Fang writes: "Influential democratic consultants, some of whom work for the
Super PACs backing Hillary Clinton, have signed up to fight a bold
initiative to create a state-based single-payer system in Colorado,
according to a state filing posted Monday."
Protester holds a sign in support of single-payer health care. (photo: AP)
Prominent Democratic Consultants Sign Up to Defeat Single Payer in Colorado
By Lee Fang, The Intercept
05 May 16
Influential Democratic consultants, some of whom work for the Super PACs
backing Hillary Clinton, have signed up to fight a bold initiative to create
a state-based single-payer system in Colorado, according to a state filing
posted Monday.
Coloradans for Coloradans, an ad-hoc group opposing single payer in
Colorado, revealed that it raised $1 million over the first five months of
this year. The group was formed to defeat Amendment 69, the ballot measure
before voters this year that would change the Colorado constitution and
permit a system that would automatically cover every state resident's health
care.
The anti-single-payer effort is funded almost entirely by health care
industry interests, including $500,000 from Anthem Inc., the state's largest
health insurance provider; $40,000 from Cigna, another large health insurer
that is current in talks to merge with Anthem; $75,000 from Davita, the
dialysis company; $25,000 from Delta Dental, the largest dental insurer in
the state; and $100,000 from SCL Health, the faith-based hospital chain.
Under the new system, there would be no health insurance premiums or
deductibles, and all health and dental care would be paid for by the state
through a new system called ColoradoCare. The plan calls for raising $25
billion through a mix of payroll taxes, along with bringing down costs
through negotiations with providers.
The filing reveals that the anti-single-payer group has retained the
services of Global Strategy Group, a Democratic consulting firm that has
served a variety of congressional candidates and is currently advising
Priorities USA Action, one of the Super PACs backing Clinton's bid for the
presidency.
Last month, Global Strategies Group circulated a polling memo that contends
that the single-payer ballot measure can be defeated because voters
"overwhelmingly reject" the idea.
But, the memo warned, the measure "has some traction with key groups,"
including Democrats and millennials, and that the 2016 election year has
proven difficult to predict. "[A] sustained campaign pointing out the many
flaws in Amendment 69 is essential, especially in such an unpredictable
environment," the memo concluded.
After the memo appeared online last month, I called Andrew Baumann, the vice
president of research at Global Strategy Group, to ask him about it, but
said he could not reveal who had paid for it or why his firm was researching
vulnerabilities with the single-payer initiative.
The filing shows that the firm was paid $58,000 by Coloradans for Coloradans
for "consultant and professional services."
A number of other Democratic firms have signed up to help defeat single
payer, too. Hilltop Public Solutions, a firm managed by former campaign
staffers to Barack Obama, was paid $45,000 by the group. Hilltop has also
provided consulting services to Ready PAC, another Clinton-supporting Super
PAC that eventually folded into the Clinton campaign.
The Trimpa Group, a consulting company run by Democratic strategist Ted
Trimpa, also received a payment from Coloradans for Coloradans.
The Democratic consultants are listed alongside several Republican firms,
including Brandeberry-McKenna Public Affairs, a GOP company that also
lobbies for the drug industry.
As we previously reported, healthcare interests have mobilized to defeat
Amendment 69, with the health insurance industry leading the way.
Countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom have been largely successful
in providing universal healthcare at far lower costs than the U.S. using a
single-payer system. Private health interests have lobbied for decades to
defeat cost-saving healthcare reforms, starting with President Harry
Truman's effort to create single payer.
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Protester holds a sign in support of single-payer health care. (photo: AP)
https://theintercept.com/2016/05/03/single-payer-dems-colo/https://theinterc
ept.com/2016/05/03/single-payer-dems-colo/
Prominent Democratic Consultants Sign Up to Defeat Single Payer in Colorado
By Lee Fang, The Intercept
05 May 16
nfluential Democratic consultants, some of whom work for the Super PACs
backing Hillary Clinton, have signed up to fight a bold initiative to create
a state-based single-payer system in Colorado, according to a state filing
posted Monday.
Coloradans for Coloradans, an ad-hoc group opposing single payer in
Colorado, revealed that it raised $1 million over the first five months of
this year. The group was formed to defeat Amendment 69, the ballot measure
before voters this year that would change the Colorado constitution and
permit a system that would automatically cover every state resident's health
care.
The anti-single-payer effort is funded almost entirely by health care
industry interests, including $500,000 from Anthem Inc., the state's largest
health insurance provider; $40,000 from Cigna, another large health insurer
that is current in talks to merge with Anthem; $75,000 from Davita, the
dialysis company; $25,000 from Delta Dental, the largest dental insurer in
the state; and $100,000 from SCL Health, the faith-based hospital chain.
Under the new system, there would be no health insurance premiums or
deductibles, and all health and dental care would be paid for by the state
through a new system called ColoradoCare. The plan calls for raising $25
billion through a mix of payroll taxes, along with bringing down costs
through negotiations with providers.
The filing reveals that the anti-single-payer group has retained the
services of Global Strategy Group, a Democratic consulting firm that has
served a variety of congressional candidates and is currently advising
Priorities USA Action, one of the Super PACs backing Clinton's bid for the
presidency.
Last month, Global Strategies Group circulated a polling memo that contends
that the single-payer ballot measure can be defeated because voters
"overwhelmingly reject" the idea.
But, the memo warned, the measure "has some traction with key groups,"
including Democrats and millennials, and that the 2016 election year has
proven difficult to predict. "[A] sustained campaign pointing out the many
flaws in Amendment 69 is essential, especially in such an unpredictable
environment," the memo concluded.
After the memo appeared online last month, I called Andrew Baumann, the vice
president of research at Global Strategy Group, to ask him about it, but
said he could not reveal who had paid for it or why his firm was researching
vulnerabilities with the single-payer initiative.
The filing shows that the firm was paid $58,000 by Coloradans for Coloradans
for "consultant and professional services."
A number of other Democratic firms have signed up to help defeat single
payer, too. Hilltop Public Solutions, a firm managed by former campaign
staffers to Barack Obama, was paid $45,000 by the group. Hilltop has also
provided consulting services to Ready PAC, another Clinton-supporting Super
PAC that eventually folded into the Clinton campaign.
The Trimpa Group, a consulting company run by Democratic strategist Ted
Trimpa, also received a payment from Coloradans for Coloradans.
The Democratic consultants are listed alongside several Republican firms,
including Brandeberry-McKenna Public Affairs, a GOP company that also
lobbies for the drug industry.
As we previously reported, healthcare interests have mobilized to defeat
Amendment 69, with the health insurance industry leading the way.
Countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom have been largely successful
in providing universal healthcare at far lower costs than the U.S. using a
single-payer system. Private health interests have lobbied for decades to
defeat cost-saving healthcare reforms, starting with President Harry
Truman's effort to create single payer.
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
