Kentucky Death Spiral: Biggest ObamaCare insurer seeks 25% rate hike

The Kentucky Health Cooperative was created with tax dollars under ObamaCare and kept afloat with subsequent grants of millions more. Now they want a twenty five percent average premium increase for 2016, according to Ronda Sloan of the Kentucky Department of Insurance.

This information came after repeated requests made to the Department of Insurance to divulge premium information the Obama Administration appears to be sitting on.

"I'm still waiting to see their official filing because this 'average' rate increase language looks a little fishy," said David Adams, leading opponent of ObamaCare in Kentucky. "Obamacrats have been consistently untrustworthy and slow to tell the whole truth since the beginning of their health reform debacle, so I won't be surprised at all if it is even worse than we are being told."

Six states ducking required ObamaCare transparency; one blames Obama

When yesterday's deadline for states to post 2016 ObamaCare health premiums passed, all but California, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York and Rhode Island had complied. But only Kentucky was blaming President Obama for the failure.

Kentucky Department of Insurance spokeswoman Ronda Sloan insists the Obama Administration has Kentucky's rates and is choosing not to make them available to the public.

"We are waiting to hear when Kentucky's submitted information will be posted to the federal site," Sloan said, while refusing repeated requests to make the rates available herself.

So far only the Louisville Courier Journal has expressed even minimal interest in the controversy among the mainstream media types and Sloan has stopped responding to emails. Those hidden rates can't stay hidden forever.

Kentucky misses June 1 ObamaCare transparency deadline; blames Obama

Kentucky Department of Insurance spokeswoman Ronda Sloan said state officials sent 2016 ObamaCare health insurance premium information to federal authorities for posting on the healthcare.gov web site, but the rates were not published yesterday.

"We are waiting to hear when Kentucky's submitted information will be posted to the federal site," she said.

While appearing to throw the President of the United States under the bus for missing the required transparency deadline, Sloan also refused repeated attempts to merely divulge the information so it could be published here.

"The complete filings are available through open records," she said.

The apparent disdain for the public's right to know and even federal law drew a swift rebuke from Kentucky's most vocal critic of state and federal health reform shenanigans.

"Obama and Beshear have treated the law like toilet paper so many times in turning our doctor's offices into police state outposts we have become numb to the shock," said David Adams, plaintiff in a legal effort to curtail Kentucky's participation in ObamaCare. "But there is only one reason they would not want us to see the upcoming health insurance premiums in a timely fashion. If we are paying attention at all, the politician who should get hit hard on this right away is Jack Conway."

Trouble in ObamaCare's Bluegrass paradise?

Barack Obama and Steve Beshear aren't ready for you to see how much ObamaCare is going up in Kentucky.

Recent data on Kentucky's skyrocketing ObamaCare health premiums has been scrubbed from the state's Department of Insurance web site for weeks, but full disclosure of proposed rate increases was supposed to be posted today, according to Ronda Sloan of the Kentucky Department of Insurance.

"We are waiting to hear when Kentucky’s submitted information will be posted on the federal site. We were told earlier that the states’ information would be going online gradually throughout the day. If I hear anything later this evening, I will send you an email," Sloan said.

It is common sense that if the rate increase information were good, Beshear and Jack Conway would have been choking back tears at a press conference earlier today.

Obamacrats forcing Kentucky court officers to break state law for health "reform"

Kentucky probation and parole officers have been instructed this afternoon to sign their clients up for ObamaCare, Kim Murphy, Kynect Program Coordinator, said.

"We have been informed that all of the Probation and Parole officers statewide were going to be instructed to make sure everyone they see gets signed up (for ObamaCare)," she said. Murphy added that judges around the state have already been making ObamaCare enrollment a condition of release from prison.

Newly released ex-offenders are already eligible to sign up for ObamaCare, but the idea of forcing them to sign up or face being sent back to jail is new -- and problematic.

