Sine Die: Big Payday for Georgia Insurance Companies?

If you don't think that Georgia Insurance Companies need a $150 million dollar payday tomorrow, funded by tax dollars, then you need to call your senator tonight. Tell them to vote "no" on HB977.

When I was in Iowa, the red Traveler's umbrella was a landmark in Des Moines, but if Georgia Republicans have their way, Georgia may become a new haven for insurance companies. Not so much for consumers, though or for children without healthcare. Tomorrow may be the last day of the legislative session, but the insurance industry is still hoping to bank a cool $150 million in tax breaks to push high deductible-let's call these what they really are-"do-it-yourself healthcare plans." "Do-it-yourself" because while you will still pay the insurance company premiums, when it comes to paying the bills, absent something catastrophic, you pretty much have to manage that on your own. I wrote about this earlier this month, and Rep. Tom Knox has earned himself a CL Golden Sleaze Award for his rather friendly arrangement with the insurance industry, demonstrated by his sponsorship of this bill and others.


Over at American Forum, Dr. David Blumenthal has posted an insightful piece about why these insurance policies are probably not worth the paper they're written on. Here's a quote:

Faced with a high deductible and an outlay of cash to meet even minimal health needs, many consumers will postpone needed care and forgo preventive services altogether. In the short run, money will be saved for the consumer and the health care system. In the slightly longer run, asthmatic kids will wind up in the hospital, middle-aged adults with uncontrolled high blood pressure will have heart attacks, and the elderly who failed to get screened for cancer will have it discovered in advanced stages. Health care costs will increase and Georgians will be less healthy.

Please contact your State Senator today and ask him or her to oppose HB 977. Follow the link above, or visit www.capitolconnect.com/aarp, register your name and address and follow the action steps under state alerts to send an email directly to your State Senator.

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Welfare Lear Jets

From Wall Street to Atlanta's Gold Dome, Bush Republicans are nursing a corrupt culture of corporate dependency designed to benefit the wealthiest of the wealthy. Corporations gambled with the grocery money hoping to turn a quick billion or two, knowing all the time that if they failed, Uncle Sam would be there with a government check to make the next payment on their welfare Lear jet. These multi-national corporate giants will never learn to stand on their own two feet because they know the government will bail them out, but everyday Americans, who find themselves in a pinch as housing values plummet and fuel costs sky-rocket, best not expect help. As Charles Richardson pointed out in today's Telegraph, in this welfare system, bailing out companies like Bear Stearns is a priority, but offering a hand up to homeowners facing foreclosure is out of bounds. The new slogan for the RNC isn't "Consumer Beware" it's "Consumer? Who Cares?"

Not to be left out, last week the Georgia House, led by that darling of the insurance industry, Rep. Tom Knox with back up singers, Jerry Keen and Mickey Channell, passed a $150 million dollar tax break for insurance companies to help them sell the public stripped down health insurance policies that aren't worth the paper their written on. These plans require individuals to pay more than $2200 out of pocket before receiving even basic medical care. That's right, more than 1.7 million Georgians are uninsured and our state is facing a slowing economy, but instead of funding public schools, trauma care or public safety, Georgia Republicans just can't wait to jump on the corporate welfare bandwagon. After all, it's the Republican thing to do. (By the way, there's still time to stop this bill in the Georgia Senate, but a vote is expected any day, so please contact your State Senator today and ask him or her to oppose HB 977. Follow the link above, or visit www.capitolconnect.com/aarp, register your name and address and follow the action steps under state alerts to send an email directly to your State Senator.) By the way, you folks up in Cumming won't need to send any campaign contributions Rep. Knox's way. Judging from his last disclosure, the insurance industry has taken very good care of their man in Atlanta, just as he has taken very good care of them.

Of course, corporate welfare isn't anything new to Republicans. In 1980's Sen. John McCain's buddy, Charles Keating ran the Lincoln Savings and Loan which became insolvent due to "bad loans" (sound familiar?). The bailout cost tax payers 2.9 billion (a pittance compared to the Bear Streans guarantee) while John McCain earned his place among the "Keating Five"-elected officials Charles Keating turned to for political cover.

So, Republicans preach about personal responsibility, extol the virtues of a free market economy and admonish welfare mothers to just pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but they are more than willing to offer up your tax dollars to subsidize corporate fat cats. Why is it that the person who's born into poverty is supposed to struggle while those who have more than they ever need are given hands outs handouts? Look no further than the incestuous relationship between big corporations, their lobbyists and the money that flows into campaign coffers-of both Republicans and Democrats, by the way. Looks like we need a whole new brand of welfare reform.

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