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The irony that is [not] Charlie Baker

By 32 Comments

UPDATE: All stereotypes about bloggers and poor research — in full effect here.

A few days ago I asked how much money Charlie Baker's Harvard Pilgrim had made from the state's subsidized insurance program. Answer: Probably none — they're not a part of that program.

With apologies to all for not bothering to answer my own question. Carry on.

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Charlie Baker criticizes Democratic governor and legislature for spending too much money.

Question: How much of that money went to Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in the form of state-subsidized health insurance?

Inquiring minds want to know.

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Comments

  1. “It’s true that considerable amounts of money went to HPHC during my tenure there.  Money that was spent providing award-winning coverage to thousands of people in Massachusetts, all not for profit.  Money that was not spent giving hack jobs to the tune of 6 figures to my supporters.  Money that was not spent paying people 2 or 3 pensions out of the taxpayers wallet.  Money that was spent was responsibly used to improve the health of our insured.  I will bring that same kind of responsibility-oriented execution to the corner office.”

    <

    p>Now, that would only bomb if he has in fact given people in his employ 3 pensions.  Gosh, that kind of stuff would be REALLY embarrassing.  

      • “Well Charley, as the CEO of HPHC, my salary was still millions less than if I had been working for the competition.  I’m not even retired!  I would say working for millions less and providing significantly higher ranked care than the competition was money well-spent.  You should go talk to BCBS if you want to discuss some sort of salary to results ratios.”

        • How about CEO salary to lowest-worker compensation?

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          p>I had HPHC, and it sucked. Far worse than BCBS, and that’s no easy task.

          <

          p>Voting for the ex-CEO of HPHC as governor is like voting for the ex-CEO of Halliburton as Vice President … how’d that work out?

          <

          p>More importantly, voting for the ex-CEO of HPHC right now is like voting for Angelo Mozilo (ex-CEO of Countrywide) or any other big-bank CEO.

          <

          p>The health care system is a DISASTER right now, and insurers like HPHC are a huge reason why.

          <

          p>Whatever strengths Charlie Baker brings to the table, his association with HPHC is and will be a HUGE negative.

          • That’s a deal-breaker for me. I have no interest in learning any more about this guy; his success as a parasite is not a qualification for the office.  

          • So, what is the ratio of Deval’s 2005 salary (above and beyond the $3M) compared to the slob sweeping the floors at Coke-Cola (Boston Herald 5/30/06).

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            p>There’s more…

            <

            p>”For close to a decade Patrick has been a loyal flunky of corporate America, serving as an executive, board member, and lawyer for companies such as Texaco, United Airlines, Ameriquest Mortgage, Reebok, and Coca-Cola from 2001-04 (Boston Globe 8/13/06).”

            <

            p>If Kirth is so against a “parasite” then maybe Kirth should rethink any support for Deval since he seems to have “lived large” off the sweat of workers while protecting corporate America for very large paychecks.

      • I thought everybody was for health reform, even though it forced young people who didn’t want Baker’s product to buy it, on pain of government penalty.

      • Because soon after I left my job last year, I signed my daughter up for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care- through the Commonwealth Care Connector! This was in June of 2008. It was like $300 a month- which I thought was pretty dang expensive, so perhaps it wasn’t even subsidized, but I could have sworn it was one of the cheapest options available!
        Frankly, I’m a little ashamed at how confused I was by the program- I probably had to fill out some other forms to get a subsidized product- the fact that I had quit my job and thus wasn’t receiving unemployment was a complicating  factor, at least in my mind, and I wanted to get her covered as quickly as possible. Is everyone sure that Harvard Pilgrim was never associated with the Commonwealth Connector?

  4. From Commonwealth Unbound

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    p>

    Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker wants to roll back the state’s recently increased sales tax. More surprisingly, the state’s Green-Rainbow Party is making the same pitch. The party’s state committee has unanimously called for a total repeal of the sales tax hike. From yesterday’s press release:

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    p>Be sure to read the last paragraph ……it’s the best.  

    <

    p>

    One sign that the Greens are trying to act like a major political party: Their resolution for a repeal of the sales tax hike does not explain how to balance the state’s budget while the quest for a progressive income tax goes on for five or 10 years. After all, elections are won on broad strokes, not troublesome details.

    • I think it’s the wrong tax aimed at the wrong people at the wrong time.

