Leave it to republicans.

Our friends at Fired Up posted on this Twitter item by Renee Hulshof, spouse of former Congressman and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof (r):

My husband is convinced that the dems will get healthcare passed. This educated prediction from him is freaking me out.

[Note: according to Twitter – “This person has protected their tweets.”]

Huh? Why, because millions of Americans might be able to get access to affordable health care and just might be able to do so even if the have a pre-existing condition?

Kenny Hulshoff (r) was elected to Congress in 1996 with 49.4% of the vote. He served until January 2009, not seeking re-election and instead deciding to lose to Jay Nixon in the 2008 gubernatorial race by only garnering 39.5% of the vote. Kenny Hulshof (r) served in Congress for twelve years.

While in Congress Kenny Hulshof and his spouse were eligible to participate in the federal health insurance program [pdf] for members. Among its provisions:

…Members meeting minimum enrollment period requirements who are also eligible for an immediate annuity may continue to participate in the health benefit program when they retire…

Okay, Kenny Hulshof has “retired”, but we don’t know if continues to participate. Do you think anyone will bother to ask him?

…enrollees are not subject to pre-existing condition exclusion…

If it’s good enough for Congress it’s too good for anyone else?

…At the time of retirement, members…receiving an immediate annuity have a one-time election to continue to participate…provided they have been enrolled for at least five years before retirement (or if less, must have been enrolled from the last day in the period in which the employee became eligible to enroll in the plan up to the date on which the employee became an annuitant) and are eligible for an immediate annuity. Like active workers, retirees may enroll as individuals or may elect family coverage for themselves, their spouse…

Now, we don’t know if former Congressman Kenny Hulshof (r) and his spouse were ever enrolled in the federal health insurance program for Congress or if they are presently eligible as “retiree and spouse” for coverage, but in as far as the former, wasn’t it nice to have that option? Too bad that option isn’t available to everyone else. Apparently the prospect of this happening is enough to freak out Renee Hulshof.

Leave it to republicans.

GOP governors consider turning down stimulus money

By Melinda Deslatte

Associated Press Writer

Posted: 02/19/2009 06:37:07 AM MST

BATON ROUGE, La. » A handful of Republican governors are considering turning down some money from the federal stimulus package, a move opponents say puts conservative ideology ahead of the needs of constituents struggling with record foreclosures and soaring unemployment….

Yep, if Jay Nixon (D) wasn’t governor at this point we’d be in a world of hurt because, you know, like many other right wingnuts Missouri House Speaker Ron Richard (r) has a problem with the stimulus:

Missouri GOP not sold on stimulus

Republican leaders decry much-debated package at annual Lincoln Day.

Chad Livengood • News-Leader • February 8, 2009

…House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, suggested Missouri reject any federal bailout money and “just send it on back” to Washington.

“We could do that,” Richard told about 225 Republicans at the annual event at the University Plaza Hotel…

But you won’t, will you? Because we’re lucky enough to have a Democrat in the governor’s mansion who isn’t an idiot, much unlike that hypocritical republican queen of federal largess and earmarks in Alaska or those right wingnut republican base pandering fools in Idaho, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Texas.

Interesting that Bush is back in town for a big fundraiser on behalf of Hulshof’s flailing gubernatorial campaign. I say interesting because it was unclear that Bush would come at all due to the problems with the bailout bill. And now Hulshof voted against the bailout bill again. I guess Bush is just the forgiving type.

Jay Nixon’s statement on Bush’s visit:

“”The failed economic policies of President Bush, supported by Congressman Hulshof, have created what looks to be the worst economic crisis in more than a generation.  While Washington is focused on bailing out Wall Street, the people of Missouri continue to feel the real pain of this broken economy.  Families are struggling to pay the bills, jobs are leaving our state and everyone is worried about what the future will bring.

We have an election around the corner and everyone is campaigning aggressively, but by embracing President Bush in the midst of this

economic meltdown, Congressman Hulshof is reminding the people of

Missouri why it’s so important that we take our state in a new direction. After voting lockstep with President Bush to create this economic crisis, Congressman Hulshof is not the change we need here in Missouri. We simply can’t afford it.”

SurveyUSA released a 705 sample poll of “likely voters” in Missouri on September 25th which was in the field from September 23rd through the 24th. The poll runs head to head match ups in the governor race between Attorney General Jay Nixon (D) and Kenny Hulshof (r) (and the two leading other minor party candidates on the ballot). The margin of error is 3.8%.

The poll was sponsored by KCTV in Kansas City.

