Columbia Journalism Review is reporting that according to a Bloomberg News story, Wellpoint, the nation’s second largest insurance company in revenue, was slapped with a sanction from CMS, the organization in the government tasked with running the Medicare Services (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).

CMS released a letter to Bloomberg that they sent to Wellpoint that outlined abuses of administration of Medicare prescription benefit to seniors.

CMS gave Bloomberg a copy of the letter it sent to WellPoint which said the carrier has “demonstrated a longstanding and persistent failure to comply with CMS’ requirements for proper administration of its Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans (MA-PD) and Prescription Drug Plans (PDP).”

So, seniors, who are generally vulnerable as it is, were mistreated by this multi-billion dollar company that pays outrageous salaries to it’s executives, and in my opinion, doesn’t give a shit about anyone that it insures, even its own employees.

Seniors, who sometimes need to make the choice between buying food or medication, or paying a payment for where they live and medication. Then they are hounded by the company when something appears wrong to the company, frustrating and threatening seniors with their very lives (medications save lives) if they don’t ’straighten it out’.

Seniors, who, if they are unfortunate enough to be in an assisted living or home care situation and depend on their Medicare benefits to continue to literally live, were mistreated by a company that values obscene salaries for its executives over regulatory compliance.

There is not a suitable punishment short of trial for the CEO and members of the board of this company. Of course, Bloomberg reported on what it means to Wellpoint’s stock price, as they should. They are after all a financial news reporting service. Beyond that damage to stockholders and to the image of the company, the very people who run it should face trial and punishment.

So what was the punishment by CMS?

So the agency slapped a penalty on the carrier: effective immediately, it cannot market Medicare Part D plans, which provide pharmaceutical benefits to seniors, nor can it enroll new plan members. Even though the general Part D open enrollment season just ended, carriers can still sign up seniors with low incomes and people turning 65 who need to find a drug plan. Seniors enrolled in the controversial Medicare Advantage plans whose sellers are being overpaid by the federal government, can still switch plans until the end of March. So it’s fair to say the sanctions are likely to pinch WellPoint’s profits. WellPoint said in a statement that it had made significant progress in addressing problems cited by CMS and that since it had been working with the agency, it was “surprised by this recent action.”

Nothing to see here, move along. Right Joe Lieberman? Right Evan Bayh?

The Know Campaign, which had planned on a mass mailing to voters in Virginia before this years elections, has been told by the State Board of Elections to identify the source of the mailing list by December 3, 2009. SBE officials said they would turn the case over to the Virginia State Police if the deadline wasn’t met.

The mailing campaign, which was scrapped after questions of its legality, was to collect information about voters’ voting habits, among other data. That constitutes information that is illegal to posses by anyone other than party officials, candidates, and elected officials.

The attorney for Know Campaign said they were cooperating, and also said that the list was actually the property of the mailing house.

This will be an interesting story to follow. A week from tomorrow is December 3, 2009.

H/T Daily Press

Bill Osl, who is currently trying to borrow money as fast as he can to keep Cumberland County solvent, complained to Congressman Tom Perriello at the town hall meeting in Cumberland in August that he wants Congress to stop all that redistribution of wealth and socialism stuff.

I guess he means it unless he is accepting the check.

Here Bill is accepting nearly two million dollars in a USDA Rural Development grant for a portion of the water system in Cumberland Courthouse village area. (April 2009)

Rep. Tom Perriello, Chair Bill Osl, and the USDA Representative

That’s $1,939,000 of ‘wealth redistribution’ that made it to Cumberland somehow.  Bill Osl, Chair of the Board of Supervisors, later had these things to say to Congressman Perriello: (August 2009)

Bill Osl said that people wanted their country back and that there needed to be a stop to demonizing businesses. He said that government is not the answer but is the problem. He also asked Congress to stop the redistribution of wealth and movement to Socialism and said that business was strangled with regulations. He said that proposals to tax the wealthy was really going to put businesses like dairy farms out of business because the proposal was to tax gross income. He said that just because a business or individual has a high gross income does not mean the enterprise is making money. He cited dairy farms which are being paid less than their operating costs. [my emphasis]

Text courtesy of Bill Smith, editor of the Cumberland Bulletin.

Which one are you going to be, Bill? Big tax and spender? Or rabid foaming at the mouth ultra-conservative? Let us know soon, there is an election coming up in a few years.

