Soros-backed Medicare insurer raided by FBI
By Michelle Malkin:
The St. Petersburg Times reports on an FBI raid of WellCare, a shady Medicare insurer:initially funded by far Left billionaire George Soros and run by one of his acolytes:
For the past two years, analysts have been asking how fast-growing WellCare Health Plans of Tampa has been able to make so much money running government health plans for the poor and elderly. Now government investigators may be asking the same thing.
On a rainy Wednesday morning, more than 200 federal and state agents swarmed WellCare’s campus on Henderson Road in Tampa, forcing employees onto the sidewalk and into their cars.
Steven Meitzen, 51, who arrived at WellCare about 9:40 a.m. for a job interview, said he was initially told it was a bomb scare. “Later on, I talked to someone who said the FBI had a subpoena and were looking for records,” he said.
Wellcare serves Medicare and Medicaid customers–more than 350,000 seniors in Florida alone. The stock fell yesterday on news of the raid. Seems stories have been floating around for a while about the company enrolling dead people and such:
Thomas Carroll, analyst with Stifel Nicolaus in Baltimore, called the raid “ominous” and downgraded WellCare shares to “sell” from “hold” in a note to clients. Contacts within the company said BlackBerries, computers and files were seized from corporate, marketing and human resources offices, according to Carroll.
Carroll suspects the raid is potentially the result of a lawsuit in which an employee brought a matter to the attention of authorities.
“When the FBI and HHS raid a health care company, the outlook on earnings, legal proceedings and the entire operations of the company can be questioned,” Carroll said.
WellCare’s business practices have come under increased criticism over the past several months. Last spring, the company said independent sales agents in Georgia enrolled dead people in Medicare plans. In May and June, WellCare representatives appeared along with other insurance executives at hearings in the Senate and House into aggressive Medicare marketing practices. WellCare and six other insurers subsequently agreed to a temporary halt in marketing one type of Medicare plan, while promising to initiate consumer safeguards. In August, however, Medicare cited WellCare once again for violating several provisions of its Medicare contract, including sales practices.
WellCare, which had earnings of $139.2-million in 2006, gets all of its nearly $4-billion in revenues from state or federal governments.
WellCare’s PAC has donated considerable money to Republicans. But the company took off with a generous helping hand from George Soros:
WellCare was a slow-growing Florida company until 1992 when its owner, Dr. Kiran Patel, sold it to a New York investment group led by financier George Soros. The bankers hired Todd Farha, an aggressive Harvard MBA, to transform the company. Under his leadership, WellCare’s earnings have increased eight-fold and the company’s investors and executives like Farha have profited handsomely from appreciation in its stock.
Soros Private Equity Investors had owned about 80 percent of WellCare at the time of its IPO. “In December [2004], Soros Private Equity Investors sold 5.6 million shares for about $170 million. In April [2005], Soros spun off the $1.3-billion private equity group and the new firm was renamed TowerBrook Capital Partners. TowerBrook is headed by Neal Moszkowski, who previously led Soros Private Equity. Moszkowski also is chairman of the WellCare board.”
Also on the board of directors: former Democrat U.S. senator and Florida governor Bob Graham.
Jacob Goldstein at the WSJ Health Blog notes:
The company has done well for itself. As the WSJ reported, George Soros was the largest investor in a private equity fund that cashed out of WellCare in August of ‘06, bringing in a total of $870 million for an investment that originally cost $220 million.
WellCare, which says it provides managed care to 2.3 million Medicare and Medicaid patients, hasn’t been accused of any crimes in connection with this morning’s raids. Nevertheless, the Health Blog can’t help but be reminded of Florida’s remarkably robust health-care fraud industry. Our previous posts on that subject include billing for “clinically unbelievable dosages” of drugs, and a Rolls Royce purchased with ill gotten gains.
Welcome to George Soros’s America?
Reprinted from Michelle Malkin: Soros-backed Medicare insurer raided by FBI
October 25, 2007 - 09:26 AM on October 25th, 2007
Am I supposed to be suprised that Soros is connected to unlawful activity?
Puhleeze! The man is the new international mafia. The big difference is the mafia wasn’t as well financed.