Missouri voters will also elect a Governor. If the election for Governor were today, would you vote for (choices rotated) Republican Kenny Hulshof? Democrat Jay Nixon? Libertarian Andrew Finkenstadt? Or Constitution Party candidate Gregory Thompson?

All

Kenny Hulshof (R) – 37%

Jay Nixon (D)- 55%

Andrew Finkenstadt (L) – 2%

Gregory Thompson (CP) – 2%

Undecided – 5%

Some of the crosstabs:

Party Affiliation

Democrats [38% of sample]

Kenny Hulshof (R) – 11%

Jay Nixon (D) – 83%

Andrew Finkenstadt (L) – 1%

Gregory Thompson (CP) – 2%

Undecided – 3%

republicans [32% of sample]

Kenny Hulshof (R) – 72%

Jay Nixon (D) – 23%

Andrew Finkenstadt (L) – 1%

Gregory Thompson (CP) – 2%

Undecided – 2%

Independents [23% of sample]

Kenny Hulshof (R) – 34%

Jay Nixon (D) – 49%

Andrew Finkenstadt (L) – 6%

Gregory Thompson (CP) – 2%

Undecided – 9%

Gender

Male [50% of sample]

Kenny Hulshof (R) – 39%

Jay Nixon (D) – 53%

Andrew Finkenstadt (L) – 4%

Gregory Thompson (CP) – 2%

Undecided – 3%

Female [50% of sample]

Kenny Hulshof (R) – 35%

Jay Nixon (D) – 56%

Andrew Finkenstadt (L) – 1%

Gregory Thompson (CP) – 2%

Undecided – 7%

Not much of a gender gap. Then again, when you’re down by 18 points forty or so days out all the “sub-gaps” get subsumed by stark reality.

Mr. 24% will be in Saint Louis on October 3rd to raise money for the sagging campaign of Kenny Hulshof. Bush may not be popular, but he is apparently still expected to draw the big bucks – $2,000 just to attend the dinner, $25,000 for a private reception and photo op.

On August 28, 2008, our campaign finance world changed. In addition to lifting individual campaign contribution limits, there’s a new reporting requirement for those really big contributions:

130.044 [pdf]

“All individuals and committees required to file disclosure reports under section 130.041 shall electronically report any contribution by any single contributor which exceeds five thousand dollars to the Missouri ethics Commission within forty eight hours of receiving the contribution. Such reports shall contain the same content required under section 130.041 and shall be filed in accordance with the standards established by the commission for electronic filing and other rules the commission may deem necessary to promulgate for the effective administration of this section.”

Let’s take a look at Kenny Hulshof’s reports (the fun part!). The first, from August 29, 2008, filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission. Twenty-four hours after the limits were lifted:

8/29/08 [pdf]

Schnucks Markets Inc. St. Louis, MO 63146 8/28/2008 25,000.00

Metro Heart Group of St. Louis, Inc. St. Louis, MO 63141 8/28/2008 10,000.00

Southern Union Company Houston, TX 77056 8/28/2008 7,375.00

Howard Wood Bonne Terre, MO 63628 Cequel III 8/28/2008 100,000.00

L.B. Eckelkamp, Jr. Washington, MO 63090 Bank of Washington 8/28/2008 20,000.00

Lewis & Clark Regional Leadership Fund St. Charles, MO 63302 8/28/2008 50,000.00

Samuel Hais Clayton, MO 63105 Hais, Hais, Kallen, & Goldberger PC 8/28/2008 20,000.00

Stephen Notestine St. Louis, MO 63131 Quadrant Properties 8/28/2008 10,000.00

William McGinnis St. Louis, MO 63164 Nestle Purina Pet Care 8/28/2008 10,000.00

Rudolph Farber Neosho, MO 64850 Community Bank & Trust 8/28/2008 25,000.00

James McDonnell, III St. Louis, MO 63124 Retired 8/28/2008 20,000.00

James Ross Chesterfield, MO 63005 RCS, Inc. 8/28/2008 10,000.00

Boone Cnty Republican Central Committee Columbia, MO 65205 8/28/2008 13,250.00

24th Legislative District Columbia, MO 65201 8/28/2008 13,450.00

MO 24th Senatorial Committee – Republican Maryland Heights, MO 63043 8/28/2008 13,181.00

RGA Missouri 2008 PAC Washington, DC 20006 8/28/2008 600,000.00

Jerry Wells Joplin, MO 64804 Moark, LLC 8/29/2008 20,000.00

AG Processing Inc. Omaha, NE 68103 8/29/2008 10,000.00

Newton County Republican Central Committee Neosho, MO 64805 8/29/2008 13,300.00

Drury Development Corporation St. Louis, MO 63114 8/29/2008 20,000.00

Jerry Hall Monett, MO 65708 Jack Henry & Associates 8/29/2008 100,000.00

Bill Holekamp St. Louis, MO 63124 Holekamp Capital 8/29/2008 50,000.00

[emphasis added]

I believe that comes to $1,160,556.00.

