Didn't You Read the Memo?

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. I was hoping to hear back from some offices that I had called (of course, I never did hear anything), and then we were on a family vacation.

So here’s where we stand. In my last blog, I mentioned that I had contacted Senator Bayh’s office after months of trying to reach someone. In that article, I went into some details regarding the misinformation being presented to the American people by our ever-so-honest politicians in DC. So here is a list of statements and questions I asked Bayh’s office once I reached them.

I explained to the woman I spoke with that the reason I called so frequently is that based on Bayh’s press release on December 21, 2009, “we must be vigilant and keep their [politicians'] feet to the fire.” (By the way, I find it ironic that Bayh counts himself among the people who have to keep politicians’ feet to the fire.) I did offer to send her the link to this quote (here it is), but she said she didn’t need it.

The first thing I pointed out was the President Obama has promised people that their rates are going to drop under his plan, which isn’t true. Her response: “How do you know the rates are going to go up? That’s a future event.”

Let’s pause here for a moment and ponder that statement. Does it even make sense? Obviously not, or I wouldn’t have even brought it up. But just for fun, let’s take a more detailed look. First, insurance is all about predicting future events. That’s how insurance companies price their policies. Second, government offices predict future events all the time. In fact, Senator Bayh’s request from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) regarding premium costs predicted premium rates well into the future (and even predicted that they would go up). Third, how does she not know that rates are going up? The very document Senator Bayh requested predicted that rates would go up.

Now back to the conversation.

After I explained some information in the CBO report, I gathered that she was finally starting to understand. I even told her that if I had misinterpreted the data in some way, that I would stop bugging them, and to this day, nobody's called to tell me that I've done so. But here are some highlights of my conversation.

Me: “I’d like to know what Senator Bayh is going to do about this incorrect information?”
Her answer: “We have people who are being vigilant.”
My answer: ”If they’re being vigilant, why is this wrong information still out there?” (That's a direct quote, to which I don't think I got a direct answer.)

Me: “Who do you think the public is going to upset with when they find out their insurance rates are going to go up this fall, the government or the insurance companies?”
Her answer: “Insurance companies.”
My answer: Insurance companies. We finally agree upon something.

Me: “How do I know that once I hang up this phone that you’re actually going to do something? Can you send me the information you’re going to send to these government agencies?”
Her answer: “I’ll take down your email address.”
My answer: Vote all the bums out of Washington