What's the Whole Story Behind Louisiana's Medicaid Expansion for the Dead?

I've read the legislative auditor's report and various articles on Louisiana compensating private industry insurers for Medicaid services rendered to dead people; and the more I read, the more unanswered questions I have.

In this article, Kathy Kleibert blamed it on Social Security records.

Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Kathy Kliebert said Monday that the problem occurred because DHH was relying on “a very sloppy database in Social Security” to determine who should be enrolled in the managed care plans. Most of the cases involved older adults with disabilities qualifying for Medicaid through the Social Security system, she said.

“In the future we are going to be using our vital records database,” she said, referring to the state’s registry of birth and death records.
http://theadvocate.com/home/7492510-125/auditor-state-pays-health-coverage

This Town Talk article implies the state relied on data from the DHH vital statistics office.  http://www.thetowntalk.com/viewart/20131104/NEWS01/131104017/Audit-Louisiana-DHH-paid-1-9M-Medicaid-dead-people

The legislative auditor definitely used DHH Vital Stats data to conduct the audit, but why would he use that method if the state uses/used Social Security info? http://app1.lla.la.gov/PublicReports.nsf/5BBFA4B0591132DB86257C14004DD0C4/$FILE/00035F69.pdf

Also, wouldn't Kleibert's response suggest that all of those people kept receiving federal and/or state SSI payments after they died?

I understand using a different methodology to audit payment errors.  That makes sense, but why wouldn't the state legislative auditor also use the same methodology as a means for comparison to lend more validity to his findings?

Or did the auditor intentionally employ a methodology that provides a safety escape hatch for DHH?

Why Are We Buying What Donelon Is Selling?

Louisiana insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon explained last week on Angela Hill's radio show (at about minute 13:00) why our auto insurance is so high.  Auto insurance rates in Jefferson, Orleans, and a couple of other parishes are 40% higher than rates in the rest of the state because of a prolific "soft tissue" market, Mr. Donelon said.  That is, the proclivity of locals, aided by lawyers and doctors, towards seeking compensation for injuries resulting from auto accidents.  It pains me to agree with that characterization of the local citizenry.

It also leaves alot unexplained, in my opinion.  Seven years ago I paid about $74/mo. for a policy in Nashville with $100,000/$300,000 (100/300) limits and about $80/mo. for the same coverage in Chicago.  When I moved back to New Orleans, I had to slash my coverage limits to 50/100 just to barely afford auto insurance here.  Turns out I couldn't even barely afford it.  I just plain could not afford it, not even if I doubled my deductible.

With each passing year, I tacked on 365 more days to my flawless driving record *knock on wood*.  Still, my premiums continued to rise despite my car and me both being six years older and my having aged into an (allegedly) cheaper rating class; and five years into my move back home, I had to drop my coverage to the 25/50 state minimum.  

Commissioner Donelon's explanation does not even come close to explaining why I and every Louisianian shell out 50% more money for about 1/5th of the coverage that we would get in other major cities.  The WDSU report that ran last evening seems to confirm my hunch that the prevalent "soft tissue" industry is not to blame for much of this disparity in auto insurance rates because it only accounts for approximately 10% of the increased premium.  That news story also makes very fuzzy links between a national rise in auto insurance fraud and cell-phone caused driver distraction, but Louisiana's ridiculously high insurance rates long pre-date either of those phenomena.  

Even if auto insurance fraud accounts for 40% of our premiums in metro N.O., that does not satisfactorily explain why it's 40% more for WAY less coverage.  I am, in fact, now paying 40% more than I paid in Chicago and Nashville, but shouldn't I be paying 40% more for 100/300 coverage instead of 40% more for shitty 25/50 coverage?  Maybe there is an actuarial table somewhere that that backs up Mr. Donelon's explanation, but until I see it, I ain't buying it.

An Open Letter to LA State Treasurer John Kennedy

Dear Mr. Kennedy,

I would like to begin by lauding your tireless efforts in ensuring that Louisiana's tax dollars are spent wisely and, specifically, your vocal advocacy for sensibly balancing the needs of our citizens with those of individuals and companies who contract with the state.  Because of the credibility you've established in addressing such matters, I urge you to ensure that the money received from pharmaceutical settlements finds its way back into the healthcare services budget from which it originated and to which it belongs. 

