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Millions wasted by State Fund ("rogue operation")
LA Times ^ | 12/11/07 | Marc Lifsher

Posted on 12/11/2007 11:06:08 AM PST by BurbankKarl

California's scandal-plagued government-run workers' compensation insurance company spent more than half a billion dollars over the last decade for outside marketing help that often provided "minimal services," a scathing new state audit shows.

About half that money went to organizations with direct financial ties to two former board members of the State Compensation Insurance Fund, said the audit to be released today. The company sells workers' compensation insurance to 220,000 California employers.

Some marketing groups were paid millions of dollars for merely sending members quarterly newsletters, providing few other services, the report said.

The report paints a picture of an obscure rogue operation with more than $22 billion in assets, little oversight, minimal public checks and balances, and indiscriminate spending with little attention until recently from top state officials such as the governor and the insurance commissioner.

The quasi-governmental company has been under investigation for more than a year. Since the fall of 2006, State Fund has replaced two board members, several marketing executives, the general counsel to the board and the president. The California Highway Patrol, the state Department of Insurance and the San Francisco County district attorney's office are conducting a joint criminal investigation.

The 10-month audit offers the first comprehensive look at the extent of organizational and management problems at the San Francisco-based agency, which was created by the Legislature in 1914 and is run by state employees. Its five-member board, appointed by the governor, meets in secret, contending that it is not subject to the state's public-record or open-meeting laws.

In response to the audit, State Fund said it recognized "serious shortcomings" in the way it managed group insurance in the past. Responsible executives have been replaced, and "the new program contains explicit safety requirements, safety performance metrics and auditing requirements," it said.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: callegislation; poizner; statefund; workerscomp
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1 posted on 12/11/2007 11:06:09 AM PST by BurbankKarl
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To: BurbankKarl

It’s California - - very few people care. This “audit” may provoke some window dressing attempts to cover it up, but the corruption will continue. Surf’s up!


2 posted on 12/11/2007 11:09:23 AM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: BurbankKarl

Why on earth would a state’s workman’s comp department need to spend money on marketing?


3 posted on 12/11/2007 11:11:25 AM PST by Cementjungle
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To: BurbankKarl

It’s government. What do you expect?


4 posted on 12/11/2007 11:13:54 AM PST by Brilliant
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To: Ironclad
The 10-month audit offers the first comprehensive look at the extent of organizational and management problems at the San Francisco-based agency, which was created by the Legislature in 1914 and is run by state employees. Its five-member board, appointed by the governor, meets in secret, contending that it is not subject to the state's public-record or open-meeting laws.

In response to the audit, State Fund said it recognized "serious shortcomings" in the way it managed group insurance in the past. Responsible executives have been replaced, and "the new program contains explicit safety requirements, safety performance metrics and auditing requirements," it said.

What a bunch of typical big-government hogwash to cover up the incompetent, and almost certainly criminal, waste of taxpayer dollars.

5 posted on 12/11/2007 11:14:11 AM PST by Henchster (Free Republic - the BEST site on the web!)
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To: Cementjungle

“Why on earth would a state’s workman’s comp department need to spend money on marketing?”

Marketing provides PR.

Meaning they put lipstick on the pig.


6 posted on 12/11/2007 11:14:11 AM PST by UCANSEE2 (-Not Afraid of the truth, and the whole truth - Are you?)
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To: Cementjungle

Here in Orlando, we have an expressway authority that used to run TV commercials where one of the commissioners would appear and say, “Let me tell you how 100% of your toll revenues is being spent.”

He would then proceed to tell you that it was all being spent on upgrading the expressways. Of course, the obvious question is “Who’s paying for the commercials?”

Later, it became public that the expressway authority had spent millions of dollars on PR, including those commercials, and now we’ve got grand juries investigating the whole thing because they had no authority to do so.

The guys who pull these stunts are not only crooked, but they are stupid crooks at that.


7 posted on 12/11/2007 11:18:22 AM PST by Brilliant
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To: BurbankKarl

I’m not worried, Ponch will catch them.


8 posted on 12/11/2007 11:18:42 AM PST by palmer
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To: UCANSEE2

I was wondering why they were calling a couple weeks ago....must be a lot of people jumping to private insurance....


