Posted on 02/24/2010 2:33:01 PM PST by Steelfish
Retreats, Million-Dollar Salaries Paid For As Anthem Blue Cross Sought Rate Hike
Rob Hotakainen
WASHINGTON - While Anthem Blue Cross proposed a 39 percent rate increase on thousands of its California customers, its parent company paid 39 of its executives more than $1 million each and spent more than $27 million on 103 lavish executive retreats, congressional investigators say.
"One question we asked is where does all of this money go?" Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of Los Angeles said at a House subcommittee hearing today. "Corporate executives at WellPoint are thriving, while its policyholders are paying the price."
In response to the company's proposed rate hike, Congress is weighing a new plan that would create a new federal agency to oversee proposed rate hikes.
Critics say the federal government has no business setting prices in the private sector, though proponents say it's the only way to rein in greedy companies that increasingly are taking advantage of consumers.
The new rate authority board is the brainchild of California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who called Anthem's proposed rate hike "unconscionable."
Her idea won a key endorsement on Monday from President Barack Obama, who wants it included in any new health-care bill that Congress considers this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
It’s not either/or. It can be both.
Both Congress and big business can be corrupt.
In much of this country, what we now have is not capitalism when failure is rewarded with bonuses and golden parachutes.
“I am not a cheerleader for Republicans. The fact is this looks bad to most Americans. You can either acknowledge this fact, or keep your heads in the sand. Having lavish retreats while you raise rates nearly 40% is not the right thing to do, no matter how you look at it.
And if you think WS execs deserved million dollar bonuses while they tanked their companies and then the economy, let’s just agree to disagree.”
Agreeing to disagree is fine however it’s best we have the same set of facts. This is not about Wall Street bonuses or lavish retreats. This is about base salaries of executives in a huge company. Here in CA where Anthem Blue Cross is a subsidiary, a 1 million dollar salary is not unusual. Sorry but that’s the simple truth. Second, these are not lavish retreats for executives. These are sales conferences/rewards for the foot soldiers out selling their policies. If you sell enough you get a free trip. If they don’t offer these, the agents will sell Blue Shield or Health Net. It’s good business pure and simple.
I have already written to and recieved a response from their media dept re the inappropriate timing of the rate increase but let’s not confuse that with the current story. The media and left is lying and misrepresenting the facts. If you let them walk all over a legitimate business endeavor, where do we draw the line.
With respect to the increase in rates, they are only allowed to increase the rates once every 12 months. That means if they passed this opportunity they would take it in the shorts for 12 months. I would have preferred they operate at a loss for 12 months to avoid loading the gun as it were but I see their problem. If they pass on this increase, do they increase it double in 12 months? Most of the insured can always switch to one of the non profit carriers...except Anthem tends to be the most competitive along with Kaiser. How do you respond to their rates being below a non profit like Blue Shield over any measurable period? They are a very efficiently run company and their profit margin is far less than people expect. The article is misleading in every facet.
You are so very lucky to live in California where Million Dollar yearly salaries are the norm. Us dumbshits in the midwest, well it just isn’t like that here. But we swoon at your wonderfulness.
But waaaaay back in the day, here in the midwest we had companies that ruled the world, Take for example General Motors. They could produce millions of cars and every one working there must have existed like monks because they did it on only 4 or 5 % profit. And, Hey no one could touch them, they owned the friggin industry. WHADDA CUMPNY! It could never end.
Why not just allow more competition, like across state lines? Inefficient companies would get beaten in the marketplace, and Congress could stay the hell out of it. The answer to problems caused by regulation is not more regulation.
Oh, and “Execs like this” may or may not be worth $1 million each. Again, the market should decide this, not Congress. In a true free market nobody could “slit the throat of capitalism.” Those who don’t provide a quality service at a fair price wouldn’t last. But we don’t have a true free market (especially with health care), and the screams are always to INCREASE the regulation that causes the problems in the first place.
OBAMANOMICS--TRICKLE DOWN DESTRUCTION of the economy
SET THEIR LOCAL AND DC LINES ON FIRE!
Sen Scott Brown's number is 202-224-4543
Capitol Hill switchboard is 202-224-3121
Lots of local demwit phone numbers on this thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2408217/posts
Rename, repackage, rewrite it a tad smaller, and sell another pig in a poke.