Soros is the new “teflon don”.
October 25, 2007 - 10:46 AM on October 25th, 2007
And to think he practically owns the democratic party.
October 25, 2007 - 11:41 AM on October 25th, 2007
Ted, darn you, I was going to change that up a bit for the Clintons
Bon Bon..didn’t you mean..”and to think he owns the Democratic party?”
October 25, 2007 - 11:45 AM on October 25th, 2007
3.
When push comes to shove, I don’t think Soros likes the Clintons. Bill and Hill are too egomaniacal for Soros and would attempt to hog power from him.
Oh they’ll work toegether like Mussolini and Hitler to reach goals, but past that I think they are like mixing oil and a thicker, heavier grade of oil.
October 25, 2007 - 11:51 AM on October 25th, 2007
By all accounts he really does own the Democratic party. As for the Clintons I think Ted has a point however when all is said and done, if Hillary wants the White House she’ll have to listen to Soros.
And ironically being owned by Soros will, ultimately, be her downfall.
October 25, 2007 - 12:45 PM on October 25th, 2007
This is so sad. I can’t believe that people like this exist in the world. It’s bad enough that the private sector of the health care industry already makes billions off of people, but to further the governmental rape of the healthcare industry is sad, especially for seniors and those depending on Social Security. Living on a fixed income makes paying increasing Medicare Premiums very difficult as it is. This is ridiculous! FYI, for those of you disgusted with the current state of healthcare, AARP set up http://www.thisissoridiculous.com so that we can sign a petition to make our voice heard. Make sure you right your Congressman, too, and tell them how you feel. I am working to support AARP on this, so make sure you get your voice heard before even more detrimental damage is done.
October 25, 2007 - 12:53 PM on October 25th, 2007
George Soros is just another one of these shady liberals with their hands in everything i hope he gets deported
October 25, 2007 - 02:15 PM on October 25th, 2007
imo he is an international kkkriminal.
October 26, 2007 - 12:13 AM on October 26th, 2007
Isn’t Florida the state wherein 3 counties have more AIDs related Medicare/Medicaid claims than the rest of the country combined? I wonder how much of that fraud was going into the coffers at Wellcare?
The facts about Medicare are not good. Those recipients who don’t have supplemental coverage are going to find themselves without doctors. Medicare is currently only paying the same depressed rates for treatment that they payed 6 years ago and are currently planning on a payment REDUCTION in the VERY near future. If Medicare is going to reduce the amount that they pay below what they were paying 6 years ago which was a below market amount even then, who is going to pick up the tab for the balance? The answer to that question is the other patients who have insurance or are paying out of pocket. If Medicare/Medicaid actually paid fair market value for the services that it pays for, the costs for everyone would go down. Likewise, insurance premiums would be reduced to meet the lowered expenses. If we go to the Democrats’ socialized medicine plan, many doctors will no longer be able to afford to keep their offices open and will be forced to go into other fields. That should make healthcare wonderfully available as the number of doctors is reduced by 20% or more, and fewer people choose to enter the field thereby increasing the patient/doctor ratio.
October 29, 2007 - 06:21 PM on October 29th, 2007
So why did Soros hire a fucking resluglicon you fucking brains? Todd Farha is a fucking POS resluglicon just like you stupid idiots.
Get your heads out of your asses and unravel your fucking panties you morons.
Fucking sorry excuses for humans.
harryseldon3@excite.com
IP:74.69.198.244
October 29, 2007 - 06:26 PM on October 29th, 2007
By all accounts BonBon is a .
I am surprised Ted in the Shed can get his head out of long enough to type.
I cannot believe you have a whole fucking blog about Soros. Guess you do not have much to do living in your parents basement eh?
Fucking pitiful.
Love your open comments. Your unfucking believably stupid you know.
harryseldon3@excite.com
IP:74.69.198.244
October 29, 2007 - 07:45 PM on October 29th, 2007
Dman? DildoMan? DemokRat Man? Dickhead Man?
Your thoroughly vapid posts reveal far more about yourself than anything/one else. Now replace your head in your rectum and go back to sleep…