KRS 439.500(1)(a) prohibits probation and parole officers from using their office to influence the political action of any person. In the NFIB case, the United States Supreme Court explained "(n)either the Act nor any other law attaches negative legal consequences to not buying health insurance, beyond requiring payment to the IRS. The Government agrees with that reading, confirming that if someone chooses to pay rather than obtain health insurance, they have fully complied with the law."

So if not purchasing ObamaCare is not a matter of breaking the law, then forcing someone to become an ObamaCare statistic is clearly a political act. Probation and parole officers in Kentucky can't do that, so forcing them to violates state law.

ObamaCare Kynect hell breaks loose Monday

The Kentucky Department of Insurance is required by federal law to post ObamaCare rate increase requests on Monday and they are widely expected to demonstrate more health reform failure, just as the fall campaign for Governor gets started.

"This weekend it will be official that Kentucky Republicans have nominated in Matt Bevin a candidate who has not wavered or played word games with real opposition to ObamaCare to run against a Democrat who has hid under his bed during the whole controversy," said David Adams, plaintiff in the legal effort to shut down Kentucky's state-run ObamaCare "exchange."

"Kentucky's ObamaCare 'public option' is insolvent and the expected death spiral is underway," Adams said. "It's going to be a very bumpy ride for Kentuckians still expecting ObamaCare to work."

Will T. Scott responds to newspaper endorsing someone else in GOP primary for Governor

Asking the Herald-Leader editorial board to pick the best Republican for governor is like taking a skunk on a coon hunt. Nevertheless, I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the fact they did not endorse me.

Kentucky is in bad shape. The next governor will find Frankfort's cupboards bare and hungry people beating on the doors of the Capitol calling on resources we don't have. This is not a time for trusting state government to someone seeking to make a statement or build a resume.

We need a problem-solver and that's what I am.

We need to fix a $34 billion hole in our public pension system. The longer we wait, the worse it gets and the more Kentuckians will suffer.

We can prevent that by amending our state constitution to allow limited casino gambling and requiring that revenue from this activity pay this huge debt. Kentuckians are already gambling in casinos, but the money is going to other states to help them pay their bills.

We need to stop throwing away the lives of young Kentuckians afflicted with drug addictions when they are willing to be saved. Tossing nonviolent drug addicts in prison with hardened criminals is an enormous waste of life and must be corrected for our state to reach its potential. I have a detailed plan to fix this.

And unlike my opponents, I will close Obamacare Kynect my first day in office.

Please learn more about my background and plans at www.willtscott.com.

Will T. Scott

Will T. Scott for Kentucky Governor 2015

Kentucky Downs already a casino, but won't help state's $34 billion pension problem until we act

Kentucky Downs racetrack in Franklin, Kentucky is running a casino with gambling currently prohibited by state law, said Republican gubernatorial candidate Will T. Scott.

"I've been there to see it and there is nothing about historical horse racing or parimutuel betting about it," Scott said. "They have slot machines all over the place just like you would see in Reno."

Scott has made solving Kentucky's massive $34 billion pension underfunding problem with limited casino gambling at horse tracks a key part of his platform this year.

"The way to do it is to require in the Constitution revenues from the expanded gambling go to pay our biggest unpaid bill first and that's pensions," Scott said.

Kentucky's ObamaCare "Cooperative" is insolvent

A Standard and Poor's research report issued this week finds the Kentucky Health Cooperative, an ObamaCare creation funded initially by federal dollars and then bailed out with tens of millions of dollars more last year, is insolvent.

The report analyzed health insurers' requests for risk corridor receivables. Those are funds supposed to be taken from profitable insurers and given to unprofitable ones under ObamaCare. Kentucky Health Cooperative booked more "receivables" expected to be coming from the risk corridor program than the company has in capital, which includes mostly federal loan and bailout funds.

