Ways and Means Committee Members Wally Herger (R-CA), Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Charles Boustany (R-LA) today released “Behind the Veil: The AARP America Doesn’t Know,”  a new report exposing the conflict between AARP’s drive for profits, the best interests of its members and the organization’s tax exempt status. 

The report, which is the culmination of more than a year-long investigation, concludes that AARP stands to make upwards of one billion dollars over the next ten years as a result of the new health care law through the sale of their endorsed-Medicare insurance products. 

The Members have now turned over their findings to the IRS to determine if AARP has abused its tax-exempt status, and whether or not that status should be revoked.

KEY FINDINGS

• AARP is in fact a large, complex and sophisticated organization with over $2.2 billion in total assets and had revenues in excess of $1.4 billion in 2009 alone.
   
• AARP has four primary revenue sources: royalty payments (primarily from insurance companies), membership dues, publication advertising and grants (governmental and non-governmental). In 2009, AARP revenues from royalties were two and half times higher than its membership dues.
   
• Since 2002, income generated from AARP membership dues has increased 32%, or $60 million. However, during this same period, income derived from AARP’s business relationships, primarily with insurance companies, has nearly tripled, increasing by $417 million.  Royalty payments from for-profit companies comprised nearly 46% of AARP’s revenue in 2009, while membership dues totaled just 17% of total revenues.
   
• As a result of the new health care law, the Obama Administration estimates more than 7 million seniors will lose their current Medicare Advantage plans, resulting in a massive migration of seniors to Medigap plans.  AARP is the nation’s leading provider of Medigap plans and has a contract in which AARP financially gains for every additional Medigap enrollee.
   
• Based on low, mid and high-range estimates, AARP stands to financially gain, over and above the millions of dollars they currently receive from United, between $55 million and $166 million in 2014 alone as a result of new Medigap enrollees stemming from the health care law’s cuts to MA, which AARP strongly endorsed.
   
• Under the midrange estimate and under their current contract, AARP’s financial gain from the health care law could exceed $1 billion during the next 10 years. This is because AARP will see their royalty payments increase as seniors are forced out of MA plans and buy AARP Medigap plans instead.
   
• Despite a massive increase in revenues, AARP’s cash and in-kind contributions to the AARP Foundation only increased 11% ($3.1 million) while cash and in-kind contributions to AARP’s Legal Counsel for the Elderly actually decreased 9% ($300,000) from 2004 to 2008 (the only years for which AARP provided data). Meanwhile, the AARP Foundation recently committed an estimated $14 million in each of the next three years to become the primary sponsor of NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon.
   
• The AARP Foundation received government grants totaling over $97 million which comprised 81.9% of the Foundation’s total revenue in 2009.

Here’s the link to the list.

From NCPA

By John Goodman – I’ve been through this three times. You’d think that someone would notice a pattern. Learn lessons. Avoid repeating dumb mistakes. Alas, it was not to be.

First there was the Medicare Catastrophic Care Act of 1988. A drug benefit added to Medicare was passed one year and repealed the next. It was the first repeal of a major federal welfare program in 100 years. Grass-roots negative reaction was so intense that House Ways and Means Chairman, Dan Rostenkowski, was chased down the streets of Chicago by angry senior citizens. Then there was HillaryCare. After working for a year, the designers of this plan met ignoble defeat. There was never a hearing. Not even a vote. And now there is ObamaCare.

In all these cases, politicians and special interests met behind closed doors to carve up huge chunks of the medical marketplace. They then emerged and announced their plan to push everyone around and tell them what to do in the most intimate and personal aspects of their lives. In all three cases, the voters replied “no.” 

The reaction of nonseniors to the latest reform is easy to understand. How many times did Barack Obama say, “If you like the health plan you are in, you can keep it”? Inside the Beltway, I’m sure no one bothered to count. They weren’t listening anyway. That’s because no one in Washington — whether Republican or Democrat, man or woman, old or young, tall or short, fat or thin — no one took this promise seriously from the get-go.