Nothing exceeds like excess…

9/1/08 [pdf]

KCS Rail State PAC Kansas City, MO 64121 8/30/2008 25,000.00

Peter Herschend Branson, MO 65616 Silver Dollar City 8/30/2008 10,000.00

Platte County Republican Central Committee Kansas City, MO 64152 8/30/2008 13,450.00

[emphasis added]

9/4/08 [pdf]

Platte County Republican Central Committee Kansas City, MO 64152 9/2/2008 13,450.00

34th Republican Senatorial District Committee Weston, MO 64098 9/2/2008 13,450.00

29th Legislative District Republican Committee St. Joseph, MO 64501 9/2/2008 13,450.00

9/5/08 [pdf]

MO 29th Legislative District Republican Committee Saint Joseph, MO 64503-2834 9/5/2008 13,450.00

129th Republican Legislative District Committee Joplin, MO 64802 9/5/2008 8,000.00

129th Republican Legislative District Committee Joplin, MO 64802 9/5/2008 5,350.00

Edith C. Cunnane Saint Louis, MO 63141 Retired 9/5/2008 10,000.00

William Bush St. Louis, MO 63124 Bush O’Donnell 9/4/2008 10,000.00

129th Republican Legislative District Committee Joplin, MO 64802 9/4/2008 9,000.00

9/7/08 [pdf]

Herzog Contracting Corporation St. Joseph, MO 64502 9/5/2008 25,000.00

David Humphreys Joplin, MO 64803 Tamko Building Products/CEO 9/5/2008 100,000.00

Ethelmae Humphreys Joplin, MO 64801 Tamko Building Products/Chairman 9/5/2008 100,000.00

Sarah Humphreys Atkins Arlington, VA 22207 Tamko Building Products/Quality Consultant 9/5/2008 100,000.00

[emphasis added]

9/9/08 [pdf]

Roy Pfautch Saint Louis, MO 63108 Civic Service Inc. 9/8/2008 10,000.00

Positronic Industries Inc. Springfield, MO 65801 9/8/2008 10,000.00

Hunter Engineering Company Bridgeton, MO 63044 9/8/2008 50,000.00

3rd Congressional District Committee St. Louis, MO 63127 9/9/2008 13,450.00

7th State Senatorial District Republican Committee St. Louis, MO 63146 9/9/2008 13,450.00

128th District Republican Legislative Committee Joplin, MO 64801 9/9/2008 13,450.00

[emphasis added]

9/12/08 [pdf]

Right Choice Managed Care, Inc. Cincinnati, OH 45206 9/11/2008 10,000.00

Blue Cross Blue Shield of KC Kansas City, MO 64108 9/11/2008 10,000.00

3rd Congressional District Committee St. Louis, MO 63127 9/12/2008 13,450.00

PPG Properties Springfield, MO 65804 9/12/2008 15,000.00

Integrity Home Care Springfield, MO 65804 9/12/2008 15,000.00

Ken Suelthaus St. Louis, MO 63124 Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus PC 9/12/2008 10,000.00

7th District Congressional Republican Committee Springfield, MO 65805 9/12/2008 13,500.00

9/16/08 [pdf]

Remanufacturing Sales Corporation Springfield, MO 65802 9/15/2008 10,000.00

9/17/08 [pdf]

The AGC MO PAC Jefferson City, MO 65102 9/16/2008 10,000.00

Emerson Electric Company St. Louis, MO 63136 9/17/2008 30,000.00

Pettis County Republican Committee Sedalia, MO 65301 9/17/2008 25,000.00

[emphasis added]

I never thought I’d see the day that I’d consider a $10,000.00 campaign contribution as cheap.

It’ll be very interesting to look at those committee reports when they get filed in October.

On September 12th Rasmussen released a survey of 700 likely voters taken in Missouri on September 11th. The margin of error is 4.5%.

