Sustinet Shuffle - A Universal Health Fraud

The grizzly Sustinet legislation waltzed through another legislative committee this week as questions circulated on the affairs of union administered foundation which has been ladling out millions to buy the silence of businesses and lubricate the political effort to support a single-payer system.

Sustinet is Connecticut's version of the "public option" which even President Barack Obama was unable to pass last year. Sustinet, if approved, will open the state's generous, gold-plated health care plan, to municipalities, small businesses and non-profits under the fiction that more means less expensive health care on the public dime. The newest version of Sustinet would keep it free of regulation and oversight of the state Insurance Department. The rest of the insurance industry is flyspecked on a daily basis but it seems the liberals wants Sustinet to play by different rules, rules the Democrat Legislators can draft to protect their policy aim - a state run health care colossus.

Gov. Malloy is squeezing on of the major players in health care - the hospitals. He has plans to tax hospitals this year andraise $266 million in year one and $269 million in 2013. Malloy plans to cut $83 million in uncompensated aid to hospitals, leverage it with federal money and then cut checks back to the hospitals. Needless to say, most hospital CEO's are not thrilled about this shell game.

The tax will hit smaller community hospitals at a time where many are well into the red. The increase barely raised a ripple at the state Capitol. That is due to realization that more taxes are en route on many fronts as the budget countdown begins.

The professional political class - legislators, staff, lobbyists and assorted activists - accepts that Malloy is not making much headway with the public sector unions on concessions. That means the tax trial balloons are being launched to begin the new narrative - the tax pain - "shared sacrifice" will be felt by everyone, well, almost everyone who is not a union member. The matter of cutting the state workforce, reducing programs and regulations are details to be worked out in the summer, if ever.

But the more interesting development was a story which the traditional media yawned over. It may turn out to be one of the largest abuses of money in generations and ironically, could be a critical element in whether Sustinet becomes the law of the land.

Thanks to the heads-up work of Zachery Janowski of the Yankee Institute, more is being learned each day about the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, formerly the Anthem Foundation. Janowski scratched the surface with his initial report where he outlined how corporate money was being used to build and strengthen a leftwing coalition against private health care.

It began over a decade ago when Anthen sought to purchase Blue Cross & Blue Shield in Connecticut. After legal action was taken by then Attorney General Dick Blumenthal and then-Comptroller Nancy Wyman, Anthem cut a $41 million check to make them go away. From that historic corporate shakedown spawned a very generous board of directors who have wallpapered the non-profit, union and business communities with money to either buy their silence or support of free health care for all. Free being defined as taxpayers paying for the privilege of state sponsored rationed medical services.

The breadth of the largess by the Universal Health Care Foundation is historic and breathtaking in its boldness. The original charge of the foundation was to "promote health care," but the tribute paid by Anthem has and is now being used to promote Sustinet and keep union leaders personally in high cotton at the same time.

The details of those transactions wouldn't shock anyone used to union tactics in Connecticut. It is simply amazing that no one has figured it out until Zach Janowski started connecting the dots.