According to the report, the Kentucky insurer booked an amount of risk corridor receivables equal to 117% of capital, more than every other insurer in the nation except one. The bad news for them and their customers is S&P estimates the risk corridor program is less than ten percent funded and there is no likelihood of Congress acting to make up the difference. That means the Kentucky Health Cooperative is toast.

Cooperative officials appear to be refusing all requests for comment and the Kentucky Department of Insurance has pulled down their web page that used to allow consumers to view rate increase requests.

Hal Heiner's ObamaCare meltdown

Hal Heiner is either confused about the difference between the ObamaCare exchange and the Medicaid expansion or he has swallowed the left-wing KoolAid about what happens on the way to ending ObamaCare.

On a Kentucky Sports Radio debate today, Heiner said: "I am not willing to kick 330,000 people to the curb and destroy the healthcare system that's available..." That was in response to a question about Heiner's continued squishiness on ObamaCare.

The point is that since the very early days of the campaign, no one is talking about the impossible task of reversing the Medicaid expansion from the Governor's office. The question was about shutting down the state-run ObamaCare exchange, which will have no impact on the Medicaid expansion. Defaulting to the federal exchange involves no innocent victims, much less Heiner's imaginary 330,000 being "kicked to the curb."

My favorite part from Heiner was the bit about destroying the healthcare system. I'm guessing he just started his post-primary pivot to the left earlier than a more disciplined establishment politician would.

Jamie Comer wrong on freedom of speech

It's no secret gubernatorial candidate James Comer has been talking to lawyers about people talking to bloggers. Looks like he may need some better advice or something.

Comer claimed in a radio debate today in Louisville that Hal Heiner's campaign violated the law by speaking to a Lexington blogger.

Speaking to Heiner, Comer said "if you see an email that was sent from your running mate to this blogger, encouraging this blogger to contact all the Republican Party chairs and vice-chairs of the state and spreading lies about me, coordinating -- which is illegal on its own -- with this blogger, how would you react to that as the leader of your ticket with your running mate and your campaign staff?"

I would love to challenge Comer to show us the statute forbidding conversation, interaction or -- if you must -- coordination between a blogger and a candidate or a member of a campaign staff. He can't do it, of course, because no such prohibition exists anywhere.

This is really getting embarrassing. Ignorance of the law is no excuse for someone speeding in a school zone. That should go ten times more for someone who claims he wants to be Governor. The state government's chief executive officer is charged with faithfully executing state law. How can he be expected to do that if he doesn't even understand citizens' rights regarding our ability to speak to each other?

Heiner, again: I will do NOTHING on ObamaCare

The Bowling Green Daily News has posted answers to questions asked of Republican gubernatorial candidate Hal Heiner. One exchange in particular shows clearly why he cannot be trusted to represent the GOP this fall:

What are your plans for the Kentucky health care exchange and how do you plan on putting them into effect?

Heiner: "I have called for a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act and stand with (Kentucky GOP) Sens. (Mitch) McConnell and (Rand) Paul in doing so. In the meantime, we are left with an expanded Medicaid system that must be reformed – both to protect the survival of our rural hospitals but also to fit within our budget constraints as a commonwealth. As governor, I'll work to bring accountability and personal responsibility into our health care system by introducing programs that are working in other states – health savings accounts, deductibles and health incentives that can bring down costs for the entire system. As a Frankfort outsider, I plan to bring this type of thoughtful, conservative leadership to the governor's office on day one."

Choosing only to cheer for repeal of ObamaCare is the role of a powerless bystander, not a Governor with explicit powers spelled out in the language of the "Affordable Care Act," as well as the Constitution. Only Will T. Scott has promised to shut down Kynect, the state-run ObamaCare exchange, on his first day in office. Heiner's only response to Scott's decisive action on this front is to complain vaguely about taking "healthcare" away from Kentuckians. With Republicans like this, who needs Democrats?

James Comer's six figure gift from taxpayers to Democrat politician begs further explanation

A question from the audience at Saturday's gubernatorial debate in Nicholasville surprised some audience members when all four candidates said they had made campaign contributions to Democrats in past elections, but the rest of the story is more interesting and requires more damage control from James Comer's faltering campaign.