$38.8 million from Allergan, Covidien, United Research Laboratories, Merck, and Pfizer 

+

$258 million (+ $70 million for attorneys' fees) from Johnson & Johnson

+

$8.5 million from Watson Pharmaceuticals  
+

$45 million from GlaxoSmithKline (+ $7 million for attorneys' fees) 

_________________________________________________________________

= $350.3 MILLION DOLLARS FOR MEDICAID 

Attorney General Caldwell and DHH Secretary Kliebert acknowledge that these monies are "the result of Caldwell's office aggressively pursuing the recovery of Louisiana taxpayer's vital Medicaid dollars."  One of the attorneys for the state also stated that the money "will go directly to Louisiana’s Medicaid program."  By my estimate, at least $258 million of this money (from the J&J settlement) should specifically go back into the state's mental health budget.  

Mr. Treasurer, please make sure that happens.  

A jury found Janssen’s marketing campaigns violated the state law 35,542 times at a cost of $7,250 per violation, resulting in $258 million in fines. It awarded the state another $70 million in counsel fees.  The Louisiana Supreme Court will decide whether the verdict will stand. - See more at: http://www.whistleblowerlawyernews.com/2013/03/07/anti-marketing-fraud-statute-used-to-prosecute-johnson-and-johnson-in-risperdal-case/#sthash.6ee2lzso.dpuf

A jury found Janssen’s marketing campaigns violated the state law 35,542 times at a cost of $7,250 per violation, resulting in $258 million in fines. It awarded the state another $70 million in counsel fees.  The Louisiana Supreme Court will decide whether the verdict will stand. - See more at: http://www.whistleblowerlawyernews.com/2013/03/07/anti-marketing-fraud-statute-used-to-prosecute-johnson-and-johnson-in-risperdal-case/#sthash.6ee2lzso.dpuf

 A jury found Janssen’s marketing campaigns violated the state law 35,542 times at a cost of $7,250 per violation, resulting in $258 million in fines. It awarded the state another $70 million in counsel fees.  The Louisiana Supreme Court will decide whether the verdict will stand. - See more at: http://www.whistleblowerlawyernews.com/2013/03/07/anti-marketing-fraud-statute-used-to-prosecute-johnson-and-johnson-in-risperdal-case/#sthash.6ee2lzso.dpuf

 A jury found Janssen’s marketing campaigns violated the state law 35,542 times at a cost of $7,250 per violation, resulting in $258 million in fines. It awarded the state another $70 million in counsel fees.  The Louisiana Supreme Court will decide whether the verdict will stand. - See more at: http://www.whistleblowerlawyernews.com/2013/03/07/anti-marketing-fraud-statute-used-to-prosecute-johnson-and-johnson-in-risperdal-case/#sthash.6ee2lzso.dpuf

 A jury found Janssen’s marketing campaigns violated the state law 35,542 times at a cost of $7,250 per violation, resulting in $258 million in fines. It awarded the state another $70 million in counsel fees.  The Louisiana Supreme Court will decide whether the verdict will stand. - See more at: http://www.whistleblowerlawyernews.com/2013/03/07/anti-marketing-fraud-statute-used-to-prosecute-johnson-and-johnson-in-risperdal-case/#sthash.6ee2lzso.dpuf

 A jury found Janssen’s marketing campaigns violated the state law 35,542 times at a cost of $7,250 per violation, resulting in $258 million in fines. It awarded the state another $70 million in counsel fees.  The Louisiana Supreme Court will decide whether the verdict will stand. - See more at: http://www.whistleblowerlawyernews.com/2013/03/07/anti-marketing-fraud-statute-used-to-prosecute-johnson-and-johnson-in-risperdal-case/#sthash.6ee2lzso.dpuf

A jury found Janssen’s marketing campaigns violated the state law 35,542 times at a cost of $7,250 per violation, resulting in $258 million in fines. It awarded the state another $70 million in counsel fees.  The Louisiana Supreme Court will decide whether the verdict will stand. - See more at: http://www.whistleblowerlawyernews.com/category/false-advertising/#sthash.VVI5MdXy.dpuf

A jury found Janssen’s marketing campaigns violated the state law 35,542 times at a cost of $7,250 per violation, resulting in $258 million in fines. It awarded the state another $70 million in counsel fees.  The Louisiana Supreme Court will decide whether the verdict will stand. - See more at: http://www.whistleblowerlawyernews.com/category/false-advertising/#sthash.VVI5MdXy.dpuf

Is LA Medicaid Putting Fat Cats' Profits over Patient Health?