But out in the Hinterland, people did take it seriously. And when it was obvious that the promise was not going to be kept and that no one who voted for ObamaCare could explain why the promise was not being kept, the negative reaction was palpable. Adding to the understandable fear and anxiety was a threat by McDonald’s to abolish health insurance for 30,000 employees and 3M’s announcement that it would end coverage for its retirees.

Folks, this is only the beginning. Over the next two years, many more people will get hit with similar unpleasant surprises. In an earlier Health Alert, I predicted that this election would not go well for people who devised the Affordable Care Act (ACA). If this Rube Goldberg contraption is not opened up and seriously repaired, we will have another election in 2012 just like this one.

As for seniors, this is all a no-brainer. For every $1 of benefits under the new bill, they will bear $10 of cost. As Joe Newhouse explained in Health Affairs, by the end of the decade their access to care will be worse than low-income families on Medicaid. (See the very excellent chart prepared by the Office of the Medicare Actuary.) Not only will seniors have to turn to community health centers and safety net hospitals for their care, they will be the least preferred patients in the waiting lines.

Read the rest of the column

From the FitsNews

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has issued a stern warning – and a threat – to America’s health care providers for allegedly engaging in “scare tactics” related to rising health care costs and recent premium increases.

As it did during the debate over so-called “financial reform,” the Obama administration is once again bullying the private sector in an attempt to silence criticism and hide the true impact of its overreaching policies.

Apparently government’s contempt for the free market is matched only by its contempt for the First Amendment.

In a letter sent Thursday to the leader of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) – a group that represents the health care industry in Washington, D.C. – Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius accused health care providers of falsely blaming premium increases on “consumer protections” included in Obama’s new socialized medicine law.

She also threatened to shut them out of new government-created “markets” that are scheduled to open in 2014 under the new law.

“There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases,” Sebelius writes in the letter (which you can read by clicking here).

Read the rest of the story

U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (MN-06) issued the following statement today after introducing legislation to repeal the Democrats’ government takeover of health care:

 

“It’s no secret, President Obama and Democrat leaders have ignored the will of the people and have chosen to ram through their trillion-dollar health care bill despite the American people’s overwhelming objection to it.

“It’s future generations, our children and grandchildren who will pay the price for our government’s arrogance and recklessness, and the American people won’t ever forget the irresponsible actions of this Administration and Democratic Majority. After all, government answers to the people, not the other way around. I’m asking my colleagues to join me in repealing this monstrosity of a bill.”

Click here to view the legislation .

From Gary Bauer

Last night, Democrats passed ObamaCare by a vote of 219-to-212. The most bi-partisan aspect of the bill was the opposition to it. Republicans voted unanimously against it and they were joined by 34 Democrats. This bill raises taxes by more than $500 billion. It imposes new taxes on investments and new fines on businesses. It imposes unconstitutional mandates on Americans and funds abortion. And the Democrats own it entirely. This is what happens when liberals get power.

In a weekend of outrageous statements, the worst was to hear Obama and Pelosi describing their takeover of nearly 20% of our economy in the language of liberty. They cloaked one of the biggest expansions of government and retractions of liberty in our nation’s history in conservative rhetoric. For example, Nancy Pelosi hailed the vote as “great act of patriotism.”

After the House vote, President Obama said, “We proved that this government — a government of the people and by the people — still works for the people.” But the American people didn’t want this bill. The latest Rasmussen poll found that likely voters opposed it 41%-to-54%. In fact, there is not a single poll the president or congressional Democrats can point to in the past 60 days that shows public support for the legislation that passed last night.

Republicans did everything in their power to stop socialized medicine. The reconciliation process that Democrats used to circumvent Republican efforts is proof of that. And while Democrats are celebrating today, they have damaged our democratic republic in the process. The bill was written behind closed doors. Committee hearings were a charade. It passed the Senate not because of the legislation’s merits, but because of special deals and kickbacks. Until the national uproar, Democrats had planned on passing it without even voting on it.

When a Republican doesn’t vote consistently for conservative principles, we call him a RINO – a Republican In Name Only. I don’t know what you call a Democrat who betrays his core principles, but this bill should be called the “Stupak Abortion Subsidy Act.”

