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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Sic[ko] 'im, boy! -- the Sequel
Posted by Jill | 7:00 AM
A slightly more subdued but no less pointed Michael Moore continues his match with Wolf Blitzer:





Be sure to watch the whole thing so as not to miss the zinger Moore tosses at Wolfie at the very end.

Funny how all the Democratic candidates are doing whatever they can to AVOID mention of Moore's film, when it COULD be the best way to win hearts and minds on national health care.

Moore has had a busy couple of days, also appearing on Larry King last night:








Here's a webchat in which he participated at HuffPo after the show. Money quote, and it's not even from Moore, it's from "Steve in Los Angeles":

"[Gupta's] comment that in countries with free health care there is a long wait-time to see a doctor and it takes months to schedule elective surgery is laughable. That's like telling a starving person "don't bother with the free food, there's a line to get in and service is just awful."


What the hoopla over Moore's film ought to bring into the public consciousness is this fact: health care cannot be delivered via a for-profit insurance model. Publicly-held insurance companies are about financial performance for investors, not about providing health care.

Insurance is the biggest business scam being conducted above ground. Homeowners affected by hurricanes find thsmselves being unable to collect claims from their homeowners policies because the insurance companies insist the damage is from flooding. Government flood insurance won't pay because the providers insist the damage is from wind. You don't even have to file a claim to be penalized. Simply asking if something is covered qualifies as an "unpaid loss." New Jersey residents know full well how valuable auto insurance is -- one ticket and you're penalized for five full years.

But when you look at the huge profits and executive compensation among health insurers, their business plan revolving around denying care and giving customers the biggest possible runaround in the hope that they'll give up, is the worst possible indictment of the capitalist system. Former UnitedHealth CEO William McGuire is eligible for a lump sum of $91.3 million in retirement benefits while the company he headed denied more claims than five other insurers, with only Aetna having a worse performance. Omnicare's CEO Joel Gemunder had nearly $61 million in accumulated pension benefits as of the company's most recent proxy filing. The company HE headed paid $49.5 million to settle charges it illegally switched the drugs of patients in nursing homes.

And let's look at Wellpoint Chief Financial Officer David Colby while we're at it, shall we? In 2002, Colby's total compensation was $4,253,859. This is what Wellpoint was paying for:


Sarah Waugh, who worked for WellPoint when it was called WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, says in the suit that while Colby was the company's chief financial officer, he maintained "concurrent relationships" with her and more than 15 other women and "acted with the intent to cause" her harm.

Waugh seeks unspecified damages for "humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress." WellPoint, her suit suggests, was aware of Colby's alleged romantic entanglements but did nothing to protect her.

Colby, 53, was let go May 30 for what the company, now based in Indianapolis, called nonbusiness-related violations of its code of conduct.

A lawyer for Colby didn't return phone calls. A WellPoint spokesman declined to comment on the suit, which was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

In the suit, Waugh, 29, says she began dating Colby in 2001, when she worked for WellPoint. Their relationship continued after she left the company, the suit says, and Colby sent her an "almost constant stream of e-mails and text messages, and repeatedly professed his desire for unprotected sex in a committed monogamous relationship."

He wasn't faithful, the suit claims, and engaged in "high-risk sexual practices with others … some of whom have contracted STDs" — sexually transmitted diseases. WellPoint "facilitated defendant Colby's lifestyle," the suit says, with company employees arranging personal and business trips for Waugh and other women who traveled with Colby — including her younger sister, Jessica — and with high-level employees often traveling with Colby and the women.

At the same time, the suit says, WellPoint "benefited from the outward appearance of respectability and propriety of their CFO."

A Wall Street favorite, Colby was widely credited with the financial success of the healthcare giant. He earned a salary of $740,000. Two months before his ouster, the board gave him the title of vice chairman and stock options then worth $1.7 million. Since June 15, he has sold more than $100 million worth of WellPoint stock, the suit claims.

Days before the board asked Colby to resign, Rita DiCarlo, a registered nurse who has lived in his Lake Sherwood home for more than two years, sued him, alleging that he had reneged on a promise to give her the $4.4-million property. Like Waugh and several other women, DiCarlo claimed that Colby promised to marry her.

DiCarlo and Waugh are represented by the same Los Angeles lawyer, Mark Hathaway, and have sold the rights to their stories to producer Larry Garrison, president of SilverCreek Entertainment.

Colby is separated from his second wife, Karenn, who filed for divorce in 2004.

Waugh's suit alleges that Colby has said the board confronted him about his relationships in August 2006. The company has declined to say whether the board met in August for any reason. In announcing Colby's resignation, WellPoint Chairman Larry Glasscock said concerns about his behavior had come to light only "in recent days."

According to Waugh, she was fired by WellPoint after she made complaints, which are not detailed in the suit, about Colby. Colby then began making unspecified monthly support payments to her, and, on one occasion, gave her $12,000, the suit claims. When Waugh attempted to break off the relationship at one point, it says, Colby spray-painted her car and later paid her $2,000 for repairs.

Colby allegedly allowed Waugh to live in his Lake Sherwood home for a while and took her on trips to WellPoint functions arranged by company employees. The suit says Colby repeatedly promised to pay for private schooling for Waugh's son and to continue to support her even if their relationship ended. It alleges that he reneged by stopping the payments when the relationship recently ended.

The suit describes how Colby allegedly met women on Internet dating sites and in chat rooms. On Match.com, the suit says, he described himself as a divorced "GolfingCFO," seeking a "unique woman who is warm and affectionate when I am home but who is independent enough not to be upset when I work long hours or have to travel." Because of his job, the woman would have to be "comfortable at both Black-tie galas and employee picnics on the beach."

Colby pointed prospective dates to WellPoint's website and online information describing his "status as a well-respected and successful corporate executive," the suit says.


"Choice" among two or three or five insurers all of whom work to deny rather than provide care while shoveling cash and stock options into the pockets of its top executives, is no choice at all. The entire insurance system is rigged -- rigged against those who buy insurance thinking they are getting protection, and in the case of health insurance, thinking they are getting coverage for procedures and illnesses. Cities arrest three-card-monte dealers for scamming the public. Our politicians take hush money from insurance companies in a quid pro quo to keep the current system going as is. And the public gets screwed.

(h/t: Melina)

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