some pipeline opponents contend that TransCanada hopes to delay the review process in hopes that a more sympathetic Republican administration will move into the White House in 2017.
"In defeat, TransCanada is asking for extra time from the referees, and clearly hoping they'll get a new head official after the election. It's time for the current umpire, President Obama, to reject this project once and for all," said environmental activist Bill McKibben, co-founder of the group 350.org.
For seven years, the fate of the 1,179-mile (1,900-kilometer) long pipeline has languished amid debates over climate change and the intensive process of extracting Alberta's oil and U.S. energy security
The Canada-to-Texas pipeline has long been a flashpoint in the U.S. debate over climate change. Critics oppose the concept of tapping the Alberta oil sands, saying it requires huge amounts of energy and water and increases greenhouse gas emissions. They also express concern that pipeline leaks could potentially pollute underground aquifers that are a critical source of water to farmers on the Great Plains.
Jane Kleeb, executive director of the group Bold Nebraska, which opposes the pipeline project, said, "The route in Nebraska has been uncertain for years, the only difference now is TransCanada knows they are about to have their permit rejected so they are scrambling. President Obama can end all of this uncertainty with a stroke of a pen. It is time to reject and give farmers, ranchers and Tribal Nations peace of mind that their land and water is protected from this risky pipeline."
Cell phone and email messages were left with the spokesman for Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, but there was no immediate response.
Pipeline supporters maintain it will create jobs and boost energy independence. They also say pipelines are a safer method of transporting oil than trains, pointing to recent cases of oil train derailments.
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven, a Republican, said it was "unfortunate" that TransCanada "has been forced to delay the project further."
He said it's "clear" that Obama intends to deny the pipeline permit, which he claimed would have "a chilling effect on the willingness of other companies to invest in important energy infrastructure projects in the United States."
Delays in approving the pipeline have caused friction between the U.S. and the outgoing Canadian Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper was frustrated by Obama's reluctance to approve the pipeline and the issues damaged U.S-Canada relations Although incoming Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is sworn in Wednesday, supports Keystone, he argues relations with the U.S. should not hinge on the project.
Canada needs infrastructure in place to export its growing oil sands production. Canada relies on the U.S. for 97 percent of its energy exports. Alberta has the world's third largest oil reserves, with 170 billion barrels of proven reserves.
Dashcam video undermines Texas prof’s claim of racial profiling, says chief
Dorothy Bland, dean of the journalism
school at the University of North Texas
A Texas journalism professor's explosive charge that police hassled her for "walking while black," a claim lodged in a guest column in the state's biggest newspaper, doesn't square with the videotape, according to the police chief.
The incident occurred when Dorothy Bland, dean of the journalism school at the University of North Texas, was taking a power walk on the morning of Oct. 24 in her neighborhood in the northeast Texas town of Corinth. In a column in the Dallas Morning News four days later, the former newspaper editor described her encounter with two local cops in terms that put the police in a bad light.
“Flashing lights and sirens from a police vehicle interrupted a routine Saturday morning walk in my golf-course community in Corinth,” Bland writes in her column. “Like most African-Americans, I am familiar with the phrase ‘driving while black,’ but was I really being stopped for walking on the street in my own neighborhood?
“Yes. In the words of Sal Ruibal, ‘Walking while black is a crime in many jurisdictions. May God have mercy on our nation.’”
“If we didn’t have the video, these officers would have serious allegations against them."Bland uses the column to lay out her case for allegations of being racially profiled claiming that she was not offered a reason.
- Police Chief Debra Walthall
“I guess I was simply a brown face in an affluent neighborhood,” Bland said in her column.
But dashcam video provided by Corinth Police shows Bland walking in the middle of the street, and captures the two police officers politely advising her to stay on the side of oncoming traffic, so she can see approaching cars. After viewing the footage, Corinth Police Chief Debra Walthall told FoxNews.com she was proud of the way her officers behaved.
“When I saw the video, those officers were nothing but professional,” she said. “[The incident] just didn’t lend itself to racial profiling.
“If we didn’t have the video, these officers would have serious allegations against them," Walthall added. "It would be their word against hers. Every white officer that stops an African-American does not constitute racial profiling.”
The video shows the two police officers as they get out of their squad car, without turning on the siren as the professor claimed in her column. After telling Bland it would be safer to stay to the side of the street, one cop explains how a truck had earlier tried to pass her but she did not notice that she was in the way.
The officers ask Bland for her ID, which she did not have but she gave her name and date of birth after insisting that she take the officers’ picture “for safety’s sake.” The policemen obliged her request.
Walthall said the officers were correct to ask for identification because Bland had committed a Class C misdemeanor by impeding traffic.
“It is part of the standard procedure,” Walthall said. “There’s a legitimate purpose for doing so. She [Bland] did commit a misdemeanor. I want our officers checking ID’s on every person they encounter in situations such as this.
Bland did not immediately return requests for comment.
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