Reportedly, supporters of real estate developer and candidate for Congress from the Fifth District Laurence Verga munched roast beef sandwiches and curly fries, as he talked to them about his candidacy on Thursday.

Brian McNeil of the Daily Progress reports that Verga stated that he would never raise taxes, serve no more than three terms in Congress, and never add an ‘earmark’ to a piece of legislation. There were no comments from the vanilla shakes on these developments.

“I am campaigning on the motto, ‘Getting Washington Back on Track,’” Verga said. “Those are not mere words, but a goal, a belief and a passion. In spite of the inevitable pressures from the party establishment and special-interest groups, I pledge that I will never be swayed from my core conservative beliefs.”

For more of the frolic and fun among the soft drinks and apple turnovers, I suggest you read Mr. McNeil’s article yourself. Mr Verga makes more pronouncements, although he was not heard asking for someone to pass the ketchup.

Earlier this week, the huge expensive bus that Americans for Prosperity (no link, get your own) uses for their ‘rallies’ pulled into Farmville after a day of touring the 5th Congressional District. About a quarter-mile from the actual office of the congressman, the bus parked in a commuter lot on University property, put on its flashers and cranked up the music.

When the rally began, (Michael) Ben Marchi, Virginia Director for AFP took his wireless microphone and welcomed everyone. He had a guest there with him. He was dressed in a road workers’ day-glo vest and American flag hardhat with an eagle in front. I couldn’t really understand what he was doing there.

Ben Marchi and a construction worker? at the rally in Farmville.

I did hear his mention at the end that he had become an American citizen, which the crowd obviously loved. The man’s speech was that of a non-native English speaker, but I was having trouble understanding it, because I was around the end of the bus at that time.

I saw only one person that I know from Cumberland, an acquaintance who is a veteran, but very susceptible to these kinds of rallies and who is a Republican. Of course, Joe Topham, Congressman Perriello’s representative in the Farmville area, was also there. I had met Joe this summer during the Town Hall meeting in Prince Edward County.

I did see someone else I know, but who is hardly a friend. Tucker Watkins, chair of the 5th Congressional District Republicans and Virgil Goode’s campaign manager in last year’s loss, was there pimping an elderly woman who claimed to be from Canada, and would tell anyone, with Tucker’s urging, how horrible the Canadian health care system is.

It was also a subject of discussion, sometimes heated, with Tucker and I upholding our beliefs in loud tones, loud enough for the police officers present to wander over and listen. I wanted to restrain myself, since I can’t stand the man, and not upset him without a good reason. I couldn’t help myself, and I went over and asked him:

Me: Have you got any of those purple heart band aids tonight?

Republican 5th Congressional District Chair Tucker Watkins, at the 2004 Republican Convention

Tucker: No, this is not a purple heart event, er election.

Other such stimulating conversation includes talking about the display of a photograph at a Republican Congressional rally last Thursday that depicted a pile of scores of bodies, piled up like a trash pile with the caption “National Socialist Health Care”.

Me: Do you think it was proper to display the photo from Dachau last Thursday at the Capitol?

Tucker: Have you ever been to Dachau?

Photo poster held at 'rally' at the US Capitol last Thursday. Photo credit: Lee Fang

Me: No.

Tucker: Well, I have.

Me: But would you agree with the photo that was held up last Thursday at the rally?

Tucker: No, I wouldn’t agree with it. People called George Bush a Nazi, did you agree with that?

Me: I didn’t call him a Nazi.

Tucker: Sure you did.

Me: You mean you have read everything on my blog, all the various comments I have made in all the places on the web?

Tucker: No, (something that sounded like ‘harumph’ and turned his back on me.)

That’s the highlights. But there’s more! I have some photos of the rally itself, including the giant bus that AFP uses. It looks like a custom outfitted bus that would cost somewhere around $150,000-$200,000. And I am sure Ben Marchi is well paid to travel Virginia and ‘educate’ (in the 501(c)(4) sense) voters about the evils of health care for all and that darn climate problem.

A  few more quick observations to leave you with:

• Ben Marchi lives in Charlottesville, and was a Republican Delegate to the National Republican Convention in 2004.
• Does Koch Industries/AFP pay royalties on the public performance of the music they use at the rally?
• Does Tucker Watkins really believe Tom Perriello is 100% funded by George Soros? (a claim he made to me Monday night).
• Is Tucker and the Koch Industries/AFP upset that only 25 people showed up?
• No financial disclosure has been made by this IRS 501(c)(3) group. We do not know all their contributors.

