Archive for September, 2007
Bet He Won’t Be Invited Back…
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007CBO Director Peter Orszag offered insurers some advice yesterday they probably didn’t want to hear. He told attendees at the American Health Insurance Plans conference on Medicare that insurers should present data showing what is working in Medicare’s overpaid and highly subsidized private Advantage plans. Private insurers have been promising for decades they could provide [...]
What Part of “No” Don’t they Understand?
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007Make no mistake about it…the Bush administration clearly understands the value of a well structured and financed public relations campaign. Yesterday’s release of the first in a series of Treasury department “issue briefs”, signals the start of another run at defining Social Security reform in a way that best suits this administration’s ultimate goals…the creation [...]
A "Must-Watch" Debate for Seniors & Their Families
Friday, September 21st, 2007For 90 minutes last night 5 Democratic Presidential candidates focused on the issues nearest and dearest to our hearts…financial and retirement security and healthcare. If you missed this debate last night (and we understand some may already be suffering from presidential campaign fatigue…just 15 months out no less) this is one worth watching even after [...]
We Don’t Need an Entitlement Task Force
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007by Barbara B. Kennelly, President/CEO Here’s a letter I sent to Congress today urging members to reject efforts to turn over their legislative responsibilities regarding entitlement spending and tax reform to a new Budget Task Force. As a former Congresswoman, I understand how tough these issues can be for our elected leaders. But I just [...]
SCHIP UPDATE
Tuesday, September 18th, 2007Not surprisingly, the insurance industry’s million dollar ad and lobbying campaign is paying off on Capitol Hill and it appears a Congressional compromise to re-authorize SCHIP won’t include needed reforms to Medicare. Congress Daily summarizes the closed-door negotiations and Speaker Pelosi’s comments afterwards: House Speaker Pelosi said “We are working on agreements between [the] House [...]
Even 2.8 Million Dollars Can’t Sell a Bad Idea
Monday, September 10th, 2007According to a new GAO report, that’s the estimated price tag for the President’s failed Social Security Privatization Road Show two years ago. Most of those taxpayer dollars… $437,887…were spent for Air Force One and Air Force Two to shuttle the promoters in chief to 40 cities nationwide with another $370,000 in travel costs for [...]
The Senate Still Has a Hard Time Telling Insurers “No”
Friday, September 7th, 2007The differences between Senate and House members trying to negotiate a compromise in their legislation to reauthorize and improve access to healthcare for children, SCHIP, remain. That, in our opinion, is a good thing. Not because we like gridlock but because this legislation is too important to seniors and children alike to take the easy [...]
The Insurance Industry Hits a New Low
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007No doubt, you’ve seen AHIP’s (America’s Health Insurance Plans) television ads designed to scare seniors into believing that cutting millions in industry subsidies is somehow the same as cutting Medicare. This weekend, their president penned a letter to the Washington Post continuing the intergenerational war refrain, which has become a popular marketing ploy used by [...]