Comer said he had given to one Democrat -- former State Representative Richard Henderson, who lost his seat last November after getting caught up in a cockfighting scandal. But there was a Comer beneficiary who got quite a bit more than a $100 check from Commissioner Comer.

Former State Representative Fred Nesler (D) received a $100,000 taxpayer-provided boost to his state pension in June 2012 when Comer appointed him to an executive position in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. This huge gift was made possible by Comer's vote for HB 299 from 2005, which he has had a horrible time trying to explain. (Click here for an amazing video of Comer falling all over himself and trying to blame others for his absurd vote.)

Given Comer's incoherent and painful non-explanations of his vote to pad his pocket some $500,000 at your expense, getting him to talk about why he spread your wealth on to his Democratic friend should provide him further embarrassment.

Will T. Scott urges drug policy overhaul

We can fix Kentucky's failing approach to drug addiction starting with an innovative state program to guarantee safety of potential employees with past felony drug problems, said Republican gubernatorial candidate Will T. Scott.

"Our prisons are not doing their job, protecting you," Scott said. Without a different approach, a never-ending cycle of theft, robberies and worse make victims of innocent Kentuckians. "Of the people in prison due to addiction-related criminal activity, at least sixty percent will commit new crimes within three years of their release from prison," Scott said.

Scott proposes a Kentucky Certified Worker program funded with fees charged to inmates to insure employers against losses caused by rehabilitated felons. The program will provide an opportunity for rehabilitated Kentuckians to build productive lives as opposed to a life sentence in the shadows or worse.

"That means a decent job and, as Merle Haggard sang, 'having pride in who I am.'"

Part of the solution to Kentucky's worsening drug problems is more comprehensive use of drug courts with an emphasis on rehabilitation outside of prisons and in minimum security facilities for less money than we currently spend.

"This new path will work and it will make our homes, garages, highways and businesses much safer at a much lower cost," Scott said.

Justice Scott also proposes a tougher law enforcement approach against the distribution of heroin.

"Heroin transport, sales and use will be under attack like never before," Scott said, referencing a plan to deter importation of heroin from other states.

Scott refers often to the hope of recovery and a strong desire to help rescue Kentuckians from the ravages of addiction and restoration to full productivity, including expungement of criminal records in some cases, including restoration of all rights of citizenship.

"What I'm really telling you is to the extent we can truly rebuild a justice system that really rehabilitates our addicted prisoners and helps them rebuild their lives, pride and confidence in themselves, then we can and will be safe again in our homes, businesses and garages."

Kentucky GOP delegation pounces on Comer, Heiner

A letter signed by nearly all Kentucky's entire Republican congressional delegation and delivered today took aim directly at gubernatorial candidates Hal Heiner and James Comer. The letter also invited all gubernatorial candidates to a post-election "Unity Rally" May 30 in Frankfort at GOP Headquarters.

"It is absolutely essential that we challenge a government-run healthcare system that is limiting choices and driving up costs for so many of our fellow citizens," the letter explained.

Comer and Heiner have been inconsistent at best in challenging the ObamaCare government-run healthcare system beginning last summer when they both told the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce they would take no action against the Kynect health insurance "exchange" which inspired another candidate to join the race. Both then reiterated their ambivalence in February in a national publication.

Heiner, Comer: Republicans made us do it

Gubernatorial candidates James Comer and Hal Heiner told the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce last summer they would do nothing to shut down ObamaCare's Kynect program in Kentucky. This February, they both told National Journal the same thing. They've both bristled at criticism received for going squishy on this key topic, but at least until now they haven't blamed other Republicans for their bad decisions.

Enter April and the issues of pensions and guns.