No, I don't mean the so-called "fat cat" doctors that people who aren't doctors think get rich off Medicaid payments.  I mean pharmaceutical companies.

I learned today that Medicaid patients need prior authorization for generic ADHD medications.  Name-brand (i.e., more expensive than generic) ADHD medications are on the current Louisiana Medicaid Preferred Drug List, but generic versions of those same medications are not.  This means that LA Medicaid will pay, no questions asked, for Adderall XR, Focalin, Focalin XR, and Concerta; but physicians must submit Prior Authorization forms for the less expensive generic forms of these medications.

That means that providers who prescribe these drugs to Medicaid patients must fill out additional paperwork, and may even have to call the state medicaid office, to justify why the state should pay for the CHEAPER  generic version.    

As if that isn't problematic enough, there is a shortage of stimulant medications used to treat ADHD, and many pharmacies only have generic versions.  They couldn't get the name-brand versions of the drugs if they wanted to.

I find this policy interesting, considering Governor Jindal's push to save healthcare dollars by privatizing Medicaid and his constant hootin' and hollerin' about how much Louisiana pays to fund Medicaid. 

Because That's How Insurance Companies Roll

I don't know what havoc Ms. Irene will have wreaked by the time this weekend is over, but I do know this: If you live anywhere between South Carolina and Maine, and if they have not already, your insurance company will drastically raise premiums for your wind and hail coverage or altogether drop your coverage regardless of whether your home sustains any damage this weekend or not.

Mark my words.

Insurance Companies to Alabama Tornado Victims: SCREW YOU

I sit here this morning left speechless by the scope of destruction left by numerous and massive tornadoes across Alabama and Georgia last night. Watching those scenes naturally triggered thoughts of the long post-Katrina recovery. I'm sure other survivors of that disaster also immediately felt empathy for what the unfortunate folks across the Deep South are about to go through. Once they are able to get past the first waves of shock and grief, the tornado victims will suffer the injustice of having their insurance companies turn their backs on them. For years they paid for a service and a sense of protection that they will not receive.

Like a good con artist, State Farm, Farmers, USAA Insurance, and other insurance companies collected decades' worth of premiums from Gulf Coast residents, and then just 3 months ago, started dropping their windstorm and hail coverage. The timing of those companies' collective decision is eerily prescient in this January 2011 story from Daphne, AL, in which a customer is told her wind and hailstorm coverage would be dropped in March 2011 - a little over a month before many Alabama residents would need that coverage.


WKRG.com News

God help the tornado victims and grant them the strength and resolve to obtain the compensation they are justly owed.

Concept of the Day: DOUBLE STANDARD

Hey kids! Today's concept is: DOUBLE STANDARD. As in, "The Republicans seem to espouse a double standard when judging private sector and government sector finances."

The piece What's Good Enough for GE is Good Enough for the United States argues the point that S&P's downgrading of the U.S.'s credit rating was widely met with snorts and chuckling. Why?

Still, it’s true that federal debt held by the public has reached 60 percent of GDP, while tax revenues remain around 20 percent of GDP. 60 percent of GDP is a lot! And double, nearly triple, tax revenue! What would we call a company with outstanding debt double or even triple its revenues, and expected to keep the highest bond rating?

We would call it General Electric. As recently as 2007, GE had an S&P rating of AAA with outstanding debt at over three time revenues...

Even Transocean, which operated the Deepwater Horizon rig for BP, managed an A- rating prior to the spill, with a debt-revenue ratio similar to what the federal government has now. [J.W. Mason, New Deal 2.0]

We all know the conservative mantra, spouted ad nauseum from our Gret Stet of Looziana to the congressional halls of the Beltway: "Government should be run like a business!" As it turns out, the government is already run like a business. So thank you, Republicans. Your work here is done. You can all step down from your lives of public service now and go home.

Sen. Vitter Hopes to Retire Well on Earth Before It Turns Into Venus

In his Jan. 20, 2011 email update, Sen. David Vitter proudly proclaimed: "In 2009, I was the first member of Congress to challenge the radical environmentalists' attempt to regulate greenhouse gases by introducing a bill declaring that carbon dioxide, methane from agriculture and livestock, and water vapor are not air pollutants."

First of all, calling everyone who disagrees with you "radical" or "leftist" is not toning down political rhetoric. No need to overdo it, Senator. "Environmentalists" alone was enough for your supporters to open their pocketbooks.

