Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Despite Colorado Sen. and ObamaCare voter Udall's efforts, Colorado Dept. of Insurance still says 250,000 Coloradoans had insurance cancelled due to ObamaCare. Udall wanted number lowered to 73,000

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"The state’s Department of Insurance still estimates that 250,000 Coloradoans were affected by insurance cancellations due to the Affordable Care Act — for which Udall voted."
 
3/18/14, "New emails released on Dem senator’s resistance to Obamacare cancellation numbers," Daily Caller, Sarah Hurtubise

"New emails have been released about whether Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall pressured a state agency to change its estimate of Obamacare cancellations.

Udall wanted the state Department of Insurance to downgrade its estimate of Obamacare-related insurance cancellations from 250,000 to just 73,000, because some Colorado residents were offered replacement plans.

After releasing his own estimate in November, Udall plunged the state government into a media storm involving Gov. John Hickenlooper’s communications director and the insurance commissioner, according to the newly released emails.

“Udall is broad brushing and assuming that because Anthem and Kaiser offered early renewals, the people who received that option after receiving a cellation [sic] notice should not be counted. 

Commissioner Salazar would like to tell Sen. Udall that 250,000 people were in fact affected by cancellation notices,” insurance department director of external affairs Jo Donlin wrote in November, according to the new release.

Insurance commissioner Alan Salazar even offered to have an employee “run interference” with Udall’s staff for Donlin. Although Salazar considered it “perfectly alright to communicate directly with their office,” it may be indication that the senator’s office was hostile. 

Others have tried to mitigate public outcry against the 5 million Obamacare cancellations nationwide by touting replacement options, but in a number of cases the compliant replacement plans are much more expensive.

Obamacare’s added requirements — from mandated “essential health benefit” services that insurers must cover, to minimum actuarial values for plans, to upped limits on yearly benefits — force up the prices.

The state’s Department of Insurance still estimates that 250,000 Coloradoans were affected by insurance cancellations due to the Affordable Care Act
— for which Udall voted. But when the agency released its report detailing the cancellations, Donlin emailed colleagues warning that the senator’s office had tried to “trash” their numbers. (RELATED: Sen. Mark Udall tried to ‘trash’ independent Obamacare cancellation numbers)
When the department didn’t back down, Donlin then reported a “very hostile” phone call from Udall’s deputy chief of staff, first reported by Complete Colorado in January.
After the emails were released, a panel from Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies cleared Udall’s office of wrongdoing, but provided no documentation.

Udall is up for reelection in November."


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3/17/2013, "New Udall-cancellation emails released by state," completecolorado.com, Todd Shepherd

"New emails have been released relating to U.S. Senator Mark Udall and his staff questioning the final tabulation of health care policy cancellations across Colorado in 2013.

Originally, the Division of Insurance (DOI) legally withheld the emails from a Colorado Open Records Act request via the “deliberative process” privilege*.  On Wednesday, March 12, CompleteColorado.com asked the DOI to waive the privilege, which would then require them to release the emails. That request was granted early this morning, Monday, March 17.

The emails add support to the notion that the DOI disagreed with the narrative Udall’s office was trying to supplant, arguing that because a majority of cancelled plans were also offered renewal opportunities, no “cancellation” had actually happened.

In a portion of  an email sent by the DOI’s Director of External Affairs, Jo Donlin said:

“Udall is broad brushing and assuming that because Anthem and Kaiser offered early renewals, the people who received that option after receiving a cellation [sic] notice should not be counted. 

Commissioner Salazar would like to tell Sen. Udall that 250,000 people were in fact affected by cancellation notices.”

Emails originally obtained by CompleteColorado.com in January created controversy for the Senator and his vote for President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  In one of those emails, Donlin said Udall’s office was trying to “trash” the cancellation numbers as tallied by the DOI.  In another email, Donlin complained that she received a “very hostile” call from Udall’s deputy chief of staff after she had informed the Senator’s office that the DOI was unlikely to change or modify their calculation of 250,000 policy cancellations in 2013.

The flap ultimately forced the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA, which is the parent agency to the Division of Insurance) to create a “panel” to investigate whether or not Donlin had been intimidated or bullied by Udall’s staff.  DORA’s investigation supposedly cleared Udall’s staff of any wrongdoing or untoward activity, but yet another controversy was created when DORA was forced to admit they had no documentation whatsoever of the panel or its activities.

Most of the new emails released are from November 15, one day after Udall’s office made its original inquiries with Donlin and the DOI about the cancellation numbers.

Udall’s office did eventually issue their own press release, which netted them a significant story in the Denver Post. In another email, Donlin sent a link of the online Denver Post story to her colleagues, pointing out that the story quoted “Sen. Udall staff,” which seems to highlight that the story did not name an individual directly."... 

All of the new emails provided today are embedded or linked below.

Additional emails:

Alan Salazar, political advisor to Governor Hickenlooper – “run interference

DORA Director Barbara Kelley “agrees with our position

Donlin tells Alan Salazar says we’re getting calls about “Udall’s numbers.”"

*The deliberative process privilege allows for documents that otherwise would be open records to be withheld if “the material is so candid or personal that public disclosure is likely to stifle honest and frank discussion within the government,” according to Colorado Revised Statute § 24-72-204(3)(a)(XIII)." via Free Rep.

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11/15/13, "Were Coloradans canceled, or offered a renewal of their health policy?" The Denver Post, Michael Booth

"More than two-thirds of the 250,000 people whose health policies the state Division of Insurance said last week were "terminated" have actually been offered renewals of existing plans through 2014, according to research by U.S. Sen. Mark Udall's office.

Thousands more of those can keep policies because they were "grandfathered" under different Affordable Care Act rules, Colorado insurance companies said, complicating the raging debate over Obamacare.

Insurance companies have been sending out cancellation notices to consumers with plans that don't meet minimum benefit levels required by the health care act. President Obama on Thursday said those consumers should be able to keep their current plans through 2014, though he did not make rescinding the cancellations mandatory, or offer details."...



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