Rep. Bart Stupak has been elected to Congress as a Democrat since 1992 in a relatively conservative district. But he was always pro-life. Yesterday, Stupak sold out his pro-life values for an executive order from the most pro-abortion president in history. An executive order cannot override legislation. That’s why the Hyde Amendment was so important and has been reaffirmed by every Congress for more than 30 years. The Senate bill funds abortion, which is why Stupak consistently said he was a “No” vote until the very end.

My friends, there’s no way to sugar coat this. Last night’s vote was a major set back – just one of many negative consequences of recent elections. Obama said recently that he was going to wear us down. The Democrats aren’t done. Immigration “reform” is next. This is gut check time for conservatives.

What is the solution? There is only one: We must win elections. But please do not email me asking about impeachment. Impeachment is a political process conducted by Congress, and liberal Democrats – Obama’s allies – dominate Congress. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are not going impeach Barack Obama.

If you don’t like the policies coming out of Washington today, the solution is to change the politicians making them. That means contributing to conservative groups and supporting conservative candidates, staying united against the Left, outworking the liberals and outvoting them on Election Day.

Now if your reaction is to throw your hands up in despair, give up and walk away, then Obama has worn you down. But if your reaction is to recommit to the values we cherish and fight even harder in the political arena, then it’s not too late to take back our country and make America the “shining city upon a hill” our Founding Fathers envisioned. I’m not giving up and I pray you will continue to stand with me!

From the Washington Examiner

From OneNewsNow

Some House Democrats are apparently selling their vote on healthcare reform for jobs at places like NASA — but they’re receiving a stern warning from one conservative senator about the ramifications of such behavior.

Human Events reports that retiring Congressman Bart Gordon (D-Tennessee) has been promised the job of NASA administrator in exchange for his vote — and that Representative John Tanner, another retiring Democrat, has been promised an appointment as a U.S. ambassador to NATO in exchange for his vote.
 
When at the White House recently, Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas (D-Florida) also reportedly was seeking a special NASA deal in exchange for a “yes” vote on healthcare.
 
On Thursday, Senator Tom Coburn (R- Oklahoma) told House Democrats who voted against the legislation the first time that they had better “be prepared” to defend selling their vote in the House.
 
“If you voted no and you vote yes, and you lose your election, and you think [your] nomination to a federal position isn’t going to be held in the Senate, I’ve got news for you — it’s going to be held,” Coburn vowed.
 
“Number two is, if you get a deal, a parochial deal for you or your district, I’ve already instructed my staff and the staff of seven other senators that we will look at every appropriations bill at every level, at every instance, and we will outline it by district — and we will associate that with the buying of your vote.
 
“So if you think you can cut a deal now and it not come out until after the election,” he concluded, “I want to tell you that isn’t going to happen — and be prepared to defend selling your vote in the House.”
 
Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) has asked the House to remove a provision from the health bill allowing the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to continue receiving federal student loan subsidies, even though the program would be eliminated for other banks. Conrad asked for the special deal to be dumped after Republicans called the provision the “Bismarck Bank Job.”

From BigGovernment.com

While America is distracted by Democrats’ attempts to unconstitutionally ram government-run healthcare down the throats of the American people, the Obama administration began preparing to resume funding to President Obama’s favorite community organizing group.

The fiscal floodgates are opening for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the president’s former employer and legal client, despite a congressional ban on funding the activist group that has long been a practitioner of election fraud.

In a March 16 memo Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Peter Orszag quietly ordered federal agencies to resume funding the group whose employees were caught on hidden camera videos last year condoning a variety of crimes including child prostitution and tax evasion.

The memo came a week after renegade federal judge Nina Gershon of the Eastern District of New York made permanent her temporary injunction prohibiting Congress from cutting off funding for ACORN.

The memo also came despite the fact that the Department of Justice is planning to appeal Gershon’s ruling and seek a stay pending appeal.

It’s unclear why the Obama administration isn’t doing the responsible thing and waiting for the case to work its way through the judicial system.

