8 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread”

1. Individual health insurance taxes premiums will rise by more than 20 percent in Colorado next year as insurers are pulling out of the market or greatly scaling back their offerings to state residents who don’t receive their insurance through their employer.

   

   Dramatic Price Increases A Look at Colorado’s 2017 Individual and Small Group Insurance Premiums – Colorado Health Institute

   How's that ACA working out for ya? What they don't discuss in detail is how the rate increases are accompanied by reductions in benefits – higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums with narrower provider networks. Remember how we could all keep our doctors?

   It's time for singlepayer – ColoradoCare-Yes!

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   1. (((JADodd)))

      Are you objecting to corporations being able to set their prices for the marketplace? Year by year comparisons on relatively new offerings are likely to show substantial adjustments.

      If you are looking at prices, it would be interesting to see what the overall impact on out-of-pocket costs are going to be. Denver Business Journal reported:

      One group of consumers is likely to save money on health-insurance premiums next year. Individuals of limited incomes who receive tax subsidies on their plans through the Connect for Health Colorado exchange will see what they pay drop by an average of 11 percent next year, Salazar said.

      That’s because the amount of tax credits the exchange can offer is based upon the cost of the second-lowest-priced individual plan in the “silver,” or medium, tier of benefits. Thus, the higher the cost of premiums, the higher the subsidies can be, Salazar said.

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2. maybe if we had less Thieves sitting in CEO thrones and Board rooms like those of Wells Fargo Bank our health care system might function a little better.

   It was Senator Jon Tester who told the single biggest truths of the morning's proceedings. First, he told Stumpf that a CEO of a major bank who cannot stop 5,300 people from committing two million acts of fraud is "giving a lot of ammunition to the people who want to break up the big banks." Then, he pointed out that the fraud at Wells Fargo had managed to produce something rare in these politically polarized times.

   "I've been on this committee for 10 years," said Tester, "and you've done something I haven't seen in a long while. You have managed to unite this committee, and not in a good way." Tester was absolutely correct. Stumpf didn't have a single friend on either side of the committee table.

   His name is Stumpf, not Trump. And Tester was tough, but Elizabeth Warren is the one who made me proud of being a lifelong Democratic:

   "When this years-long scam came to light, you have said repeatedly, quote, 'I am accountable,'" she began. "But what have you actually done to hold yourself accountable? Have you resigned?"

   "The board," Stumpf replied, falling back onto his fluffy cloud of misdirection.

   "Have you resigned?"

   "No, I've not."

   It got worse.

   "All right," Warren said. "Have you returned one nickel of the millions of dollars you were paid while this scam was going on?"

   "First of all," Stumpf floundered, "this was from one percent of our people…"

   "That's not my question," she shot back. "My question, and this is about responsibility, is have you returned one nickel of the millions of dollars you were paid while this scam was going on?"

   "The board will take care of that," Stumpf said.

   "Have you returned one nickel of the money you earned while this scam was going on?"

   "And the board will…"

   "I will take that as a no. Have you fired a single senior executive—and by that, I don't mean a regional manager or branch manager—I'm asking about the people who actually led your community banking division or your compliance division."

   "HAVE YOU RETURNED ONE NICKEL OF THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS YOU WERE PAID WHILE THIS SCAM WAS GOING ON?"

   "We've made a change to lead our regional bank," Stumpf said.

   "I just said I'm not asking about regional managers. I'm not asking about branch managers. I'm asking if you have fired senior management, the people who actually led community banking, who oversaw this fraud, or the compliance division that was in charge of making sure the bank complied with the law."

   "Well," Stumpf said, "Carrie Tolstedt…"

   "Did you fire any of those people?"

   "No."

   "OK, so you haven't resigned. You haven't returned a single nickel of your personal earnings. You haven't fired a single senior executive. Instead, evidently, your definition of accountable is to push the blame to your low-level employees who don't have the money for a fancy PR firm to defend themselves. It's gutless leadership."

   I dare say our Dear S. Bennet would never hold such views. Nor ever hold any big bankers accountable for stealing millions from millions like Liz is trying to do. That's what I'm talking about when I talk about the Coward.

   Oh, and I dare say CPols would print up Mikey’s press release likethat if he did something like Liz, and you could even get Republican voters to agree it was a good thing if you framed it so.

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3. Actually, Elizabeth Warren is a strong supporter of Bennet, who she has enthusiastically endorsed.  A Democratic Senate led by mainstream liberals like Bennet and Warren is our best hope to protect and improve the ACA.

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   1. Whether or not one  feels that ACA is a good solution, our best hope in general is a Dem Senate including Senators like Warren and Bennet .

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      1. Real Clear Politics currently showing a net Dem pickup of 3 Senate seats; getting four, but losing Harry Reid's Nevada seat. New Hampshire seems to be too close to call at this time, but could become a fifth Dem pickup giving them 50 seats and control, if Hillary wins the presidency.

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4. For those who live in the Denver-Boulder metro area, please vote for Measure 4B on the upcoming ballot. 4B will re-authorize the SCFD (Scientific and Cultural Facilities District).

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   1. http://www.yesonscfd.com

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