First up — a reminder: Scott Walker owned a ton of substandard properties (does he still?) that he was claiming (for some of them, at least) that they were “family-style housing” for disabled people. The NJ link above provides detail of the lawsuit filed in the Court of Chancery.
Second, he is running for the House of Representatives — just like in 2016 — but now he is a Republican. Which seems about right. Republicans are more likely to believe that inhumane housing for disabled people is a good business model.
Third, Walker took to the Letters to the Editor page of the Delaware State News to complain about the passage of SB 227 — which requires insurance companies to reimburse primary care physicians at minimum the current Medicare rates.
So, SB 227 forces insurance companies to charge above-market rates to consumers here in order to overpay doctors for substandard care. But, there is no market for insurance companies in Delaware. Only one, Highmark, operates here, to my knowledge.
That’s “socialized medicine” or, “like it or lump it”!
Got that? What we know from this:
**He has no clue what this bill does. Why should he? If your gonna be a Republican, being blind to policy is the price of admission.
**He has no clue that “markets” he is even talking about. And (if we’re gonna get technical about it here) you aren’t working in a market-based model if the state or an insurance company is setting your reimbursements.
**More companies than Highmark operate here. Since I’ve lived here, I have had Cigna and others. You *can* only buy Highmark insurance on the Delaware ACA marketplace which is plenty spendy, but that is why Senator Margaret Rose Henry has proposed letting Delaware’s ACA participants to buy into Medicaid. This is an EXCELLENT idea that should be seriously evaluated. Competition in that marketplace for Delaware is badly needed. And this is how you know Democrats are in the room — they are proposing solutions to tough problems.
In the meantime, we know that Mr. Walker’s understanding of health care policy is about on par with his sign-making skills.
Delaware’s largest private employer uses Aetna. That’s not exactly a secret. Is he just referring to the exchange “market”? What the actual hell is he talking about?
https://whyy.org/articles/delaware-objects-to-aetna-humana-merger/
Then, this…..https://delawarebusinessnow.com/2017/05/state-awards-contract-aetna-health-plan-using-christiana-care-program/
“…. shakes down insurance companies…” – Scott Walker
Pity the death panels.
Every once in a while you can count on a guy or girl like this to show up in a Delaware primary. The guy is a total screw up, but harmless as far as politics go. I’m sure he appreciates any attention he can get.
I’ve heard him say some sketchy things resembling personal threats on the radio. I think he has more of a chance of ending up in jail rather than winning a primary.
SB227 was intended to help primary care physicians in private practices. These doctors are being paid below the Medicare rate while those practices owned by the hospitals are paid above that rate. That fact has driven private practices to sell out to the hospital systems or to go “boutique”- stop taking insurance and restricting their practices to patients able to pay a fee for services.
As has been pointed out, Highmark is the only carrier offering insurance in Delaware on the Affordable Care Act Exchange-which cover just a little more than 10,000 people. There are at least a dozen health insurance companies offering coverage in Delaware in one or more areas (individual, small group and large group).
Mr. Walker was never a registered Democrat-he ran for Congress seeking the Democratic primary nod merely by filing that way, just as Mr. del la Fuente is running for the Republican US Senate nomination even though he lives in another state.
Other than nailing signs to trees- signs that do not state what he is running for or what party, Walker is not much different that the other Republican running for Congress.