Photograph by David McNew/Getty Images

The industry today is holding the first-ever conference on covering so-called “dual eligibles”, people who are both old enough to qualify for Medicare,
and poor enough to be put on Medicaid. Photograph by David McNew / Getty Images

As at least 24 U.S. states prepare to move their oldest and sickest citizens from the government’s Medicare and Medicaid health programs into managed-care plans, insurers are figuring out the best way to profit.

The industry today is holding the first-ever conference on covering so-called dual eligibles, people who are both old enough to qualify for Medicare, and poor enough to be put on Medicaid. Such residents tend to cost states more money because the combination of their ages and economic statuses often translates into more complicated and expensive health ailments.

More than 9 million people are in that category, according to the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, based in Menlo Park, California. While states had been hesitant to put poor elderly residents into managed-care plans out of concern for the quality of their care, recent budget constraints and rising health costs have left them searching for a better solution.

While dual-eligibles comprise about 15 percent of the Medicaid population, they account for about 40 percent of the program’s spending because of complicated health problems, such as dementia, according to Kaiser.

“The innovative programs and services health plans have pioneered can help improve care for beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and help put these programs on sustainable and fiscally-responsible paths,” Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry’s Washington-based lobby group, said in an e-mail.

He said the summit, which his group organized, “is an opportunity to showcase these initiatives.”

Twenty-four states plus Washington, D.C., enrolled at least some of their dual-eligibles in managed care as of 2010 according to data from Kaiser.

Florida was awarded a waiver last month from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department to put almost all of its Medicaid beneficiaries into managed-care plans, including people dually eligible for Medicare. California is testing the idea of managed care for dual-eligibles this year, according to Bloomberg Industries.

Original post is Insurers Set Eyes on States’ Oldest, Sickest by Political Capital.

Photograph by Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo

Chris Christie, Oz, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, at the conclusion of the closing session of the National Governors Association 2013 Winter Meeting in Washington, on Feb. 25, 2013.

As the star of “The Dr. Oz Show” delivered a half-hour speech today to a majority of the nation’s governors, seated a few feet to his left was his No. 1 pupil: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Well, the potential 2016 presidential candidate was either taking copious notes on Dr. Mehmet Oz’s tips for a healthly heart or not paying attention at all. He looked up only occasionally from his pen and paper as Oz urged governors to carry nuts in their pocket (to avoid hunger pains that lead to gorging) and have more sex (presumably with their spouses).

Christie, 50, ignored a reporter’s questions after Oz’s speech, delivered to the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington D.C.

Christie’s health made headlines this month when he called a former White House physician who said he was dangerously overweight a “hack” and said she should “shut up” unless she examines him. The doctor, Connie Mariano, said Christie phoned her to yell at her after she said on CNN that Christie “may have a heart attack.”

Original post is Dr. Oz’s Pocket Nuts: Christie Noting? by Political Capital.

Photograph by Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg

Pfizer Inc.’s German headquarters in Berlin.

Pfizer Inc. and Aetna Inc. were among the biggest donors to the Democratic Governors Association and the Republican Governors Association in the final weeks of 2012, as the political groups replenished their treasuries to prepare for 38 gubernatorial contests this year and next.

Pfizer, the world’s largest drugmaker, donated $250,000 to the DGA on Dec. 19 and $250,000 to the RGA on Dec. 28, according to reports the political groups filed yesterday with the Internal Revenue Service.

Aetna Inc., the third-biggest U.S. health insurer, gave $250,000 to the DGA on Dec. 11 and $250,000 to the RGA on Dec. 17.

Companies often make contributions to lawmakers in both parties to build and maintain professional relationships.

The RGA received $150,000 from Eli Lilly & Co. and $125,000 from Comcast Corp. in the final weeks of 2012.

The DGA and RGA will compete in this year’s gubernatorial races in New Jersey, where Republican Chris Christie is seeking a second term, and Virginia, where former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe and Republican state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli are vying to succeed Republican Bob McDonnell.

There are 36 contests for governor on 2014 ballots. Republicans now hold 30 governorships compared to 19 for Democrats and one for an independent.

Original post is Pfizer, Aetna Help Both Parties Reload for Governors’ Races by Political Capital.

Photograph by Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg

Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, at the Statehouse in Trenton, New Jersey, on Jan. 4, 2013.

Where in the world is Chris Christie?

And who is presiding over the land of his birth?

The 50-year-old Republican New Jersey governor, who is running for a second term, had plans to “depart the state” the night of Jan. 27, according to the public schedule his office released. The listing described Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno as in charge for Jan. 26 and 27.

For personal travel in the past, the governor or his staff members have told reporters that he’s heading to his beloved Jersey Shore, or a baseball road trip, to name a couple of destinations. Then the reporters tend to buzz off and leave the guy to his wife and four kids.

If his trip is political, campaign advisers usually give at least a basic itinerary. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, for instance, will host a Christie fundraiser in February at the Palo Alto, California, home he shares with his wife, Priscilla Chan.

It’s hush-hush this time.

