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From The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations 
Contact Susan Kniep, President

Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032

TAX TALK NOV 12, 2010

 

Anthem Approved For Health Rate Hikes As High As 47 Percent http://www.ctnow.com/business/hc-health-premium-rates-1015-20101014,0,2322374.story

 

 

ATTEND PUBLIC HEARING

Nov 17, 2010, 9 AM

Anthem Rate Increase Up to 47%

State Department of Insurance

153 Market St. (Old GFox Building), 7th Floor, Rm 701

Written Testimony can be submitted to cid.ca@ct.gov

For Additional Information http://www.ct.gov/cid/lib/cid/Public_Hearing_-_Docket_Number_LH_10-159_Anthem_Blue_Cross_Blue_Shield.pdf

 

Conn. insurance rate hikes prompt outcry amid politically charged backdrop - The state's medical society and attorney general as well as a member of the Obama administration voice disapproval of a WellPoint subsidiary's 47% increase. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/11/01/bisb1101.htm

 

 

Additional Information on Healthcare is Provided Below

 

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Rell to Release State Biennial Budget on Nov. 15, 2010

 Here is what to look for!

How $540 Million  ($270 Million/Year) for Education Funding Will be Addressed within the Budget.  $540 million reflects what the State has received in the past two years in Stimulus funding.  This money has been forwarded to the Towns for education.  That funding is no longer available.  As the State faces a $3+ billion deficit, will the State include $540 million in its budget and forward the money to the towns,  or will town officials increase local property taxes?   

 

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CONNECTICUT TAXPAYERS ARE

TAXED TO THE MAX!

 

  SUMMARY OF STATE REVENUES BY FUND, TAX TYPE AND ACCOUNT FOR THE FISCAL YEARS 2007 – 2010

 

Prepared by Robert Young, Secretary,

The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations, Inc.

 

 

STATE REVENUES	FY 2007-2008	FY 2008-2009	FY 2009-2010
Personal Income Tax	7,512,688,283.97	6,385,856,437.34	6,586,098,744.72
Sales and Use Tax	3,582,316,851.96	3,318,752,207.10	3,203,987,560.88
Corporate Tax	733,941,983.64	615,920,501.40	667,132,486.24
Public Service Corp. Tax	237,112,561.53	268,494,765.26	267,945,828.34
Inheritance & Estate Tax	170,618,814.01	238,336,664.40	177,600,970.01
Insurance Co. Tax	227,220,954.45	202,217,263.61	226,549,565.36
Cigarette Tax	335,196,664.84	317,774,452.53	387,435,034.20
Real Estate Tax	158,544,197.49	90,802,186.34	100,267,098.66
Petroleum Co. Tax	333,283,239.58	246,313,157.20	264,917,722.75
Alcoholic Beverage Tax	47,077,475.14	47,064,447.58	48,196,427.44
Amusement Tax	37,276,885.78	36,040,020.40	34,379,169.45
Miscellaneous Tax	139,979,799.20	143,304,957.88	138,999,907.38
Refund of Tax	(859,183,335.21)	(1,058,371,073.16)	(1,068,748,229.47)
R & D Credit Exchange	(11,362,506.74)	(8,428,079.14)	(8,936,647.63)
Transfer Special Revenue	287,603,606.89	287,195,242.81	289,313,773.54
Casino Gaming Payments	411,409,920.00	377,804,963.34	384,247,531.77
Licenses, Permits & Fees	323,434,156.34	305,128,457.37	389,364,403.37
Sales Commodities & Services	30,066,553.05	32,535,999.02	33,694,169.92
Rents, Fines & Escheats	59,117,352.01	63,760,343.74	252,960,611.47
Investment Income	100,498,044.23	34,388,995.33	10,743,531.93
Miscellaneous Revenue	139,381,059.04	164,987,568.54	154,313,182.13
Refund of Payments	(3,220,301.08)	(3,096,150.97)	(4,094,725.41)
Federal Grants	2,698,396,709.86	3,622,963,145.99	4,047,622,239.19
Transfers from Others	115,300,000.00	115,800,000.00	102,898,481.90
Transfers to Others	(92,800,000.00)	(92,800,000.00)	(68,300,000.00)
Unknown	812,101.77	5,146.40	2,928,070.66
Motor Fuels Tax	492,122,767.70	492,024,643.60	503,635,414.18
Motor Vehicle Receipts	225,524,481.80	220,780,734.46	220,703,127.49
Motor Vehicle Sales Tax	64,863,384.46	57,133,714.34	67,784,154.51
Grand Total Revenues	17,497,221,705.71	16,522,690,712.71	17,413,639,604.98