Last week, Comer shocked and awed primary election voters when he was asked by the Courier Journal's Joe Gerth why he voted himself a half million dollar pension gift from taxpayers when he was a legislator:

When asked why he voted for the bill to begin with, Comer hesitated for eight seconds. “Well, you know, there’s, it’s, the a, that was a, clearly a bad vote,” he said, before noting that Senate President Robert Stivers and current U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie voted for it.

When asked what he saw in the bill that made him like it in 2005, Comer said, “You know, ... I can’t remember that far back.”

That was last week. Then today, Heiner's campaign blamed a bad vote he made on banning guns on "ten other Republicans" who did the same.

Comer: send Heiner to jail for five years

Republican gubernatorial candidate James Comer has figured out one way to beat Hal Heiner. He wants to send him to jail.

When a 501(c)(4) group called Citizens for Sound Government started running an ad attacking Comer for padding his pension in the legislature and for collecting federal farm subsidies, Comer responded as if the attacks came directly from Heiner himself. If true, that's a big problem.

"It's very discouraging Heiner would break his pledge to run a positive campaign," Comer told CN2 Politics. "I have a theory of who that donor may be (to Citizens for Sound Government.) It may be the same donor in his campaign."

Comer's clear suggestion that the 501(c)(4) ad was made in coordination with Heiner, would be an in-kind contribution under KRS 121.015 and subject to a $1000 limit under KRS 121.150. Under KRS 121.990(3), such a violation of contribution limits by Heiner would be a Class D Felony which could, under KRS 121.990(4), result in the Republican Party of Kentucky not having a nominee on the general election ballot if Heiner were nominated and removed after a successful complaint by the Democratic nominee.

Comer and Heiner should talk about this nonsense a lot more between now and May 19.

Anthem doubles 2015 small group ObamaCare rate hike

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield small group health plans increased their customers' premiums 7.1% this past January 1, presumably for all of 2015. But it won't stay that way.

Anthem has requested an additional six percent from the Kentucky Department of Insurance, which routinely rubber-stamps such applications. The increase is set to take effect July 1.

If you are keeping score at home, that's a 13.1% increase for the largest small group health insurer in Kentucky in 2015 amid repeated claims from Obamacrats of the health law's great success.

Will T. Scott parachutes into lead

Gubernatorial candidate and former Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott will perform a 3500 foot parachute jump to honor Kentucky's veterans on Monday, March 16 at 11 am ET in Elizabethtown, KY. The jump will take place at Skydive Kentucky, Elizabethtown Airport, 1824 Kitty Hawk Drive in Elizabethtown.

The jump will take place promptly at 11 am ET (weather permitting -- may have to wait briefly for 3500 foot ceiling). After the jump, Justice Scott and his running mate Sheriff Rodney Coffey will lay out their Kentucky Veterans Platform, including the following: 

The Scott-Coffey Administration's veteran-friendly focus will provide enhanced job preferences for veterans. Scott will continue his efforts and support for Kentucky Supreme Court Veterans treatment courts he helped build for veterans' "unseen" wounds. Scott and Coffey will work to enact a charitable property tax exemption for veterans' non-profit lodges like those in Ohio. Scott and Coffey will build veterans cemeteries in far western Kentucky and far south-eastern Kentucky. 

Scott and Coffey will announce and discuss their Kentucky Korean and Vietnam veterans "Coming Home March" for the afternoon of December 8, 2015 immediately following the swearing in of our next Governor and Lieutenant Governor. All Kentucky Korean and Vietnam war veterans will be encouraged to assemble at the Old Transportation Building Plaza in Frankfort and thereafter walk, march or ride (with or without assistance) up through Capitol Avenue to the Capitol steps, to there be received and welcomed home by a respected national figure and finally thanked for their service and dismissed. 

"After 61 years and 45 years, we are finally coming home," Scott said.

They will also announce and discuss Sheriff Coffey's charitable Wounded Warriors bicycle ride across Kentucky from Ashland to Paducah in April to raise money locally for Wounded Warriors projects.