In the governor’s race Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon (D) continues (and has expanded) his lead over Congressman Kenny Hulshof (r):

Nixon – 54%

Huslhof – 39%

Rasmussen continues:

…Nixon is supported by 92% of Democrats and has a 17-point lead among the state’s unaffiliated voters. Eighty-one percent (81%) of Republicans say they will vote for Hulshof.

The Democratic attorney general leads by 23 percentage points among women and six points among men….

A friend of mine just texted me the following from an undisclosed Panera Bread location:

And who just walks in….Congressman Kenny Hulshof, Republican Candidate for Governor of Missouri!

His staffers ordered a chai latte, a ‘very white’ cappuccino (no idea what that is), and a half-baked potato.  

Kenny Hulshof ordered unseasoned chicken on whitebread.  

Read into that whatever you will.

Kenny Hulshof finally released his health care plan the other day, months overdue. Strange timing, because if someone’s confident in every detail of their proposal, they usually tend to release it when the news cycle isn’t already being dominated by a predictable event, like say, the opponent’s convention. Looks like Hulshof is throwing out a bunch of half-baked pablum disguised as a plan to grab a little attention from Jay Nixon at the convention, and to have some paper to wave around later in the campaign just so he can’t be attacked any more for not even having a plan.

I’ll just skip past the excellent point that the Missouri Democratic Party is currently making – Hulshof is unsure as to whether the plan will cost closer to $50 million or $500 million – and get right to some of the details that have been bothering me.

Hulshof’s plan is based on enrolling Missourians into HSAs – Health Savings Accounts – supposedly controlling our spiraling health care costs and allowing uninsured Missourians to get back on the rolls of the insured. An HSA is essentially a tax-exempt interest-bearing bank account that you can only use to pay for health care, and they are typically tied to high-deductible health insurance plans (HDHPs).  In theory, instead of paying a premium every month and a co-pay when you go to the doctor for a checkup or for a minor illness, you would save a percentage of your income, then pay the doctor out of your account as needed.

Confused as to what’s the difference between having an HSA and being uninsured? Well, you neither have to pay income tax on the amount you saved nor on the amount you withdraw, but that’s about it. And in case you were thinking that this might be an ideal situation for a tax shelter, you are absolutely correct.

Hulshof also claims that “putting these HSA plans into HealthMAX will guard against the risk of adverse selection.” Either he’s being disingenuous or he doesn’t know what adverse selection is (or possibly both), because an HSA/HDHP is more likely to increase the risk of adverse selection, not decrease. A 2006 GAO study showed that the healthy and the wealthy were the primary beneficiaries of HSAs. The healthy, because they have fewer costs in an HSA compared to a traditional plan, and the wealthy, because they have enough extra income to divert some money into tax-free savings.

Think about it this way. If you’re a young, healthy man with no history of serious illness or little taste for extreme sports, you would rationally choose an HSA, because you don’t need health care services except for the occasional checkup or flu shot. If your family has a history of illness, or you had an accident when you were younger that still requires regular attention, or you’re a woman (women tend to consume more heath care services than men because of regular checkups and you know, giving birth) you might want to stick with your traditional health plan.

Well, if any significant number of the healthiest consumers leave the pool of those participating in the traditional health plan, that leaves the same amount of risk (and expense) in the pool with fewer enrollees. To make their money, insurance companies will jack up premiums, leaving some of those who previously thought the traditional plan was still more cost-effective for them to instead choose an HSA. Every round of premium increases leave the pool a little riskier and more expensive, until you have two pools, the healthy with cheap plans and the chronically ill with expensive plans. That’s a textbook example of a adverse selection death spiral, and that’s not what we want in Missouri.

Finally, HSAs don’t do anything to reduce the overall runaway health care costs in America. Think about it. If you have an HSA paired with a high deductible plan, you’re less likely to pay for preventive care, like doctor visits for checkups and treating minor illness like the flu. Most people don’t like going to the doctor anyway, and you’re really going to avoid it if you have to pay the entire cost of the visit out of pocket. But those doctor visits help catch problems that can develop into much more dangerous conditions later on, the ones that, you know, cost a lot of money to treat. By the time it reaches the point of really expensive to treat, you’re probably not going to care too much about cost, especially since after the deductible, the insurance company picks up the tab. Problem is, someone has to pay for the expensive tests and treatments, so the costs rise for all of us in the form of higher premiums and deductibles and more expensive prescription drugs. So rather than helping control costs, HSAs help drive costs up.

No thanks, Kenny. By the way, when Hulshof had the chance in Congress to increase health care coverage for Missouri children last year, he stood with Bush and locked the door.