 

 

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More federal workers' pay tops $150,000 By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY Nov 10, 2010 The number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more a year has soared tenfold in the past five years and doubled since President Obama took office, a USA TODAY analysis finds. The fast-growing pay of federal employees has captured the attention of fiscally conservative Republicans who won control of the U.S. House of Representatives in last week's elections. Already, some lawmakers are planning to use the lame-duck session that starts Monday to challenge the president's plan to give a 1.4% across-the-board pay raise to 2.1 million federal workers. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-11-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

 

 

FEDERAL WORKERS: Earning double their private counterparts

 

 

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States' bailout: Largest 15 states spend over 220 percent of tax revenue  The federal government is quietly bailing out states whose tax revenues don't match state expenditures. Funding for this will run out in June 2011. What then?  By Rocky Vega,  November 8, 2010   The big news this week in terms of ginormous government transfer payments is, as usual, out of the Fed, as it embarks on an equally ambitious and ill-fated mission to buy $600 billion of US Treasury debt. Unsurprisingly, it’s not the only immense transfer of wealth taking place between governmental bodies. As spotlighted by Meredith Whitney, CEO of the Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, the feds are continuing to subtly bailout state governments at record levels and in an ongoing and unsustainable fashion which she describes in a recent WSJ opinion piece…… From The Wall Street Journal:

“What [...] investors fail to appreciate is that state bailouts have already begun. Over 20% of California’s debt issuance during 2009 and over 30% of its debt issuance in 2010 to date has been subsidized by the federal government in a program known as Build America Bonds. Under the program, the U.S. Treasury covers 35% of the interest paid by the bonds. Arguably, without this program the interest cost of bonds for some states would have reached prohibitive levels. California is not alone: Over 30% of Illinois’s debt and over 40% of Nevada’s debt issued since 2009 has also been subsidized with these bonds. These states might have already reached some type of tipping point had the federal program not been in place. Continued at  http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Daily-Reckoning/2010/1108/States-bailout-Largest-15-states-spend-over-220-percent-of-tax-revenue

 

 

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Federal workers' sacrifice would help U.S. debt, deficit panel says By Joe Davidson Washington Post Staff Writer  Wednesday, November 10, 2010; Federal employees would play a major role in reducing the nation's debt and deficit under a set of draft proposals released Wednesday by the co-chairs of President Obama's deficit commission. Federal workers would face a freeze on "federal salaries, bonuses, and other compensation at non-Defense agencies for three years," saving $15.1 billion. Pentagon civilians would take the same hit, for a $5.3 billion savings. The federal workforce would be cut by 10 percent, about 200,000 people, by hiring only two workers for every three who leave federal service. That would save $13.2 billion. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/11/10/ST2010111004105.html?sid=ST2010111004105

 

 

School systems girding for hard budget times Fiscal pressures push districts toward regional cooperation By Robert A. Frahm Ctmirror.org NORWICH - When this cash-strapped town closed its schools for spring vacation last April, it still had to pay to keep school buses rolling. The school district continued operating buses for students attending programs outside the district, including a New London magnet school and state-run technical and agricultural high schools. The cost of running the buses that week, about $20,000, could have been saved if all of the schools had been on the same vacation schedule, officials saidThis week, the Norwich Board of Education is expected to vote to join other districts in adopting a common school calendar to avoid such conflicts, hoping eventually to coordinate schedules with more than two dozen school systems in the region. Pressured by Connecticut's mounting fiscal crisis, school districts are warming to the idea of working together to hold down costs - a sharp break from the longstanding Yankee tradition of local control and immutable district boundary lines. Continued at  http://www.ctmirror.org/story/8291/budget-pressure-pushes-schools-regional-cooperation

