BCBSD vs. Delaware Kids

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Yesterday's NJ reported on the issues to be discussed in a hearing held last night in front of the Insurance Commissioner on a rate application that would attempt to charge Delaware kids more for subsidized insurance than they charge (via Highmark) in Pennsylvania. The bottom line here is that BCBSD/Highmark is trying to weasel out of a commitment required by law to cover these families in the way that Highmark covers families in Pennsylvania. It looks to me that they agreed to this when their merger was still not yet approved and now that it looks like a done deal they want to back out of it.

Terror in Tiny Tony Town??

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Turns out that Tiny Tony DeLuca’s personal employment records weren’t the only records being withheld by the Department of Labor. And, get this, turns out that the records being withheld, this time the “records and construction site visit logs of labor law officers to see which companies were investigated for allegations of workplace fraud and not paying the prevailing wage rates on the public works projects in 2010 and 2011″, are in the possession of one, wait for it, Tiny Tony DeLuca, head of the Office of Labor Law Enforcement.

Questions For John Carney’s “Bi-partisan” Coalition

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This looks good on it's face, but the devil is in the bi-partisanship.
Rep. Carney Leads Bipartisan Coalition of 111 members Urging President Obama to Support Six-Year Transportation Package 62 Democrats and 49 Republicans say long-term reauthorization will create jobs and jumpstart critical infrastructure projects

In Which We Find Karen Weldin Stewart Abandoning Delaware Consumers Again

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Back in June, we discussed the actions of KWS to apply for waivers from the medical cost ratio rule for two insurance companies so that they can continue to pay commissions to brokers and sales agents. Since then, HHS has finalized its rule that requires that the costs to pay premiums or other support to brokers and sales agents be categorized as Administrative Costs and therefore included to the maximum 20% overhead allowed by the ACA. Delaware's own Insurance Commissioner voted in a recent NAICS action to vote on a resolution that recommends that Congress exempt the fees insurance agents and brokers from medical loss ratio calculations (pdf) and that HHS revive their rulemaking to exclude brokers and agents from the the administrative costs of insurance companies.

Monday Open Thread [12.5.11]

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Donald Trump "relishes his role as Republican kingmaker, [and] he won't close the door on his own independent presidential bid once the next season of his reality TV show, The Celebrity Apprentice, wraps up on NBC next spring -- a prospect that could spell doom for the eventual GOP nominee." Said Trump: "I absolutely have another bite. If the economy continues to be bad and if the Republicans choose the wrong person, I would do it."