Max Baucus sicks the government on health care companies doing nothing more than educating their customers on the implications of the Baucus bill.
On Monday, Mr. Baucus issued a news release boasting of what he described as his efforts to keep the health care debate honest. “Baucus-requested investigation nails insurance scare tactics,” the news release proclaimed.
In the news release, Mr. Baucus said that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a division of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, had “cracked down on insurance company attempts to mislead and confuse beneficiaries about how they would be affected by health care reform legislation.”
There’s just one problem. It has come to RedState’s attention that the person at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) that issued the threat to Humana is Jonathan Blum, a former senior Baucus staffer.
CMS has named Jonathan Blum as the director of (CMM). Blum joins CMS from Avalere Health where he served as Vice President of Medicaid and Long-Term Care Practice. Blum most recently served on the professional staff of the Senate Finance Committee as an advisor to Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and other Finance Committee members on prescription drug and Medicare Advantage policies during the development of the Medicare Modernization Act.
This begs the question: Did Baucus and Blum coordinate the harassment? Did Senator Baucus and Jonathan Blum coordinate to threaten private insurers if those insurers spoke candidly about the implications of the Baucus plan?
It would not be unusual for a former Senate aide to help his boss out. Weren’t some Abramoff crooks caught up in doing that? It seems entirely plausible that Max Baucus picked up the phone and asked Blum to unleash hell — abuse the power of CMS to threaten, bully, and silence honest opposition.
Is it legal?
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
KnightsofMalta
Dan Spencer
Dan McLaughlin
This doesn't surprise me one bit.... n/t
yoyo (Diary) Wednesday, September 23rd at 4:24PM EST (link)…
Nemo me impune lacesset
“No one will provoke me with impunity!”
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Pukin’ Dogs – The Fighting 143
Sans Reproache
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The ‘yoyo’ replaced my cigarettes January 22, 2006….
The words "Power Drunk" just popped into my head.
jen2001 Wednesday, September 23rd at 4:38PM EST (link)/nt.
"Is it legal"????
USNJIMRET (Diary) Wednesday, September 23rd at 4:44PM EST (link)Not a lawyer myself, but I doubt that it’s any kind of legal.
Secondly, since when did “Legal” matter much to someone who employs these kinds of tactics?
And finally, isn’t the better question something along the lines of will any of the Senate Republican “Leadership” say anything at all about a former aide doing the Senators dirty work?
USNJIMRET- Judge Napolitano clearly stated on FOX
Scope (Diary) Wednesday, September 23rd at 7:07PM EST (link)that this move was “unconstitutional.” Unfortunately, this administration doesn’t pay any attention to anything legal.
Good question, interesting answer...
hgstern Wednesday, September 23rd at 4:59PM EST (link)The current meme on this is that CMS guidelines prohibit advocacy.
They don’t.
Fact is, they overreached here, and I suspect they’ll be in some hot water for it.
Details: http://insureblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/cms-in-hot-water.html
Oh heck...
USNJIMRET (Diary) Wednesday, September 23rd at 5:14PM EST (link)One, the double posting. I am pretty sure it’s not me, or my connection, as I see it happen on occasion to others. Still it makes the number of comments inflate, AND it looks bad. (Plus I guess it eats up mode bandwidth and serer capacity. Not much of either, but still….)
Secondly, I left something out in my first post on this thread.
It had to do with the concept of “Right/Wrong and Legal”. Where there is that which we just naturally know is the right thing. That which we know is the wrong thing. And then there are things that are “Legal”, which more often then not has nothing at all to do with right or wrong.
Just what could the CMS do ?
NeoKong (Diary) Wednesday, September 23rd at 6:13PM EST (link)Is there some sort of specific law that is being broken?
What if Humana just ignores the order and sends out information anyway ?
Wouldn’t CMS first have to prove that Humana was doing something illegal and that their statements were inaccurate?
I mean if somebody wants to make an argument about disseminating inaccurate information I think that Max Baucus might want to look to the White House first.
Follow me on Twitter.
Unconstitutional ?
10ksnooker (Diary) Wednesday, September 23rd at 6:39PM EST (link)Does this violate the US Constitution … I think it does.
I know the Supreme Court has ruled that Corporations have the same ‘rights’ as regular citizens, no more no less.
Insurance companies should take a page
4life (Diary) Wednesday, September 23rd at 6:53PM EST (link)from the story about Denmark in WWII. As the story goes, when the Jews were ordered to wear the armband, all the people of Denmark wore it. So, now is the time for every insurance company out there to inform their policy holders of the truth. Let the gov’t go after every last one of them, that will keep them busy for a while!
Eat or be eaten
archer52 Wednesday, September 23rd at 7:28PM EST (link)That is what the Obama administration told those they “invited” to the table. Classic union/ Chicago Machine tactics.
The way you stop that is to stand up and say no. Fear is their weapon. All the insurance companies knuckled under because they were afraid and were promised payoffs. The “silver or the lead” made famous by the Colombian drug cartel. Trouble is the insurance companies, the old folks, the doctors have caught on that in the end they will all get the lead.
A cornered man fights.
Interesting...
Rightshift (Diary) Wednesday, September 23rd at 7:51PM EST (link)… heavy handed intimidation tactics, a Congress who doesn’t listen to its constituents and sees themselves more as a Politburo with the Presidium in the White House, a SCOTUS and Federal Judiciary that resembles nothing more than an Australian Petting Zoo… and the Constitution viewed more as a painting on display than a founding document…
Hmmm… sounds fishy to me… (scratches chin)
Do ya think Bastiat had a point?
“Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the service of the plunderers, and treats the victim – when he defends himself – as a criminal.” — Frederic Bastiat
hope humana has a spine
Curt409 Thursday, September 24th at 12:55PM EST (link)thanks Eric: If this doesn’t show why a hard separation of healthcare and government is the only ‘reform’ needed, then what else would it take?
This is the cue for Humana and other companies to finally do the American thing and make a stand. I’m hoping they won’t disappoint.
Curt
Unfortunately, they caved...
hgstern Thursday, September 24th at 4:46PM EST (link)On the one hand, I can understand why: they didn’t want to be the only carrier in the crosshairs.
OTOH, would have been nice if they’d stuck to their guns: all they had to do was to temporarily suspend the mailings, for two or three days, tops. Assuming the GOPers would find their voice (which they did, but there was no guarantee), then could resume. If not, then make the suspension permanent.
No harm, no foul.
What SHOULD have happened is that other carriers (I’m lookin’ at YOU, UHC) should have also climbed onboard the mailings wagon. That’s a LOT of firepower (insureds) for the Dems to take on.