      <

      p>I advocate replacing it with significant hikes in:

      <

      p>1. The gas tax
      2. The estate/gift tax
      3. The capital gains tax
      4. The personal income tax (flat, not graduated)

      <

      p>Yes, I do mean all of the above.

      <

      p>Somehow I don’t think Charlie Baker is going to sign up for my approach. I suspect the Greens might.

  5. This is going to be a terribly negative race, already Patrick’s supporters having no positive record to run on are just going to savage Charlie Bakers record as Tim Murray is already doing as well as Deval’s surrogates on this site. I thought he wanted to change the tone of politics and NOT campaign negatively?

    <

    p>Deval with all his out of state millions is going to try to destroy Baker with negative ads-I see of no way this guy can win with his current campaign strategy without sacrificing his principles-not that he hasn’t already sacrificed the bulk of them.

    • and touch base on reforms already paying off.  Maybe you should take a gander around this site a little bit.

      <

      p>We already got Killer Coke comments here, via JoeTS.

      • Don’t want Deval’s salary at coke brought up?  Don’t bring up Baker’s salary at HPHC.  

        <

        p>Can’t help yourself?  Well, then KILLER COKE KILLER COKE BOOGEYMAN RAWWWRRR.

        • when did I mention that?  Show me the comment.  I was commenting on the idiotic Killer Coke comment from your brethren.  

          <

          p>Psssst, that looney choo choo stuff is not about his salary from Coke.

  6. Is it going to be Baker’s position that all the “hack” jobs, multiple pensions, etc. have been handed out only since 2007 (i.e., supposedly after 16 years of Republican governors had left everything in perfect working order, not a penny of taxpayer money wasted)?

    <

    p>Is he really going to try to pin decades of dysfunction, excess, and mismanagement on Gov. Patrick’s 2.5-year tenure — justified or not — but not expect to be dragged into the conversation — justified or not — about the Big Dig accountability and financing debacle?

    <

    p>Is the context of state government such a bubble of reality-denial that he can get away with pushing tired “trickle-down” economic rhetoric even in the face of the nation’s catastrophic economic issues as a result of the failure of that philosophy, and with pushing program cuts despite the expectation that state spending is a vehicle of the recovery, through which much of the federal stimulus money is being or will eventually be funneled?

    <

    p>Can’t wait to see how that plays out.

  7. These are the health insurance executives who are personally profiting by keeping an insurance clerk between you and your doctor (Charlie Baker is 14th):

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    p>

    NAME, TITLE, COMPANY ANNUAL COMPENSATION
    1.  H. Edward Hanway, Chair/CEO, Cigna Corp., $30.16 million
    Ronald A. Williams, Chair/CEO, Aetna Inc., $23,045,834 (2007)
    2.  David B. Snow, Jr, Chair/CEO, Medco Health, $21.76 million
    3.  Dale B. Wolf, CEO, Coventry Health Care, $20.86 million
    4. Michael B. MCallister, CEO, Humana Inc., $20.06 million
    5.  Jay M. Gellert, President/CEO, Health Net, $16.65 million
    6.  Stephen J. Hemsley, CEO, UnitedHealth Group, $13,164,529 (2007)
    7.  Raymond McCaskey, CEO, Health Care Service Corp., (Blue Cross Blue Shield), $10.3 million (in 2007; up 78% from 2006)
    8.  Angela F. Braly, President/CEO, Wellpoint, $9,094,771
    9.  Michael F. Neidorff, CEO, Centene Corp., $8,750,751 (2007)
    10. Todd S. Farha, CEO, WellCare Health Plans, $5,270,825 (2006)
    11. Cleve Killingsworth, Pres/CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, $3.6 million (2007)
    12. William C. Van Faasen, Chairman, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, $3 million plus $16.4 million in retirement benefits
    13. Daniel Loepp, CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, $1,657,555 (2006)
    14. Charlie Baker, President/CEO, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, $1.5 million (2006)
    15. James Roosevelt, Jr., CEO, Tufts Associated Health Plans, $1.3 million (2006)
    16. Daniel P. McCartney, CEO, Healthcare Services Group, Inc., $ 1,061,513 (2007)

    <

    p>Sources:
    1. Special Report: CEO Compensation, Forbes.com, April 30, 2008:
    2. Executive PayWatch Database, AFL-CIO
    3. The Chicago Business Journal, April 5, 2008:
    4. Equilar, a Redwood Shores, California-based executive compensation research firm.
    5. The Boston Globe, November 16, 2007 and February 12, 2009  

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