Yesterday, we called Mike DuHaime, a Christie strategist, who said Christie’s trip wasn’t political, and Michael Drewniak, a Christie spokesman, said the governor was traveling with his family. Then, around lunchtime, came a statement from Drewniak’s office: Christie had issued a conditional veto of the Democrats’ minimum-wage increase and proposed his own version.

Wait. Guadagno was still acting governor, so wasn’t this one hers? Nope. She had a statehouse ribbon-cutting ceremony, and today, a bill signing for Special Olympics funding.

We bumped into Drewniak at the Pepsi machine. So where, again, is Christie, and when is he returning?

“We’ll let you know,” he replied.

Then Kevin Roberts, another Christie spokesman, followed up with an e-mail saying Christie will return tomorrow night. He included a transcript of a response Christie gave when asked about his travel on Sept. 13, 2011:

“We put out a public schedule every day and, you know, if I’m going to be out-of-state I tell the lieutenant governor that I’m going to be out-of-state and she’s the acting Governor. But I don’t feel an obligation to tell people every place I’m going every day, you know?”

“I went to the University of Delaware football game on Saturday evening. Do I have to tell everybody that? You know, I went with my family to the game. It took me out-of-state. I told the lieutenant governor I’m going to be out-of-state for three hours at a football game. So, OK, if anything happens you’re in charge. Do I really have to advise people, you know, I’m going to a football game out-of-state? I think you’ve got to draw the line somewhere. If it involves my official duties I’ll advise about it, but if it doesn’t I’m not going to.”

Original post is Christie: Where in the World? by Political Capital.

Photograph by Scott Eells/Bloomberg

Theodore "Ted" Strickland, former governor of Ohio, speaks at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has decided not to seek a rematch against Republican Gov. John Kasich in 2014.

Strickland, who lost a bid for re-election to Kasich by 77,127 votes out of 3.9 million cast in 2010, had been considering running again next year and announced today he would not.

“In many ways, this has been a very difficult decision,” Strickland said in a statement. “I look back fondly on my time as Ohio’s 68th governor –and am proud of my administration’s efforts to guide our state through the greatest national economic crisis since the Great Depression.”

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald has said he is considering challenging Kasich, and other Democrats mentioned as possible candidates include Richard Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general who is now serving as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of the Youngstown area.

Strickland, 71, a former six-term congressman, had been seriously considering running again. He was a vocal opponent of a bill signed by Kasich in 2011 that restricted collective bargaining rights for public employees and campaigned tirelessly last year as national co-chairman for President Barack Obama’s re-election.

The former governor said he and his wife will continue to be politically active private citizens and will “continue to stand with working men and women to build a stronger Ohio —and to defeat anti-worker and anti-middle class legislation that may arise.”

Original post is Strickland Passes on Kasich Rematch by Political Capital.

Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Arizona delegate Debra Jean Forrest wears a button of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer pointing at President Barack Obama during the Republican National Convention.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the nation’s strictest immigration law in 2010 and once wagged her finger in President Barack Obama’s face, may challenge the state constitution to run for another term.

Brewer, a 68-year-old Republican, is weighing a bid for four more years in office even though a 1992 constitutional amendment limits the state’s top officials to two consecutive terms, including “any part” of one served. Brewer was elected in 2010 after completing the remaining two years of Democrat Janet Napolitano’s term. Napolitano left to become Obama’s secretary of homeland security.

Under Brewer, Arizona became a testing ground for Republican ideas on immigration, health care and gun rights. She emerged as a key foe of the Obama administration, leading the fight to preserve the immigration law and drawing national headlines for her confrontation with the Democratic president on a Phoenix-area tarmac in January.

Brewer’s spokesman, Matthew Benson, said she “enjoys being governor and there is a lot more that she would like to accomplish.”

Thirty-five states limit governors to two consecutive terms, though the provisions vary, according to the National Governors Association. Brewer has said there is ambiguity about whether she could run again.

“The constitution is not really clear,” she told The Arizona Republic last year. “It’s never been challenged.”

See the full story on Brewer at Bloomberg.com.

Original post is Brewer’s Bid for a Third Term: Arizona Constitutional Question by Political Capital.

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie talk with citizens who are recovering from Hurricane Sandy, while surveying storm damage in Brigantine, N.J., on Oct. 31, 2012.

Chris Christie, New Jersey’s outspoken Republican governor, says timing — not a political statement — explains his torpedoing of a state-run health exchange bill last week prior to meeting with President Barack Obama to pitch his case for federal aid.

“There seems to be so much confusion about this, so let’s be clear: I vetoed the exchange bill on the day I vetoed it because that was the day it needed to be vetoed,” Christie told reporters today in Trenton. “It was not because I was going to the White House that day and I wanted to stick my finger in the president’s eye.”

The governor was in Washington on Dec. 6 to lobby for funding to rebuild the state after super-storm Sandy ripped up boardwalks and ravaged its coast, left 2.7 million customers without power and brought the mass-transit system to a halt. Obama submitted a request to Congress the following day for $60 billion to help states affected by the storm.