Second of all, not wanting to breathe polluted air is not all that radical an agenda to espouse. Neither is the contention that too much of a good thing, even if it is a source of life, can be a bad thing. Just ask the gulf seafood you want us to eat, Senator. (Tip: you should pose your question before you consume them.) According to Dr. Jeff Masters, guru of wunderground.com who did his dissertation on carbon dioxide (CO2): "increased CO2 from burning fossil fuels has already harmed sea life."

Dr. Masters further explains:

the fossil fuel industry's slogan, "Carbon dioxide: they call it pollution, we call it life!" could just as truthfully be phrased, "Carbon dioxide. We call it pollution, and we call it death." One need only look at our sister planet, Venus, to see that too much "life" can be a bad thing. There, an atmosphere of 96% carbon dioxide has created a hellish greenhouse effect. The temperatures of 860 F at the surface are hot enough to melt lead. There's not too much life there! [Is Carbon Dioxide a Pollutant?]

Maybe the Senator's objection to cap-and-trade regulation of CO2 comes from a good place, say, a healthy skepticism of science. I don't know, but I'm going to maintain my own healthy skepticism of his motives. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a.k.a. opensecrets.org, 70% of Senator Vitter's wealth comes from the Energy & Natural Resources sector of the economy. Too much carbon dioxide may be bad for your health, but too much regulation might be even worse for Sen. Vitter's checkbook.

Jim Donelon Can Kiss My Ass on Canal Street!

State Farm will raise rates for mom-and-pop landlords, drop their wind and hail coverage

While the statewide average rate increase is 18 percent, actual increases in South Louisiana can be much higher.

In Orleans, Jefferson and protected parts of St. Bernard and Plaquemines, the average increase will be 59.2 percent, according to State Farm; in areas outside of levees in Plaquemines it will be 93.8 percent; and in areas outside of levees in St. Bernard, it will be 21.1 percent. In St. Charles Parish, the average increase will be 19.2 percent. In St. James and St. John the Baptist, it will be 22.6 percent... Other coastal parishes will also see increases.

State Farm spokeswoman Molly Quirk said that part of the rate increase calculation is the value of cutting the wind and hail policy. [Times-Picayune, 1-16-2011]

Can someone explain how you can charge more for less coverage? How did that get past the Louisiana insurance commission, and how much is Insurance Commissioner Donelon profiting from this? What is he getting that's worth throwing us under a bus?

The article talks about how State Farm has also raised rates on other policies, which were so numerous they probably ran out of room to list the auto insurance increases I also received from State Farm over the past year. I was wondering how my rates could increase on an 11-year-old vehicle on which I cut my coverage IN HALF because I couldn't even afford the insurance before the rate increase. It seems the answers to my questions are to be found in them new fangled calculators the State Farm home office sent to Baton Rouge.

Like After Katrina, Outside Folks Getting the Disaster Contracts

The fine folk over at The Lens informed the citizenry today that "Gulf Coast states lag behind other states in getting contracts for oil disaster work." Only 12% of the $53.3 million in federal oil-spill related contracts have gone to Louisiana companies. Most of the rest of that has been contracted to companies in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Colorado -- not to other Gulf Coast states suffering the direct environmental and socioeconomic consequences of this disaster.

People in other states need work too, and it seems quite plausible to me that some of corporations best able to execute the particular terms of some contracts are not Gulf Coast business. Maybe many Gulf Coast businesses were already at full capacity due to having already received state or local contracts or contracts directly from BP to do disaster-related work.

My point is I just don't know enough about the details to know whether we're getting shafted down here in the federal contracting game for this disaster. I do know, based on past experience, that we need to dig deeper into this before it becomes like the Katrina recovery in which local workers were brazenly left out of the citizen driven recovery we were promised. That is, if it's not too late. I blogged about it on 9/16/2006, and I'm going to be quite pissed if this sort of thing is happening again...

The Army Corps, Bechtel and Halliburton are using the very same "contract vehicles" in the Gulf Coast as they did in Afghanistan and Iraq. These are "indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity" open-ended "contingency" contracts that are being abused by the contractors on the Gulf Coast to squeeze out local companies. These are also "cost-plus" contracts that allow them to collect a profit on everything they spend, which is an incentive to overspend. [Corpwatch.org, 8/17/2006]

...and we were supposed to have learned our lesson so that our federal government could protect us from shady contract deals.

I hope that last part didn't make you laugh TOO HARD.

OMG! Obama Said "Spread the Wealth"!

