MORNING MESSAGE: The Rip Off That Bankrupts America
OurFuture.org's Robert Borosage: "The International Federation of Health Plans has depicted our ridiculous health care system in 21 graphs. We don’t get more health care; we just pay more — much more. And this entirely accounts for the scary long-term deficit projections ... It’s not 'entitlements,' 'greedy geezers,' the 'takers,' public worker salaries and pensions, teachers’ unions, big government, out of control spending, or even cost of policing the world. A corrupted congress allows entrenched corporate lobbies to protect their right to rip us off."
Pushback On New ObamaCare Cost Study
Study from outside actuaries predicts cost increases after ObamaCare, but didn't factor in entire law. AP: "...the actuary who worked on the study, acknowledged it did not attempt to estimate the effect of subsidies, insurer competition and other factors that could offset cost increases..."
HHS Sec notes that insurance premiums may go up for some, but they would get more for their money, and possibly lower overall costs. WSJ: "'These folks will be moving into a really fully insured product for the first time, and so there may be a higher cost associated with getting into that market,' she said. 'But we feel pretty strongly that with subsidies available to a lot of that population that they are really going to see much better benefit for the money that they’re spending.' Ms. Sebelius added that those customers currently pay more for their health care if their plans have high out-of-pocket costs, high deductibles or exclude particular types of coverage, such as mental health treatment."
Sen. Brown Eyes Banking Chair
Sen. Sherrod Brown could become Banking Cmte Chair in 2014. Politico: "Several senators ahead of Brown in seniority are in line for bigger chairmanships or leadership jobs, leaving many in the banking industry to speculate that the populist Ohio senator may grab the gavel and start gunning for Wall Street ... A Brown chairmanship could also mean a bigger role on the committee for Wall Street scourge Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and the two could team up not only to work on legislation but to haul regulators before the panel to push them to be more aggressive in policing big banks."
JPMorgan Chase facing several federal investigations, worrying board. NYT: "At least two board members are worried about the mounting problems, and some top executives fear that the bank’s relationships in Washington have frayed as JPMorgan becomes a focus of federal investigations. In a previously undisclosed case, prosecutors are examining whether JPMorgan failed to fully alert authorities to suspicions about Bernard L. Madoff ... nearly a year after reporting a multibillion-dollar trading loss, JPMorgan is facing a criminal inquiry over whether it lied to investors and regulators about the risky wagers ... at least eight federal agencies are investigating the bank..."
Greece bailout contributed to Cyprus crisis. NYT: "European leaders and the International Monetary Fund engineered a 50 percent write-down of Greek government bonds. This meant that those holding the bonds — notably the then-cash-rich banks of the Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus — would lose at least half the money they thought they had. Eventual losses came close to 75 percent of the bonds’ face value."
Breakfast Sides
Close Senate budget vote may signal challenges for Dems on other issues. The Hill: "The four Democrats who broke with their party on the nonbinding fiscal blueprint are all facing difficult 2014 reelection races in Republican-leaning states, including Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee."
Baucus vote suggests difficultly taking lead on tax reform. The Hill: "If the House acts, Baucus would be under pressure to hold his own markup to show off the Democratic vision for tax reform. But he would be hard-pressed to report out a bill with significantly less in new taxes than his Democratic colleagues voted for, or to rely on too many committee Republicans to fashion a bill."
Pro-sequester GOP Rep. Blake Farenthold unhappy with hometown sequester cuts to FAA reports ThinkProgress.
Vouchers for private school upheld by Indiana Supreme Court. AP: "The state's highest court unanimously upheld a 2011 law providing vouchers for low- and middle-income families and cleared the way for an expansion being debated in the Indiana Statehouse. But more importantly, it could settle the case law for other states where voucher programs face legal challenges, supporters contend."