 

Slicing a smaller pie: Educators consider how to share reduced funding  By Jacqueline Rabe Governor-elect Dan Malloy may have promised not to cut state aid for schools, but state education leaders aren't taking that for granted: They're scrambling to form a plan for dealing with a major loss of funding. For the current school year, state lawmakers capped school aid at $1.9 billion, but $270 million of that was paid for with one-time federal stimulus money. Education leaders are not confident the state will be able to afford to fill that $270 million gap, which amounts to 14 percent of state aid for schools, in the face of a $3.3 billion deficit. So a panel of education leaders -- including teachers unions, the superintendents association, the state board of education members and Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan -- are weighing the options. Continued at  http://www.ctmirror.org/story/8399/state-funding-schools

 

 

Earmarks debate unites parties  Republicans, tea partyers, and the president agreed this week on one point  Congress.org Washington is coming together behind a common enemy: earmarks.  Tea-party leaders, President Barack Obama, and top Republicans have all said this week that they would like to ban the practice that runs rampant on both sides of the aisle in Congress.  "My understanding is Eric Cantor today said that he wanted to see a moratorium on earmarks continuing. That's something I think we can work on together," Obama said Wednesday.But the ban faces opposition from the top Republican in the Senate, who said it could give Obama more power. http://www.congress.org/news/2010/11/05/earmarks_debate_unites_parties

 

 

What the Next Speaker Must Do  Secrecy, arrogance, and the abuse of power have shattered the bonds of trust between the people and their elected leaders. Repairing that trust requires sweeping change, beginning with an end to earmarks. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703805704575594280015549088.html?mod=WSJ_article_MoreIn_Opinion

 

From the Federation

The HEALTHCARE DEBATE has been fueled with passion by both those who support a reformed national healthcare policy and those who are opposed.   

Relevant to the debate should be what taxpayers on a local, state and national level are currently paying for government subsidized healthcare as costs continue to escalate.  

In 2009, the Federation reported that  Connecticut state taxpayers are paying over $5 billion to provide healthcare to prisoners, state employees, state retirees, Medicaid recipients, and others as the following chart illustrates.   

Also in 2009,  the State’s Insurance Department ruled on Anthem’s rate proposal request for an increase of 22% to 30%. 

On July 8, 2009 newspapers reported that State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had joined with others to protest the request of Anthem  Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut to the State Insurance Department for a 22%  to 30% percent rate increase which would impact 55,000 Connecticut residents.    Blumenthal not only denounced the size of the increase but stated “Equally unconscionable is (the) proposed effective date of Oct. 1, giving consumers less than three months to find less expensive, viable alternatives.”  Newspapers also reported that “According to company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, WellPoint, Anthem’s Indianapolis-based parent company, reported net income of $580.4 million in the first quarter of 2009 and recorded total assets of $49.4 billion. “The rate increase is particularly concerning given that Angela Braly, CEO of Anthem’s parent company, Wellpoint, received over $9.8 million in compensation in 2008 alone.....”

More than a year later, Anthem is back again as the following news article illustrates… State OKs Anthem Rate Hikes, Some More Than 20 Percent  Attorney General Cries Foul Sept 17, 2010 Courant Matthew Sturdevant The state's largest health insurer was granted rate hikes Friday that will be well over 20 percent for some plans, drawing sharp criticism from the attorney general. http://articles.courant.com/2010-09-17/business/hc-anthem-rate-hike-0918-20100917_1_large-group-and-middle-market-plans-small-group-hmo-plans-federal-health-reform

 