9 posted on 12/11/2007 11:19:04 AM PST by BurbankKarl
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To: Henchster

” “the new program contains explicit safety requirements, safety performance metrics and auditing requirements,”
nn

Shhhhhh....!!!!!

Man. It’s like the carbon credit thing. You and I can get in on the ground floor opportunity in the ‘metrics’ market.

We will be marketing a full array of ‘metric’s for purchase and/or investment.

If you want in, send me a cashier’s check for $10,000 and I’ll head to Kinko’s to print up the ‘metric’ certificates.

: )


10 posted on 12/11/2007 11:19:23 AM PST by UCANSEE2 (-Not Afraid of the truth, and the whole truth - Are you?)
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Comment #11 Removed by Moderator

To: Baynative
I used to wonder the same about PG&E when they were a monopoly and ran endless lavishly produced commercials.

Yea, that would be like the IRS running ads on how fun it is to pay taxes.

12 posted on 12/11/2007 11:22:21 AM PST by Cementjungle
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To: UCANSEE2

That’s too much work. Let’s just e-mail them some one-page quarterly newsletter with a bunch of FReeper posts, and charge the State Fund a cool $2 million.


13 posted on 12/11/2007 11:23:30 AM PST by Henchster (Free Republic - the BEST site on the web!)
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To: BurbankKarl
Democrat party swine chowing down $500,000,000 stolen from California Workers Comp.

Memo to California voters, employers, & workers:

SUCKERS!


14 posted on 12/11/2007 11:27:01 AM PST by FormerACLUmember (When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.)
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To: BurbankKarl; M. Espinola; stephenjohnbanker; Calpernia; Travis McGee
Workers compensation is totally corrupt in California. Applicants attorneys frequently engage in illegal schemes. The insurance companies often deny solid workers' comp claims where witnesses saw the injury take place.

Thousands of illegal aliens from many countries file fraudulent claims using many false identities. Some even have X-rays (or CT Scans) they have obtain from crooked doctors. They carry them around as they move from place to place filling more false claims. Millions are wasted on fraudulent claims while doctors and lawyers get rich.

The only people suffering are injured workers with legitimate injuries. Everybody else is just riding the fat cash cow into the sunset.

15 posted on 12/11/2007 11:31:23 AM PST by ex-Texan (Matthew 7: 1 - 6)
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To: Cementjungle

Why on earth would a state’s workman’s comp department need to spend money on marketing?

So they can dole out contracts to their cronies.


16 posted on 12/11/2007 11:39:07 AM PST by Kenny500c
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To: BurbankKarl

spent more than half a billion dollars over the last decade..

hmmmm? who’s been “in charge” in StinkyMento the last decade 8’?

Waste Fraud Graft & Corruption in Gubamint, Inc. (See California)


17 posted on 12/11/2007 11:53:44 AM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed ... ICE’s toll-free tip hotline —1-866-DHS-2-ICE ... 9/11 .. Never FoRGeT)
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To: ex-Texan

Social Security disability in California is the same.
Did you know that California has its own state funded Social Security Disability program for illegals.
Just drag grandma across the border and sign her up.


18 posted on 12/11/2007 12:00:05 PM PST by sheana
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To: Brilliant; BurbankKarl; Syncro; tubebender; hedgetrimmer; forester; calcowgirl; ElkGroveDan; ...
That's nothin! Check out the Golden Gate Bridge District!!!

Talk about a GovernMental entity that has out lived ALL it's usefulness!!!

Of course the Coastal Commission and the Stupid Schwartzeneggerstein Sierra-Nevada CONservancy never had any to begin with!!!

19 posted on 12/11/2007 2:22:27 PM PST by SierraWasp (Too many NIE contributors are ruthless, rogue resistance agents in our own CIA & State Dep!!!)
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To: SierraWasp

One of my nanny neighbors is a GG board member and has been for decades.

Unfortunately, it funds and allows her to be an eco nanny and just plain liberal pia!


20 posted on 12/11/2007 4:12:52 PM PST by Grampa Dave ("Ron Paul and his flaming antiwar spam monkeys can Kiss my Ass!!"- Jim Robinson, Sept, 30, 2007)
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