WellPoint, Inc. is the largest managed health care,
for-profit company in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
APRIL 2012
From ALEC Exposed
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association: Member of ALEC's
Health and Human Services Task Force[48], "Director" level sponsor of
2011 ALEC Annual Conference[17] ($10,000 in 2010)[18][15][14] - Announced on
April 19th that it had not renewed its membership in February 2012.[49] See
Corporations Which Have Cut Ties to ALEC for more.
WellPoint, Member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task
Force[13] and "Director" level sponsor of 2011 ALEC Annual
Conference[17] ($10,000 in 2010)[18]
Evidently they just took over where Blue Cross left off in supporting ALEC with tax free donations..
MARCH 2013
ALEC Participation
March 1, 2013
WellPoint, Inc. last attended an
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting in the Summer of
2011. Our representative participated in
the Health and Human Services Task Force discussion around a resolution calling
on the states to oppose setting up their own exchanges. Our perspective was (and is) that states
should establish their own exchange mechanisms.
We lost the debate that day and ALEC passed a resolution calling on the
states to not enact their own exchanges.
We have not attended an ALEC meeting since, nor have we contributed any
financial support to the organization. We have no current plans to support ALEC
or attend any of their meetings.
Which may be the truth
Article Snips from May 16, 2012 (my emphasis)
Union representatives and other protesters repeatedly interrupted Angela Braly, chairman of WellPoint, Indianapolis (NYSE:WLP,
after she opened the meeting and introduced proposals for shareholder voting.
One person presented a petition she said was signed by 15,000 people asking the
company for more disclosure.
Bobby Jones, an AFSCME
representative from New Hampshire,
asked Braly if she would commit to cutting ties with the American Legislative
Exchange Council, or ALEC, a conservative nonprofit group that brings together
lawmakers and private sector organizations to develop legislation and policy.
Braly said WellPoint made no
contributions this year and engages only "in public policy issues that are
core to our business
Well - that statement must not have gotten enough press coverage.
Evidently – WellPoint was still getting enough grief that they
felt they needed to make their position on ALEC much clearer to the public and
their for-profit stockholders.
So in March 2013 - they "officially" Dumped ALEC
But that doesn’t
necessarily paint WellPoint or BCBS Assoc as any type of good guys.
They tried to scam
the system
becausetheycan
TIMELINE
The Affordable Care Act was passed
by Congress and then signed into law by the President on March 23, 2010.
ALEC HHS Task Force Roster
October 26, 2010
WellPoint, Inc.
Ms. Neill Myers Health Policy Manager at WellPoint
Mr. John Willey Sr. Director, Public Affairs
Timing coincidence – maybe – if you believe in unicorns
ALEC HHS Task Force
June 29, 2011
Ms. Neill Myers Health Policy Manager at WellPoint
Mr. John Willey Sr. Director, Public Affairs
They tried to scam
the system
andtheygotshafted
2011 ALEC ANNUAL MEETING
RESOLUTION AGAINST PPACA HEALTH INSURANCE EXCHANGES
Summary: Twenty-six states have joined in a lawsuit to
have the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) ruled
unconstitutional. Nevertheless, many of
the plaintiff states continue to plan PPACA health insurance exchanges, using
federal funds to do so, undermining their own position as plaintiffs. This resolution urges state officials to stop
planning PPACA exchanges and urges Congress to defund such efforts.