In February, 2010, Connecticut residents learned that Individual Health Care Premiums For 2010 Soar 20%  February 23, 2010|By MATTHEW STURDEVANT, The Hartford Courant Health insurance premiums for individual medical plans jumped in price by an average of more than 20 percent this year in Connecticut, placing the state squarely in the cross hairs of the national health care debate. That increase, revealed by the state Insurance Department, followed hikes of 16.7 percent and 11.3 percent in the two previous years. It applies to plans bought by individual customers on their own, not through employers or other groups or provided through Medicare, Medicaid or a state program. The rapid rise in individual rates is pushing the number of uninsured Americans toward 50 million, and it is stirring nationwide anger. Opponents of the increases blame the insurers. http://articles.courant.com/2010-02-23/business/hc-insurancerates0223.artfeb23_1_rate-hikes-premiums-individual-plans

 

The following information was provided to the Federation in 2009, by Nancy Wyman, for whom we then and continue to compliment for the efficiency of her staff when replying to requests.  The Federation had asked for and received information on what State taxpayer paid for healthcare in 2009 which totals over $5 billion, as illustrated in the chart below…..   

 

 

 

While the health insurance issue is being debated nationally, it is interesting to note who has had access to government funded healthcare:     

 

Government employees throughout the country to include local, state, and federal as well as retirees. 

 

Seniors who receive medicare.  This benefit has been available regardless of income. Donald Trump and Bill Gates would be eligible.

 

Americans who deplete their assets by turning their real estate and savings over to their children 5 years before requiring extended nursing home care which is then paid by Medicaid.  The cost of nursing home care averages $50,000 to $75,000 annually.          

 

Millions of prisoners under local, state and federal confinement, to include those incarcerated for corruption in Connecticut. 

 

All military service personnel and their families (the most deserving). 

 

Millions on medicaid - a healthcare program for the poor and disabled. 

 

Members of Congress and their families.   

 

Illegal immigrants who seek care within a hospital.

 

Americans under 65 who are on social security disability to include disabled children.  

 

So who is left?  What Americans are not receiving government funded healthcare?

 

Millions of Americans who have lost their jobs, own a home, and cannot afford healthcare premiums.    As the following denotes  62% of 2007 bankruptcies were due to healthcare costs as reported by the American Journal of Medicine! http://ca-bankruptcylaw.com/2009/06/bankruptcy-due-to-medical-problems-62-of-2007-bankruptcies-says-the-american-journal-of-medicine/

 

The working poor and middle class families because their employer does not provide access to affordable healthcare, yet the worker is taxed to pay for the healthcare of others.

 

Healthcare is a sensitive issue in our country today.  Continued annual increases reaching 20% or 40%  for those individuals who must purchase healthcare on their own illustrates how serious the problem is.  

 

 

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The Monitor's View   The 2010 election was a call to cut public pensions Christian Science Monior By the Monitor's Editorial Board / November 8, 2010 Voter anger at generous (and unfunded) retirement benefits for government workers resulted in successful ballot initiatives and the election of governors promising change.  By the Monitor's Editorial Board / November 8, 2010

One little-noticed result of the Nov. 2 elections – the first since the Great Recession of 2007-09 – was greater voter pressure for capping a giant gusher of government red ink: the $4 trillion in pension liabilities for state and municipal workers.

Few politicians, even Democrats backed by the public-worker unions, could afford not to propose reforms for these retirement benefits that are often abused, underfunded, and usually far more generous than those in private business.

In two key states, California and Illinois, voters approved many local ballot initiatives calling for pension reform. And in six states, newly elected governors have proposed one of the most radical steps: 401(k)-style plans for government employees as an alternative for traditional guaranteed pensions.  Such victories will build on pension changes already begun in a handful of states, where reform has been mainly directed at new hires. In two states, Missouri and Illinois, the retirement age was recently raised to 67, while 16 states have either cut benefits for new employees or required current workers to pay something for their benefits. Continued at  http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2010/1108/The-2010-election-was-a-call-to-cut-public-pensions

 

 

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