Always Follow the Money
According to the Open Secrets website, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, insures over 80 million Americans and has a Federal Government contract to review and process Medicare claims. During the 2016 election cycle, they made $6,346,640 in campaign contributions and spent $25,006,109 on lobbying efforts.
The top organization recipient was the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee (Republican Convention) receiving $1,000,000. They were followed by the National Republican Congressional Committee at $187,800, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee at $121,830, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at $119,431, the National Republican Senatorial Committee at $111,000, and the DNC Services Corp (a Political Action Committee (PAC) extension of the Democrat National Committee) at $102,845.
This is redefining spreading the wealth around.
The top political candidates receiving Blue Cross/Blue Shield money were Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at $256,101 (they thought she’d win too) followed second by House of Representatives candidate and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan at $60,850. Way down the list, but there just the same, is Presidential candidate Donald Trump at $12,235. The list of House Republican candidates receiving Blue Cross/Blue Shield money either through PACs or from individuals is long. Actually longer than the Democrat list and certainly, in my view, long enough to make suspect any potential Republican crafted health care legislation or vote. You will also find “Republican Freedom Caucus” names on the list including past Chairman Jim Jordan (OH) and new Chairman Mark Meadows (NC), my very own Congressman Alex Mooney (WV) among others: Mick Mulvaney (SC), Ron Desantis (FL), Jim Birdenstine (OK), Trent Franks (AZ), Dave Brat (VA), Keith Rothfus (PA), Gary Palmer (AL), Jeff Duncan (SC), and probably some I missed, and the topper former Representative and now Health and Human Services Secretary, Tom Price. Perceptions are hell, but it appears to me that insurance cash runs deep in Washington even through the “Freedom Caucus.” Freedom from what? In the words of that great philosopher Kris Kristofferson:
Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose,
And nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’ but it’s free,
Oh, the tangled web we weave.
I certainly do not have a problem with legal campaign contributions, but I get concerned when an insurance carrier as large a Blue Cross/Blue Shield spreads around this much cash and even more concerned when this many politicians elected and sworn to fix our looming health care disaster are recipients of it. When that happens, what real chance does average Middle Class America have at getting legislation that favors them?
Well Mr. Trump, you were going to repeal and replace Obamacare. That is one big reason why you were elected and why you have a Republican House and Republican Senate. It appears however, that before you can do any of that, you need to drain the swamp. And another great philosopher once told me:
When you are up to your ass in alligators, it is hard to remember that the mission was to drain the swamp.
Mr. President, you were elected because Americans have tired of Washington as usual. The Washington establishment is largely bought and paid for by corporate donors (Paul Ryan Major Donors 2016) (Mitch McConnell Major Donors). The two men most needed to accomplish your promised bold agenda are beholden to health insurance companies, investment companies, big banks, and Koch industries.
As your Rolling Stones campaign music says:
“you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you can get what you need.”
You are going to have to beat off a heck of a lot of alligators before you can pull the plug that drains that swamp. To get “what you need” is going to require a coalition of decent men and women regardless of political persuasion willing to solve problems and serve the people before they serve their donors or their rigid ideology. Only you can put out the call for these people to come forward and serve America. That is why we elected you. And to paraphrase the words of another Stones hit, time ain’t on your side brother.
© 2017 J. D. Pendry
Category: Politics
“…beat off a heck of a lot of alligators..”
**snort**
Would they be any less bitey?
Glad I wasn’t the only one. 🙂
Admit it … you’d hit ’em.
amphibian to amphibian
It just gets worse and worse.
In related news IDC SARC has been banned from yet another wildlife park.
But he was recently sighted at a heavy petting zoo…
Maybe we should turn him loose in a RINO Preserve.
When are they going to get it through their thick skulls that private industry can always do a better job than a federal bureaucracy?
Oh, silly me. I thought our representatives were there to look our for our best interests, not their pocketbooks.
J.D.
It is obvious that the BCBSA was spreading the wealth to anyone and everyone that might have a hand in HC legislation regardless if HRC or DJT got the nod. Sounds like good business sense to me.
Having said that, the Association is not an insurer, they only grant the “franchise” name BCBS to be used by the actual insurance carrier (Anthem, HCSC, CareFirst, etc). The carrier has the actual capitation contract with CMS (Medicare) to provide Medicare Part C and D to eligible Medicare recipients. Additionally, the BCBS Association has a self-funded contract with OPM through which federal employee health plans are administered by the local BCBS affiliates.
For example, insurance company BBI (Big Bad Insurance) can offer all or a mix of the following depending on their business model: individual contracts; small/med/large group plans (employer groups); self funded third party administered (TPA); Medicare C/D, Medicaid, FEHBP, and O-Care market plans all within their service area. And with all or some of them having BCBS name, or affiliated with a different name.
Disclaimer: I do have to advise that I currently work for an insurer that has a BCBS affiliation.
Fish is a camouflaged alligator!
Let’s drain his swamp! (or fishbowl?)