Yes, at first I cringed too when Obama told Joe the Plumber he intends to "spread the wealth." However, by using my brain [dammit, I already lost 1/3 of the Republicans reading this], I realized that my reaction was nothing more than the knee-jerk response Americans have been indoctrinated to have towards anything remotely socialist-sounding. After a few more minutes of thinking, and without the help of Limbaugh or Hannity, I realized that spreading the wealth is as American as...well, as Obama.

In case you missed the last couple of weeks trying to decipher the transcript of Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric, you may have heard tidbits about some sort of $700 billion bail out for Wall Street. You see, that's where the American people's wealth was spread to billion-dollar corporations who fell short of their original goal of spreading our personal wealth to themselves using bad mortgages as their drive-thru-bank-cannister-vacuum-chute-like-thingy vehicle of choice. My fellow Americans, you may have also noticed that you've been spreading a bit more of your wealth to oil companies and then to credit card companies in the form of higher interest rates & late charges when you couldn't afford to pay them on account of having spent your bill money on gas for your automobile.

If you live along the coast, you'll definitely recall spreading pretty much all of your wealth to insurance companies that were already quite wealthy:

When insurers sharply boost premiums on the coasts, increase deductibles, refuse to renew policies or otherwise cut back coverage, policymakers often accept these steps as necessary to help the property/casualty insurance business meet the huge challenges it faces in a risky world filled with dangers that it cannot adequately measure...

...The financial reality of the property/casualty insurance industry couldn’t be more different than the carefully cultivated perception fostered by insurers. Insurers are paying out lower claims, charging higher premiums, reaping greater profits, and are more financially solid than at almost any time in history.

[p. 3, Property/Casualty Insurance in 2007: Overpriced Insurance, Underpaid Claims, Declining Losses and Unjustified Profits]

And remember when you made the decision to allocate your wealth for the worthy, moral cause of helping your countrymen and countrywomen rebuild their hurricane shattered lives? Well, our Republican leaders faithfully doled your wealth out in a heartily fashion -- to their already superwealthy pals.

So you see, America is all about spreading the wealth! I mean we love us some fuckin' wealth distribution!! Politicians love to talk about "sharing in the American dream." Remember to remind them -- and most importantly, remind yourselves -- that sharing in that dream requires sharing some of your own damn wealth back to you.

St. Bernard Redevelopment Rumored To Be Halted

Sources tell me that the redevelopment of the St. Bernard public housing complex has come to a screeching halt due to the Louisiana Housing Finance Authority's (LHFA) inability to secure investors to purchase the tax credits allocated to finance the project. I'm hoping this is not the case even as I write this because if true, we have been misled in the most egregious manner by our city officials. As I recall it, the riotous city council meeting at which the council voted to unanimously approve demolition, they and Mayor Nagin assured us that demolition could not proceed until all stipulations of the provisos attached to the order allowing demolition were met; and I believe one of the provisos was that the developers had to first prove that financing had been secured.

The Times-Picayune reported that enough funding was in place to "launch" the 1st phase of construction.

"the Bayou District Foundation has secured $62 million through low-income tax credits and $27 million from federal block grant money. That's enough to launch the first phase of 465 apartments next year."

Then again, it's the T-P. These are the same people who fervently endorsed Jindal for governor. However, to their credit, the same article reports that many had doubts about the reality of getting people to invest in tax credits for such an ambitious project -- twice the scope of the Atlanta East Lake project after which the St. Bernard plans are modeled.

Another few key points:
The redevelopers of the St. Bernard, Columbia Residential, are closely tied to the allegations of corruption that directly led to HUD Secretary Alphonso's firing or resignation or whatever the feds called it. This was reported by the OB Rag Blog on December 27, 2007, mere days after the council's vote to demolish the projects:

A report today in the online publication Government Executive details mounting evidence from federal investigations linking HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson to scandals in New Orleans-including the demoliton contract for the St. Bernard public housing complex.

"the feds are going after Scott Keller, described as Jackson’s “right arm,” for his role in steering the St. Bernard demo contract towrds Colombia Residential, a company Jackson once worked for, and which still owes him hundreds of thousands of dollars."

In June 2006, Sec. Jackson put Keller in charge of HUD. “Keller was smack in the middle of the HANO decision to award the $127 million redevelopment to the team that included Columbia Residential to restore [sic] the St. Bernard public housing projects”

“Internal HANO records show that the Columbia Residential team barely won the evaluation, 68 points to 67.”