Tennessee has joined several other states in trying to pass a Health Care Freedom Act. NO COLAs for granny, retired Military or retired fed employees. BIG NEW fees for Tricare for Life retired over 65 Military's secondary health ins. (DOD bill already passed, delayed but goes into effect 2011)
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w/
New Dem mantra: Woof, woof eat dog food granny....ala let them eat cake.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Obama says slight fix will extend Social Security
http://townhall.com/news/us/2010/02/19/obama_says_slight_fix_will_extend_social_security
Health Care Rationing for Seniors Another Problem in New Obama Plan
http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html
TRI CARE FOR LIFE This from a google search:
http://economicspolitics.blogspot.com/2009/05/tricare-for-life-is-obama-trying-to.html
This option would help reduce the costs of TFL, as well as costs for Medicare, by introducing minimum out-of pocket requirements for beneficiaries. Under this option, TFL would not cover any of the first $525 of an enrollee’s cost-sharing liabilities for calendar year 2011 and would limit coverage to 50 percent of the next $4,725 in Medicare cost sharing that the beneficiary incurred. (Because all further cost sharing would be covered by TFL, enrollees could not pay more than $2,888 in cost sharing in that year.)
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealthOptions.pdf
http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/hcva09/hcva110609-1.htm
Bill Would Restrict Veterans’ Health Care Options 11/06/09
Buyer and McKeon Offer Amendments to Protect Veterans and TRICARE Beneficiaries
Congress plans to block Tricare fee increases
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w
By Rick Maze - Staff writer, Oct 7, 2009
Tricare fee increases imposed last week by the Defense Department will be repealed by a provision of the compromise 2010 defense authorization bill unveiled Wednesday by House and Senate negotiators.
Snip
The fee increases were announced on Sept. 30 and took effect on Oct. 1, but the defense bill, HR 2647, includes a provision barring any fee increases until the start of fiscal 2011.
Snip
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bill Matz, president of the National Association for Uniformed Services, said the announcement of fee increases was shocking considering that the Obama administration promised earlier this year to hold off on any new fee Tricare fee increases until fiscal 2011.
“President Obama and DoD assured NAUS and the entire military family earlier this year that there would rightly be no increases in any Tricare fees” in fiscal 2010, Matz said. “We took them at their word, and I can’t believe that a co-pay increase like this was allowed to go forward,” he added.
Bambi doesn't keep his promises...so buyer beware.
I appreciated your thoughtful and to the point post. Yeah. Where did I say million dollar salaries are the norm? You’re response is as bad as the typical MSM trash. I said they are the norm for fortune 500 company execs who live in CA. For the record, a million dollar salary here is slightly under 500K after taxes due to CA taxes at over 10%. If you live in a 3000 square foot home, you are paying around 120K a year in mortgage payments. The million soon becomes 380K after just your house. Add to that everything here is more expensive. I’m not saying a 1M salary is not fantastic, even in the above example, but I am saying it’s not unlimited wealth unless you can pull it off for 20 years running. We are also talking about someone directly responsible for thousands of employees. I tend to respect someone who can pull down that kind of salary and I don’t begrudge them or portray them as evil either. I certainly don’t resent them for their success.
“million dollar salary here is slightly under 500K”
You poor soul. You forgot to subtract from that salary the amount attributable to the federal and state gas tax, and sales tax.
You should probably apply for food stamps.
“103 lavish executive retreats, congressional investigators say. “
Hmmm 2/wk...no doubt a few ‘RATS decided they need a piece of that as well....
It costs money to retain top class employees and management otherwise they go to industries/businesses in other countries, sometimes, where companies will pay top dollar for experience and competence. It’s just a fact of life. It’s how capitalism works and how it weeds out the poor performers. Govt just doles out your $$$ to anyone whether they deserve it or not.
What is this about competition across state lines? Doesn’t United Healthcare already have a presence across state lines? Is Blue Cross limited to just one states? This makes no sense.
I think what you’ll find is that each state has requirements in order to sell a policy in that state. For example, some state mandates that a woman be permitted to stay in the hospital for at least three days after giving birth. Other states require mental health parity, meaning that the benefits for mental illness have to be as generous as for physical illness. Those extra benefits cost more, so there is price disparity state by state. If you’re in one of the states that requires greater benefits, the state is not going to let you buy a cheaper, less comprehensive policy from another state.
The “competition across state lines” is a canard.
Exactly. If nothing else, the fact that a company can afford to spend like this just shows that these folks were VERY good at their jobs. If they were able to make the company enough profit to do this, they deserve to enjoy a little of it as a reward.
Besides, the taxes yanked out of their bonuses go to the state govts to prop up flailing education systems among other boondoggles.
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