Christie said he vetoed the health exchange because the federal government hasn’t given states enough information on the pros and cons of chartering their own exchanges or allowing Washington to do it for them. He said New Jersey intends to comply with Obama’s Affordable Care Act, but said setting up an exchange through Trenton would be “fiscally irresponsible.”

As for the timing, he said, a 45-day window to act on the measure was closing, so he vetoed it shortly before leaving for Washington. The decision was the subject of an exchange between Christie and host Jon Stewart last week during an appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

Original post is Christie: No Poke in Obama’s Eye by Political Capital.

Photograph by Scott Olson/Getty Images

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn looks over a drought-damaged ear of corn on the farm of Jerry Kitowski on July 16, 2012 in Waltonville, Illinois.

Unlike his two immediate predecessors, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn isn’t in prison.

Still, staying out of legal trouble hasn’t helped the Democrat’s approval ratings.

In a Public Policy Polling survey released late last month, Quinn’s job approval rating stood at 25 percent. That made him the most unpopular governor PPP has surveyed about anywhere in the country this year.

Quinn, 63, expressed little concern when asked about his ratings at a Bloomberg Breakfast with members of the Illinois media gathered at the news organization’s Chicago Bureau.

“I want to be the most honest governor in America,” he said. “I think we need that in Illinois.”

“I have two predecessors in jail, right now, at the same time,” he added. “I know what my mission is — it’s to straighten things out, to repair a lot of damage that’s been done in Illinois to the common good by bad, corrupt governors. And, you know, sometimes you have to do things that aren’t that popular, but are necessary.”

The former Illinois governors Quinn is referring to are George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. Both men are in federal prison on public corruption charges.

Quinn’s poll ratings have triggered speculation that he might have a Democratic primary opponent in 2014.

“I have no idea,” he said of the prospect. “I’m happy to show up, file my petitions and take on anyone who wants to run in the primary.”

Among Democratic primary voters in the PPP survey, Quinn’s approval rating was 40 percent, with 43 percent disapproving of him. The poll found that Quinn would start out at a 64 percent to 20 percent deficit should Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan decide to get into the Democratic primary race.

Quinn denied that he was in a weakened negotiating position with state lawmakers on budget and pensions issues because of his low approval ratings.

“The approval rating really hasn’t changed much in several years, you know. It is what it is,” he said. “I really don’t care. I’m not in it to get higher approval ratings.”

Original post is Quinn Defends 25%: Bloomberg Bkfst by Political Capital.

Photograph by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

FEMA workers load food for affected areas onto waiting trucks at Republic Airport in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 30, 2012 in Farmingdale, New York.

Vice President Joe Biden says, as best as he can tell, FEMA is doing “one helluva of a job.”

That could be a risky comment, so early in the federal response to Hurricane Sandy’s flooding and devastation in New Jersey and York — evocative of the words that former President George W. Bush had for then-Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael D. Brown days after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast: “Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job.”

(FEMA actually wasn’t then, and Brown was out of a job days later.)

Yet Biden maintains, from all he’s heard, it’s true this time.

The vice president took part in President Barack Obama’s conference call with the governors of all the storm-affected states, Biden told reporters today.

“I think FEMA is doing an incredible job,” Biden said, with a nod to FEMA Director Craig Fugate. “I wish you guys could have been on the phone with all of the governors. Uniformly they were incredibly grateful to Fugate and the president.”

“So, this is working like it’s supposed to,” Biden said. “FEMA has been reorganized. It’s doing one helluva a job. It pre-positioned resources. The governors are all cooperating with one another. The mayors are cooperating. I’ve never in all my experience seen as much cooperation, and acknowledgement of that cooperation, from city, state, federal levels. So it’s working like it’s supposed to. ”

Original post is Biden: FEMA ‘Doing One Helluva Job’ by Political Capital.

Photograph by Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle/ AP Photo

Houston homebuilder Bob Perry

The Republican Governors Association raised $14.8 million in this year’s third quarter, including $2 million from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, it said in a filing to the Internal Revenue Service.

Perry’s donation was the largest to the RGA during the three-month period ended Sept. 30. Perry has donated $2.5 million this year to the RGA, which is working to elect more Republican governors in the Nov. 6 election.

Perry has donated tens of millions of dollars to Republican candidates and committees. Since the beginning of 2011, he’s donated $8 million to Restore Our Future, a super-PAC aiding Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and $6.5 million to American Crossroads, a Republican super-PAC founded with help from Karl Rove.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which usually backs more Republicans than Democrats, gave $500,000 to the RGA in the third quarter, bringing the business federation’s year-to-date donations to $1 million.

The Building Industry Association of Washington, based in Olympia, also donated $500,000 to the RGA. Washington state is hosting a competitive race for governor between Democrat Jay Inslee, a former Representative, and Republican Rob McKenna, the state Attorney General.

Consol Energy Inc., the largest U.S. coal producer by market value, donated $350,000 to the RGA. Daniel S. Loeb, the founder of Third Point LLC hedge fund, and Jack Taylor, the founder of Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co., each gave $250,000.

Twelve states have elections for governor on Nov. 6.

Original post is Perry’s $2 Million Top Donation to Republican Governors Group by Political Capital.