One more thing. I'm also told that Columbia has already been paid $9 million dollars for demolition (also reported on the OB Rag Blog) compared to the $4 million dollars the developers of the other 3 housing projects were paid for demolition.

The McCain Economic Plan: Hoping Your Memory Is Failing Too

If you're wondering where I get my sharp, analytical eye, I must admit it's genetic. In this special Guest Blogger edition, I feature none other than Aunt Nee-Nee! Take it away:


McCains economic advisor is an executive at Swiss bank (in the US). The headlines say it all- McCain's man got paid to push an agenda. The world's worst president Bush at least waited until he was president before he said bend over.

1. $30BB to bail out Bear Sterns. Jacks$%t for the people losing their homes.

2. The Glass-Stegal Act was put in place when the collapse of Wall Street brought about the Great Depression. In 1999 McCain's economic advisor did away with that regulation, leading to the sub-prime mortgage debacle.

3. "McCain is counting on people having very short memories. and not being able to connect the dots." Sorry honey, we are in a failing economy. I'm reminded of this everyday. My memory would have to be gone, comatose like, not just short.


Well said, Nee Nee.

I'll only add that her timing in emailing this was quite uncanny because only days after receiving this, I was reading a book called Elite Deviance which mentioned McCain as one of a group of senators (one of whom was censured by Congress) who were instrumental in crafting a government bailout of the architects of the S&L Scandal, a.k.a. the costliest crime in the history of the United States. And I'm not being all hysterical in calling it a "crime"; people were sent to prison over this. Anyway, McCain's at it again, which is good news for those of you who miss the crime-ridden, high inflation / stagnation, jobless days of Reagan's era that McCain is very clear about his intention to recreate via his proposed policies.

But please know this: if you so much as even entertain buying a 50-cent McCain '08 bumper sticker, and I hear you complain about the price of gas or food, I will bitchslap the shit out of you.

Praise Jesus.

Jill on S-CHIP Veto (and Getting Your Priorities Straight!)

President Chimpy actually vetoed health insurance for children. FOR CHILDREN Y'ALL! Thirty-five billion dollars is apparently too much to spend on making sure working- & middle-class kids stay healthy. A trillion or so in tax cuts for the wealthy is apparently not. Neither is a few hundred billion to CONTRACT out this war and Katrina clean-up to cronies in his inner circle.

If you didn't make noise over the tax cuts which decimated the Treasury, if you didn't pitch a fit when the 3 states hardest hit by Katrina & Rita received only 16% of the billions Congress allocated for recovery, then maybe it's time you call folks like Sen. Vitter, who says he will not vote to override this veto and remind them we put them there to actually be of HELP! (I think "Vitty Cent" done really lost his damn mind as of late.)

My first ever guest blogger, Jill, is not pleased; and she is back to have a word with some of you (you know who you are):

It's on, people! PLEASE MAKE YOURSELVES HEARD ON THIS ISSUE! There are tools all over the web for you to write letters and send emails to your congressmen and women; there will be rallies held all over the country tomorrow as well. Also, now is as good a time as any to check your voter registration -- if you're not registered, get registered; if you need to update, do it.

At the risk of calling folks out, I'll go ahead and make it plain -- I got about a hundred emails from people about that ignorant Don Imus some months ago. I got a ton about the "Read a *&^%^ Book" video. Some folks even sent messages expressing outrage at PepsiCo for taking "in God we trust" off of their marketing materials or some similar foolishness. If y'all have time and energy to engage that madness -- you've certainly got time and energy enough to stand up for the health and wellness of our poor and near poor children. Let your reps know in no uncertain terms that this is a priority issue, and their vote gets yours. Let's go!

All the best,

Jill

Ohhhh, Alberto!

Oh look, Albie! Here's some FEMA fraud you can prosecute!

It's been about a month since CorpWatch released their report on disaster area profiteering. So, Albie, the good American taxpaying folks down here, scraping by financially since we haven't seen that post-disaster economic boon we been promised, were just wondering what progress the good ole U.S. of A. Attorney General's office has been making in cracking down on THESE fraudulent disaster claims.

The Army Corps, Bechtel and Halliburton are using the very same "contract vehicles" in the Gulf Coast as they did in Afghanistan and Iraq. These are "indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity" open-ended "contingency" contracts that are being abused by the contractors on the Gulf Coast to squeeze out local companies. These are also "cost-plus" contracts that allow them to collect a profit on everything they spend, which is an incentive to overspend.

CorpWatch.org

Hmmm...I wonder where that economic boon is?