When It Fails to Make Sense ... Follow the Money...

[MedusaX]

There are a few plausible, yet unjustifiable, motivations behind TrumpedUpCare...
(45 jealous of Obama; KGOP sadistic SOB's ... Tax cuts for 1%, etc)

But fiscally, there is zero logic behind the whole WAIVER component.

The 30% penalty for lapse of coverage is a strong arm tactic to encourage everyone to buy a policy every year...
This makes sense if you are charging a single rate regardless of health status...

Allowing for a certain incremental premium increases as one's age increases is also a justifiable component of a universal coverage /premium structure in order to address the increased needs associated with aging.

BUT
if your structure is designed to maximize participation and
distribute the risk related costs across all participants
in order to maintain affordable premiums for all...
then

Why would you allow states to establish
their own coverage and premium related requirements
which will only serve to substantially increase the cost of premiums

and then

Agree to allocate federal funds specifically
to subsidize those increased costs?

Effectively, this is nothing more than the creation of state level shell companies --
By establishing contrived state level markets in which individuals are charged arbitrarily determined premiums --
Solely for the purpose of
concealing the transfer of federal dollars directly to the insurance providers by legally creating sources of artificially inflated profits subsidized by federal dollars.


Now consider the industry tax breaks included in the bill...
which benefit the pharmaceutical manufacturers,
medical device providers,
and the insurance companies' executive levels of management.


Could it just be an amazing coincidence

that Mikhail Fridman,
a Russian oligarch who is the head of LetterOne (Alfa Bank & Alfa Group),
decided to enter the US Healthcare market
just after Trump secured enough primary wins to guarantee him the Republican party nomination?

Fridman also announced that he would be investing 2-3 billion, of the 12.5 billion dollars he received from selling his stake in TNK-BP to ROSNEFT, in the US Healthcare market over a three year period.

What timing!

Entering the healthcare marketplace just as an opportunity arises to provide a product
to a newly created market
at a legally inflated price,
5 to 35 times the standard market price,
which is directly subsidized by federal funds!!

And, as part of his companies executive team, he also benefits from the new industry related tax breaks as well as the newly proposed corporate income tax rate reduction!!!!

All of that ROI for a mere 2-3 billion dollar investment...


Yet another Amazing Coincidence--

Richard Burt, a US citizen and registered foreign agent,
is a paid advisor for LetterOne as well as the paid lobbyist for a Russian Federation gas pipeline project.
He also served as an unpaid advisor to the Trump campaign team in the areas of Foreign Policy and National Security.

He provided white papers to
Jeff Sessions on these topics,
gave speeches at campaign team dinners,
and was responsible for shaping Trumps first Foreign Policy speech
which was attended, along with a VIP reception, by Russian Ambassador Kislyak.


And wouldn't you know it....
Another Amazing Coincidence....

LetterOne (M. Fridman) is the major shareholder in VimpleCom telecommunications (now VEON)
And
Robert Mercer (RenTec & Breitbart) holds investment in the company as well.

And it just happens that,
earlier this year,
Fridman/VimpleCom was fined $835 million, related to US and Dutch charges filed under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,
for bribing a Uzbekistan government official between 2006-2012
using funds which passed through the US as part of the laundering process.

The fine was discounted due to Fridman's cooperation with the investigation.

Hmmmmm.......
Just how cooperative was he, I wonder?




http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0YS1OL

https://www.vimpelcom.com/Investor-relations/Share-information/Share-ownership/

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/russias-vimpelcom-pay-835-mn-233823120.html

http://reverbpress.com/politics/breaking-exclusive-top-trump-financier-linked-to-russian-big-data-putin/

[BigmanPigman]

1. Brilliant! That's the best summary since Reader's Digest. I applaud you!

[pnwmom]

2. THANK YOU for your work putting this all together! I had thought about Fridman

and wondered what his part was in all of this, and you've helped connect the dots.

[hedda_foil]

3. Kick for morning visibility.

[dalton99a]

4. It's all coincidences

The coincidences are tremendous, folks

[Bengus81]

5. I've wondered too just how could carriers like BCBS be happy about what could happen....

I don't buy the crap that everyone them and other insurance companies cover basically LIVE at their doctors office or an operating room. I've had BCBS since 2010 before the ACA and after. How many claims have I had in 7+ years--ZERO.

BCBS of Kansas is now getting nearly $850 per month between myself and the ACA---they raised my premium about $300.00 PER MONTH for 2017. If Trump and his goons get the ACA thown in the dumpster then BCBS will lose me--and a FAT monthy check. I'm retired and I will never have $600 per month to shell out for health care each month. I can't be the only fairly healthy person who has little to no claims per year.

So just how excited can THEY be about this repeal process. OR...are they STUPID enough to think that everyone will just somehow come up with 10-15 times what they now pay?? My ass...........