Insurance Commissioners Bow to Insurers, Consumers Face $1.2 Billion Bill
One of the Affordable Care Acts most important consumer protection provisions requires health insurers spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on actual medical care, not wasteful administration, marketing or executive pay and bonuses.
But yesterday, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) endorsed a Big Insurers-backed plan to weaken the law when its members voted to urge Congress and the Obama administration to exempt brokers’ fees from the calculation—known as medical loss ratios—used to determine a company’s premium total.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D. W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, says exempting those fees would allow insurance companies to retain billions of dollars that the health care reform law requires then to give back to consumers in the form of rebates or lower premiums. Click here for a letter Rockefeller sent to the NAIC prior to yesterday’s vote. Last year the NAIC defeated a similar effort. Read the rest of this entry »
Another FAA Shutdown Looming over Rep. Mica’s, Delta’s Union-Busting Scheme
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If a funding agreement isn’t reached by Sept. 16, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) faces another shutdown like the one Republicans forced in July. That shutdown cost 4,000 FAA workers and 70,000 construction workers two weeks’ pay, halted important airport safety improvements and cost taxpayers some $400 million. It ended Aug. 5 with a temporary FAA reauthorization.
But another shutdown just might happen if Republicans like Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) continue to carry Delta Air Lines’ baggage by backing a provision in the long-term House FAA funding bill—supported by Delta—to take away democratic union election rights for aviation and rail workers. Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) President Veda Shook says Mica is:
acting as Delta Air Lines’ pawn by advancing a union-busting provision and threatening another shutdown of the FAA. Mica’s contempt for workers and the 75,000 people who were out of work due to the partial shutdown of the FAA is feeding Delta’s grossly funded union-busting scheme.
AFA-CWA unions are stepping up the pressure on Mica, his Republican colleagues and Delta—and you can join in. Click here to sign a petition to Delta telling the airline it’s time to cease its support for the “entirely undemocratic” union election provision that would count workers who don’t participate in a union election as “No” votes.
Republican Vacation Plans Trump Putting FAA, Airport Construction Workers Back to Work
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The 4,000 furloughed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) workers and 90,000 workers on airport construction projects stalled by the Republican shutdown of the FAA are worrying about how they will pay their bills in the coming weeks.
But the only worry House Republicans have is how they are going to spend their six-week summer vacation. House Republicans leaders adjourned the House last night until Sept. 7 without taking action on reauthorizing an FAA bill so the agency—shutdown since July 22—could reopen and construction funds move down the pipeline again.
Republicans grounded the FAA because they want to take away democratic union elections for aviation and rail workers.
In a letter to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Reps. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) called the adjournment irresponsible and inexcusable.
At the height of the summer travel season and construction season, and with more than 1.3 million construction workers out of work, it is inexcusable that Congress would leave so many American jobs in jeopardy.
Eliminating Workers’ Rights More Important to Republicans than Air Safety
House Republicans would rather shut down the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and put the flying public at risk than allow aviation and rail workers a simple majority vote—the same process that applies to electing lawmakers—on whether to join a union.
This incredible hostage-taking of a bill to reauthorize funding for the FAA—which expires Friday—is all about a new rule adopted last year by the National Mediation Board (NMB) that says air and rail elections should be decided by a majority of votes cast. Previously under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which covers rail and airline workers, each worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote.
If new funding isn’t approved, air traffic controllers would remain on the job, but the agency’s other 32,000 workers, including safety inspectors and other vital workers, face furloughs.
Manufacturing Decline Puts Economic, National Security at Risk
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The nation “must dig in and redouble our efforts to ‘Make It In America‘,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) at Senate hearing this afternoon on reviving the nation’s manufacturing base.
Testifying on behalf of the AFL-CIO, United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo W. Gerard told the Commerce, Science and Transportation committee:
American manufacturing is in dire circumstances and its future is in jeopardy. Our economic and national security is at risk. Despite the small uptick in manufacturing employment and production, it occurs against a backdrop of long-term decline and devastation.
He outlined several steps that must be taken to rebuild manufacturing and create jobs including: Read the rest of this entry »
Failing to Kill Health Care Reform, Insurers Now Fight to Weaken It
After spending tens of millions of dollars trying to kill the new health care reform law, the nation’s big health insurance companies now, says Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), are:
sparing no expense to weaken this new law and the protection it promises to America’s consumers.
According to a new report by the coalition Health Care for America Now (HCAN), big insurers are trying to gut proposed new rules that require they spend a certain amount of premium dollars on actual medical care, not wasteful administration, marketing or executive pay and bonuses.
Big Health Insurance to Sick Kids: Suffer
It didn’t take long for Big Insurance to look for loopholes in the health care reform law. Just days after it was signed by President Obama, insurance companies are trying to weasel out of provisions designed to end the abuse and outrageous practices the insurance industry has inflicted on consumers and patients for years.
Sick kids are their first target.
Starting Sept. 23, the bill will ban insurance companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. But as The New York Times reports this morning, insurance lawyers are claiming the bill’s “fine print” allows them to refuse to cover children with pre-existing conditions such as asthma, diabetes, orthopedic problems, birth defects and other illnesses.
Lies, Damned Lies and a Health Insurance Industry Report Condemning Reform
With the prospect of Congress passing health care reform legislation becoming more likely each day, the nation’s health insurance industry has launched a new scare campaign to torpedo reform. Ironically, in doing so, Big Health Insurers also have shown why a public health insurance plan option is vital to real health care reform.
The insurance industry trade lobby, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) just released a report that claims the Senate Finance Committee’s version of health care reform legislation would raise average family premiums to $21,300. The report makes clear that the insurance industry will not lower health care costs on its own. Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), called the report
an outrageous threat by one of the richest industries in America….Our legislators should respond to this bullying and stop coddling a useless industry whose sole function is to make enormous profits from the pain and suffering of patients while providing little in return.
Send a Letter Today Urging Congress to Pass Quality Health Care Reform
Local unions, central labor councils, state federations and national unions are redoubling their efforts to ensure health care reform legislation—which could be on the Senate floor as early as Oct. 13 and in the full House later in the month—is real reform that
- Controls costs.
- Provides guaranteed coverage.
- Holds insurance companies accountable.
- Includes a public health insurance plan option.
- Requires all employers to pay their fair share.
- Rejects new taxes that would hurt working families—who already are being crushed by soaring health costs.
Please join union members across the nation in writing your senators and member of Congress to tell them to pass real health care reform. It’s critical working families speak up and provide a loud counter voice to the health insurance industry’s money and influence. Congress needs to hear from people who can tell their lawmakers about their personal struggles with a broken health care system and why we need real health care reform.
Rockefeller’s Public Option Killed in Senate Finance’s Health Care Bill
UPDATE: Schumer’s public option amendment got killed as well, 10-13, with Baucus, Conrad and Lincoln voting against it. Disgrace.
Looks like one version of public option just got killed in the Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s public option amendment, the strongest of the public option amendments offered, was just voted down 15-8, with five Democrats voting against it: Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.), Tom Carper (Del.), Kent Conrad (N.D.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Bill Nelson (Fla.).
As Rockefeller said before the vote:
Why would we not do this? People come second and the profits come first if we’re against this.
