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    Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?

    Raise the curtain.

    The Tax That Wasn't


    By JGillman, Section News
    Posted on Tue Oct 09, 2012 at 09:49:21 PM EST
    Tags: Michigan, Health Care, BCBS, Insurance, Non Profits, 3 Billion Reasons, A Tax That Wasn't (all tags)

    Michigan's Blue Cross Blue Shield subscribers have been paying it forward for a long time.

    Recall a few years ago, Michigan AG Mike Cox slapped down the blues for a strange bust out into the for-profit insurance market.  At the time, Cox said:

    "Blue Cross has built a huge surplus with the help of state tax breaks and rapidly rising insurance premiums.  They should be cutting health costs for Michigan families instead of diving deeper into the for-profit insurance industry."
    Indeed.

    Since that slap down, I have frequently imagined how the blues could be dis-assembled.  Not at all that I wanted to, but asking the question of HOW such a structured insurer of last resort might be dissolved at some point. And to be sure, given THAT situation, there ought to have been others inside and out of government who might have wondered as well.  Had it not been for AG Cox wagging the I-don't-think-so finger, a strange funneling of money to other 'for-profit' entities might have happened, costing rate payers dearly.  "Who might have been the recipients and concurrent stockholders in such an arrangement that hides cash flow from non-profit reporting requirements?" could have been the question at hand.

    But no worries, right?  That big pile of money has been maintained, and leveraging high rates have made it easier for the blues to make sure it stayed available. The blues have in fact have continued to hold on to a $3 billion cash reserve and by raising those rates to keep it there, it rewards those past premium payers with the knowledge that they have solved the next hole in the Michigan state budget. Or even better, have given the governor a new potential slush fund.

    Continued below.

    Though its still quite (purposefully, I suppose) confusing, BCBS will be morphing into a new type of entity, more closely resembling other insurance providers.  They will be 'giving back' to a [non-profit] entity presumably controlled by the state,(?) and will be paying taxes.
    Under the plan, Blue Cross would contribute $1.5 billion over 18 years to a new independent nonprofit entity that would serve as a continuation of the organization's charitable mission.  It also would begin paying about $100 million in annual taxes if the transition takes place as planned on Jan. 1, 2014. That is the date when all insurers will be required under federal health care reform to offer coverage to everyone, regardless of health status.
    And alakazam! All will be insurers of last resort.

    Because THAT is a way to bring down premiums.  (please .. PLEASE read that with the intended sarcasm)

    Strangely, the blues didn't fight this thing.  But the blues, and a particular $1.5 Billion will part. And as we have wondered around these parts why Snyder wants a health exchange so bad, the fog begins to lift.  Will a state directed charitable foundation appear? Will we see additional revenues for the state raised through this new mechanism still controlled and directed through a bizarre socialist/fascist arrangement?

    Will magic health care gnomes appear and absorb all the major medical co-pays??!!

    So very confusing.  

    Of all that is clear, one item stands out.  Its that the folks who have paid into the BCBS system in the past ought to be thanked for their contributions into the politics of last resort.

    And it won't take a 2/3rds vote.

    < Tell it to the Nerd Voters, Rep. Rogers | But I Want the Fist and the Tiara >


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    Let it Snowe, let it Snowe, let it Snowe (none / 0) (#1)
    by Corinthian Scales on Thu Oct 11, 2012 at 04:26:02 PM EST
    What the hell.  Why not make this pillaging of BC/BS policy holder monies a tied together Snyder Exchange, and SnObamacare RINO fun fest.

    Repulsive Pathetic A-hole.

    Bump (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by JGillman on Fri Apr 05, 2013 at 11:22:58 PM EST


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