Could the OMB be moving at lightning speed to restore funding for ACORN, which is under indictment in Nevada for election fraud, because ACORN is in dire financial straits? Perhaps it’s a reward for ACORN’s loyal support in the ObamaCare battle.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R, Wisconsin) offers his opening comments in the Reconciliation Markup House Budget Committee on March 15, 2010.  He exposes the mockery that the Democrats are making of our legislative process in order to ram a government takeover of health care through Congress.

TAKE ACTION: A vote on this health care bill is expected to occur on Sunday.  Call your Representative NOW and tell them to vote “NO” on this sham of a bill.

Mark R. Levin, president of Landmark Legal Foundation, today issued a warning to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives about the possible use of the so-called “deem and pass,” “self-executing,” or “Slaughter Rule” to enact H.R. 3590, the legislative version of President Obama’s healthcare proposal that has been previously approved by the Senate. If this tactic is employed, Landmark will immediately sue the President, Attorney General Eric Holder and other relevant cabinet members to prevent them from instituting this unconstitutional contrivance.  A copy of the complaint can be found here: Landmark’s Draft “Slaughter Rule” Complaint. 

By a vote of 222 to 203, House Democrats voted today to uphold the usage of the “self-executing rule,” also known as the Slaughter Solution.  This further validates that Obama, Pelosi and the Democrats will to anything to pass this health care bill, even if it is unconstitutional and just plain shady.  The undocumented President Obama has made it clear time and again that he doesn’t care about the process – he just wants it passed, no matter the consequences.  And there will be consequences.

The Slaughter Solution “deems” the Senate bill passed without the House ever having cast a vote, while they vote separately on a reconciliation measure.  Pelosi wants this done so the American people wont’ be able to see who actually voted for the bill – she wants to shield her Congressional allies from their constituents who are mad as hell about their representatives not listening to the people.

From the Boston Herald

Even one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s floor whips, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, says a proposed parliamentary move to pass health-care reform would be “disingenuous” and harm the credibility of Congress.

In a sign of how tough it’s been for Pelosi to round up votes for the massive bill, Lynch – a South Boston Democrat who supported a House reform package last year – said he’ll probably vote against a key Senate version of the legislation, unless unexpected major changes are made soon.

Lynch, who serves as one of Pelosi’s key vote counters, said he also can’t support a proposed “deem and pass” procedure that would allow Democrats to vote to strip out controversial portions of the Senate bill and then “deem” that the entire package has passed without a second, direct vote.

“It’s disingenuous,” said Lynch, who considers unfair a Senate provision to tack a surcharge on higher-end health plans. “It would really call into question the credibility of the House.”

Read the rest of the story.

From the Washington Post

WE UNDERSTAND the administration’s sense of urgency on health-care reform. But what is intended as a final sprint threatens to turn into something unseemly and, more important, contrary to Democrats’ promises of transparency and time for deliberation.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Monday that she is leaning toward a parliamentary maneuver under which the House would vote on a package of changes to the Senate-approved reform bill, and the underlying Senate bill would then be “deemed” to have passed, even though the House had never voted on it. That may help some House members dodge a politically difficult decision, but it strikes us as a dodgy way to reform the health-care system. Democrats who vote for the package will be tagged with supporting the Senate bill in any event. Why not be straightforward about it?

More worrying is that Congress and the country have yet to see the changes, for which Democrats hope to win quick House approval and which they then hope to speed through the Senate under a procedure that would bar filibusters. These changes — the so-called reconciliation bill — are not all minor “fixes”; some could have far-reaching consequences. Such changes deserve to be fully understood and debated before they are voted on. The speaker’s office says the week-long “conversation” that Nancy Pelosi promised to have with members is taking place and that they are waiting for the final word from the Congressional Budget Office before releasing the package; in any event, they say, lawmakers and the public will have 72 hours to consider the changes. But why be so secretive about it? Any number of measures — including versions of the health-care bill itself — have been unveiled without CBO scores.

The health-care debate has been going on longer than a year, and House members want to get it over with. They don’t want it hanging over them during the Easter recess. President Obama wants progress to have been made before he leaves for Indonesia on Sunday. These are understandable desires, but they don’t outweigh the need for a reasonable process on a matter of such importance.

From Washington Examiner