MODEL RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The federal
government has enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
ostensibly for the purpose of making health insurance more affordable for
American citizens; and
WHEREAS, PPACA includes a
provision requiring the creation of health insurance exchanges (exchanges) in
each state where only health insurance policies that meet certain requirements
determined by the federal government may be bought and sold; and
WHEREAS, Exchanges may only
be established by each state subject to approval by appointed federal
officials; and
WHEREAS, If a state does not
establish an exchange, appointed federal officials will establish one in that
state; and
WHEREAS, State-created PPACA
exchanges put states in the position of ceding their resources and sovereignty
to the service of the federal government, sacrificing their ability to flexibly
serve their own citizens; and
WHEREAS, Twenty-six states
are suing to have PPACA struck down partly due to the arguable
unconstitutionality of the individual mandate, and briefs submitted by the
federal government in Florida v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
make clear that exchanges are a key part of the individual mandate; and
WHEREAS, The United States
Supreme Court states in part, in its recent ruling in Bond v. United States,
“Federalism secures the freedom of the individual. It allows States to respond,
through the enactment of positive law, to the initiative of those who seek a
voice in shaping the destiny of their own times without having to rely solely
upon the political processes that control a remote central power,” effectively
instructing state leaders that they share in the responsibility to preserve
liberty; and
WHEREAS, Judge Vinson, in his
order of March 3, 2011 staying his original decision in Florida v. U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services striking down the PPACA as
unconstitutional, stated in footnote 7
that “the severity of that injury [from the PPACA] is undercut by the
fact that at least eight of the plaintiff states (noted further infra) have
represented that they will continue to implement and fully comply with the
Act’s requirements — in an abundance of caution while this case is on appeal —
irrespective of my ruling,” clearly implying that as states continue to plan
exchanges in preparation for PPACA implementation, the perceived harm to states
is reduced, making it less likely the PPACA will ultimately be declared unconstitutional;
and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services recently released 70 pages of new rules regarding
exchanges that required 172 pages to summarize and clarify, including numerous
references to future rulemaking, bringing into question the idea that states
have significant flexibility in the establishment of exchanges, and
WHEREAS, If the PPACA is
struck down, states planning PPACA exchanges will have participated in wasting
millions of dollars of taxpayer funds in planning defunct exchanges; and
WHEREAS, Despite claims by
some that states can create PPACA-compliant exchanges that enjoy the benefits
of market forces, these exchanges would be completely artificial devices
offering insurance products regulated in their essential characteristics by the
federal government, making exchanges anything but free markets; and
WHEREAS, PPACA health
insurance exchanges will continue to be subject to the arbitrary whims of the
federal bureaucracy which, having extensive ongoing rulemaking authority, can
render any plan for a state exchange today, no matter how rational and
well-designed, obsolete and irrelevant at a later date; and
WHEREAS, The PPACA does not
clearly and unequivocally pre-empt state law, containing only a vague provision
that seems to say that federal law does not preempt state laws preserving free
enterprise health care systems, but the establishment of exchanges necessitates
state laws conform to PPACA and states establishing exchanges will actively
participate in the pre-emption of their own laws; and
WHEREAS, There is no penalty
for a state in allowing the federal government to implement an exchange and
doing so puts federal officials in the position of asking a state for
permission to operate an exchange rather than states supplicating to appointed
federal officials; and
WHEREAS, States can, and
should, develop and implement their own, state-based health reform solutions
that are tailored to the targeted needs of their citizens without the mandates
within PPACA.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
THAT, {Insert state legislature} believes it is not in the best interest of the
state for any state official to participate in planning or establishing health
insurance exchanges as provided for in the federal Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT,
{Insert state legislature} urges Congress to defund planning grants to states
for the establishment of PPACA health insurance exchanges by the states; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT,
Copies of this resolution be sent to the President of the United States,
the appropriate leadership of the United States Congress and the United States
Department of Health and Human Services, and the entire {insert state}
delegation in the United States Congress.
Passed by the Health and Human Services Task Force on August
4, 2011.
WellPoint saw an profit opening when the Affordable Care Act was passed.
An opportunity for more corporate revenue.
So, they went to the slimiest pro-corporate pro-profit organization in the country, to try to increase their profits - using "model legislation" and ALEC legislators.
It didn't work for them - so they unceremoniously kicked ALEC to the curb.
But - WellPoint is probably the exception to the rule.
I congratulate tham for dumping ALEC.
But I bet they would go back and suck up to ALEC if the another profit opportunity presented itself.
They tried to scam
the system
andibettheydoitagain
ALEC
- there to help corporations
- scam
the system
- for more profits
for a price
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