Yef,
I’m a HC fraud investigator so I’m more of a sheepdog for the company/customer, as well as tax payer, since we report our findings to fed/state LE as well.
Oh, I was pulling your leg, I mean, your fin.
Shocked I say. Only Democrats are in the bag. Republicans are to Christian and Moral for this kind if shitbaggery.
Hard to drain the swamp when you name your Son, Son in Law, Daughter to jobs in the Gov’t.
Not to mention Mitch McConnell’s wife.
Hmm, party blinders fitting pretty well? Now go read the other half of the article, where it shows the Republicans as badly in the bag as the Dems.
Think I read where there are 20,000 medical industry lobbyists in the DC area pending millions of dollars to lobby 535 Congresscritters. Still waiting for the compromise solution to air – make medical and pharmaceuticl companies non-profits.
Sarc brother. That is all. They all suck. Some people around here see an (R) and free passes are handed out though.
cool
I don’t know anyone around here who feels that way, CB. You seem to forget that (R) stands for RINO as well. One of the major weaknesses of the Republican Party is that due to individualism and differences in opinions and positions on any given issue, they lack the cohesiveness of the Democrats. It is a rare Democrat who doesn’t hew to the party line.
Republicans? Not so much.
ObamaCare. It only works if you don’t…
Hahaha.
Straight to the point.
From AL.com via Drudge:
With a simple two-page document, an Alabama congressman has filed a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal Obamacare.
Or, as it is stated in the bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, introduced the bill Friday.
“This Act may be cited as the ‘Obamacare Repeal Act,'” the bill states.
And the bill uses just one sentence to do it.
“Effective as of Dec. 31, 2017, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is repealed, and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted,” the bill states.
And that’s it – one sentence.
***********************************************
Ol’ Poe thinks that’s a classic case of Mo being less…
How many sick people could you heal with all that wasted lobbying money? This is disgusting. Great article JD.
This health care clusterfumble just reinforced my decision to dump the GOP. I have a feeling the GOP professional hacks are going to be surprised at the next election just as they were surprised at this one.
And unfortunately for the GOP hacks there aren’t as many hack jobs for out of office Republicans as there are for out of office Democrats.
I think I know what Trump is thinking right now. With a smile on his face he is thinking of the good ole days of The Apprentice, imagining that he has called the GOP leadership (the losing team) into “the boardroom” i.e. the Oval Office. He says, says he—-
“Your team has had seven years to produce and market a product. For seven years you have denigrated, justifiably, the competition’s product and boasted about your own. Now we find out you don’t have a product, and cannot even get your own team to agree on what the product is.
Mitch McConnell—-you’re fired.
Paul Ryan———-you’re fired.
Pack your bags and go home.
I can only wish.
I really don’t understand why Kentucky keeps re electing Mickey Mouse to the Senate.
Familiarity with the name, Yef. Familiarity may breed contempt, but it won’t get someone fired.
Can he pull the plug to drain the swamp while golfing at Margo-a-Legos? That’d be something to see.
This was a clusterfuck all the way around.
Ryan screwed the pooch by being so secretive about it, shades of “pass it so we can see what’s in it”.
And then the rest of them with 7 years to figure something out and nothing to go when the time comes, they obviously thought that the #benghazibitch was going to win too.
And then the “Freedom Caucus” votes to keep the things alive that most of us want gone off the face of the Earth. Like planned abortions etc.
Trump isn’t blameless either, he should have told Ryan to get this thing out there so America cold at least find out what the hell is in the thing.
I defy anyone to tell me what the bill actually did other than screw everything up…
I’m completely non-partisan, I hate all of them.
It reminds me of President Obama’s health care plan in a way. The economy was tanking, people were panicking and the first drop out of the box for major legislation was the ACA. He wasted all his political capital from the election on a flawed piece of health care legislation that would not directly affect what the people most needed at the time (economic recovery). Fast forward 8 years and a new president, with promises for jobs and infrastructure spending, something the country needs, and what’s the first thing trotted out? Some defective health care plan. History repeats itself, but you expect it to not be recent history.
IMHO in the Great Whorehouse on the Potomac River it matters not who works the hardest, is the most honest or who has what will work best. What matters is who one knows, blows and bribes the most!
There is an economic term everyone needs to understand: rent seeking.
We have a rent seeking economy. Producing for consumers is still profitable, but the profits from ensuring that big brother will protect you from the next true innovation in the marketplace is even greater.
Greater still is getting the government to mandate the purchase of your product so you don’t even have to try to innovate or produce consumer value.
Right FCC?
Anyone can donate to any candidate they want. That does not mean the candidate will do anything for them. This “news” ranks right up there with non-asked for endorsements.
I’ve been looking at their site for quite a while. It is staggering the amount of money given to campaigns by some organizations.
The fact that Political Action Committees are even a thing should be criminal. “Well, we can’t ‘directly’ give money to campaigns, but what if we make a separate organization that can give to campaigns? We’d still have control of it, but it is a totally different organization! Yeah! That’ll work!”