• Americans for Prosperity is 85% funded (2003) by Koch Family Foundations.

• DeSmog Blog:

AFP is a non-profit organization who does not to disclose its donors. However, the Media Transparency project shows from 2003-2006, Americans for Prosperity received $1,181,000 from conservative foundations. $1 million of that funding was given by the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation–one of the Koch Family Foundations.

The AFP is the third largest recipient of funding from the Koch Family Foundations, behind the Cato Institute and the George Mason University Foundation.

Before 2003, when the AFP was still named the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, it received $18,460,912 in funding. 84% of that funding came from the Koch Family Foundations ($12,906,712) and the Scaife Family Foundations ($2,510,000).

Koch Family Foundations is funded by Koch Industries. According to Forbes, Koch Industries is the second largest privately-held company, and the largest privately owned energy company, in the United States. Koch industries has made its money in the oil business, primarily oil refining. Presently, it holds stakes in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer, forest products, and chemical technology.

Americans for Prosperity is also connected to oil giant ExxonMobil. According to ExxonSecrets, between the years 1998-2001, Citizens for A Sound Economy and Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation received $380,250 from ExxonMobil.

Medical-like graphics support the message.

Ben Marchi, State Director for Americans for Prosperity.

Marchi being interviewed by the media.

Joe Topham, Rep. Perriello's representative, talks with the 'Canadian' lady. Tucker Watkins looks on. (Note the anti-Soros sign)

More medical-like graphics on the bus.

Americans United for Change is broadcasting this video starting tomorrow in the Roanoke television and cable markets.

Brian McNeil, of the Charlottesville Daily Progress, wrote an article about some of the reactions to Tom Perriello’s vote for the health care bill on Saturday. Even better than the article are the comments section, where teabaggers abound with the usual misinformation and hair-on-fire pronouncements with little or no basis in fact.

Here’s Robert Hurt, State Senator and declared candidate for the 5th District seat in Congress:

“Make no mistake: this bill is a devastating blow to our economy at just the wrong time. With job losses continuing to mount, Congressman Perriello voted to raise taxes on small businesses,” Hurt said in a statement. “With seniors getting squeezed, he voted to slash Medicare benefits. With Virginians working harder for less, he voted to give taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits to illegal immigrants. Because of our congressman’s actions, one-sixth of our economy may be subject to government control. The consequences are monumental: premiums will rise even faster, bureaucrats will be in charge of healthcare decisions and the quality of patient care will suffer.”

Katie Wright, a Republican National Committee spokesperson, also weighed in. She said Perriello was saying one thing to constituents, and doing another in Washington. Obviously, I disagree.

Here’s part of Tom’s statement:

“Our work on this bill is not over,” he said in his statement. “As health care legislation advances through Congress, I will work with my colleagues in the Senate to push for better inter-state competition. But I am proud of the changes I fought for. After hearing from my constituents during over 100 hours of town hall meetings in August, and by continuing those conversations in the months since, I worked to include their ideas in the bill, pushing for legislation that now protect Medicare, ensure deficit neutrality, encourage wellness and preventive care, and protect small businesses.”

I guess this goes to show that not everyone is interested in everyone being able to obtain healthcare. Instead, the teabaggers are interested in protecting billionaires’ salaries at the insurance companies. People who make $35,000/yr are trying to protect the rich people who would deny them health care as well.

Welcome to the race, Senator Hurt. We’ll be watching and listening to you and the other candidates. We will be reporting on them as well.

Like I said, make sure and read the comments after the article.

[UPDATE: To correct placement of blockquote 10AM 11-09-09]

GOPAC Advertisement for District 24 GOP candidate

If you look closely, you can see the GOPAC address in this browser screen shot. H/T Adam Feiler.

UPDATE: HD-21 exact advertisement for the GOP candidate there. See Vivian for more.

Presented without comment, for youse enjoyment.

USDA Poverty Rates for Virginia

The USDA has a great interactive map showing poverty rates for adults and children in each of Virginia’s localities. Below is a reproduction of the map. To get the figures for each county, use the above link. (Figures are from 2007, the last year data is available for.)

Where I live: Cumberland County
Poverty rate for Adults and Children: 14.9%
Poverty rate for Children: 21.7%

Almost a fourth of the children in the county I live in are in poverty. This needs to change. Opportunity is closely linked to financial stability. In these times of scarce jobs, the problem continues to compound itself.

For interactive map, see link above.