During the Healthcare debate in the Senate, our supposedly Democratic Senator Tom Carper and non-Democratic Senator Joe LIEberman met with JNK Securities and its hedge fund clients and told them, “no worries, the public option is out, so you all be sure to invest right away in some private insurance companies.” Of course, this meeting occurred before we knew that the public option would be dropped, and thus these hedge fund clients got a wonderful windfall.
New York Magazine has posted this from a Wall Street Journal story that did not get proper attention:
The weekend before the Dec. 8, 2009 session, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) held Senate sessions on Saturday and Sunday, seeking a deal. Another senator, Tom Carper (D., Del.), also was trying to help. The central issue: Would the bill call for the government to create a public health insurance plan, the position supported by President Barack Obama?
To counter Republican opposition, Democrats needed votes from Messrs. Lieberman and Nelson, who said they had major concerns with a robust government-insurance plan. As negotiations neared a resolution, JNK Securities and its hedge-fund clients met a half-dozen lawmakers in the U.S. Capitol. Among those who spoke to the hedge funds were Mr. Lieberman and Mr. Carper on Dec. 8, according to their offices. The roster included Viking Global’s Scott Zinober and Karsch Capital’s Eric Potoker.
The broad outlines of an agreement had been circulating for days, but the lawmakers confirmed they were close to a deal that discarded the public insurance plan, a boost to private insurers. Viking, a hedge fund that manages $13.8 billion, bought six million shares of Aetna in that fourth quarter of 2009, according to regulatory filings. Karsch, which manages $2.4 billion, bought half a million Aetna shares during the same period, according to regulatory records. Shares of Aetna rose 14% in the fourth quarter.
Now, this may look like insider trading but it’s not. Carper was not the one using his inside information to benefit himself financially. Well, at least we don’t know that he has done that… yet. But he sure made sure to take care of his constituency: hedge fund investors.
I am going to have to go digging around for quotes from that time. Done. Carper was floating public option compromises in October 2009. In fact at the very same time he was meeting with the hedge fund investors in early December, he was tasked by Harry Reid to come up with a Public Option Plan B to attract Lieberman, Nelson, Snowe and Collins. This is what Carper was saying in early December 2009:
Carper has been working on variations of the public option for months. Recently, he has touted a so-called hammer public option that he believes answers centrists’ criticisms that the public option in Reid’s bill is government-run and government-funded. The public option would kick in for states where insurance companies fail to meet standards of availability and affordability of plans.
Carper’s proposal would establish a national public insurance program founded by the government but managed by a non-governmental board. In addition, the plan would be unable to access any taxpayer dollars beyond its initial seed money. This public option would operate alongside private insurance and, potentially, the nonprofit healthcare cooperatives and state-based public plans authorized by Reid’s bill. […]
“A public option is not the most important element,” Carper said. “But it’s not unimportant… The question is, if we allow states to do all of those things and there are still states where there’s not very much competition and as a result there’s not very good affordability, what do we do about it?”
While Carper works behind the scenes to win over key centrists, some of the senators he is targeting offered signs Tuesday that they are pleased with a cost analysis released this week that found the Reid’s legislation would accomplish the goal of making insurance cheaper for many and more widely available.
So at the same time he was the Public Option champion in the Senate, he was telling hedge fund investors that, no worries, I will kill it, so invest in private companies.
He is a fucking scumbag.