More on Hillary’s Campaign Finances
[Guest post by DRJ]
Following up on a recent report that Hillary Clinton’s campaign has been slow to pay its bills, the Politico reports today that her campaign failed to pay employee insurance premiums of almost $300,000:
“Among the debts reported this month by Hillary Rodham Clinton’s struggling presidential campaign, the $292,000 in unpaid health insurance premiums for her campaign staff stands out.
Clinton, who is being pressured to end her campaign against Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, has made her plan for universal health care a centerpiece of her agenda.”
A Clinton campaign spokesman indicated the bills have now been paid in full and that coverage for employees and dependents was not interrupted. However, FEC records show some bills may have been unpaid for two months:
“Sometimes invoices are not paid immediately because we need additional information for our records, or to verify expenses,” [Clinton spokesman Jay] Carson said in a statement e-mailed to Politico. “Sometimes invoices arrive at the very end of the month at the cutoff of the reporting period, which means that we are required to report them as a debt on the current FEC report, even where they are paid in regular course during the next month.”
But the unpaid bills to Aetna were at least two months old, according to FEC filings. They show the campaign ended last year owing Aetna more than $213,000 for “employee benefits.”
During the first two months of the year, the campaign did not pay down any of that debt. In fact, it accrued another $16,000 in unpaid bills last month, and it finished the month owing Aetna $229,000.”
The remaining balance of the $292,000 in benefits is attributable to a $63,000 bill from CareFirst.
This gives new meaning to the famous Bill Clinton quote, “I feel your pain.”
— DRJ
I am beginning to think her critics are right, the “Hero of Tuzla” may not be made of Presidential timber after all.
Perfect Sense (b6ec8c) — 3/31/2008 @ 8:28 pmSince she has always passed herself off as the foremost expert on what ails the health-care segment of the economy, the non-payment of her staff’s health insurance premiums will hurt the most. Hope she takes care of that before the IRS steps in (in case that health-care is not 100% employer paid).
Another Drew (8018ee) — 3/31/2008 @ 8:31 pmIts called deficit spending – its all the rage in Washington! Don’t be surprised when she announces she’s increased health care benefits for her campaign staffers.
in_awe (cde03b) — 3/31/2008 @ 8:31 pmHey, I have Aetna health insurance for my (self owned) company. Really, I do.
j.pickens (53ee7a) — 3/31/2008 @ 8:43 pmNow I know I can skip paying premiums for a month or two, and my coverage won’t lapse!
Hillary’s campaign spokesman told me so.
I’ll let you guys know how that works out…
From a February 3, 2008 AP report:
“WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to garnish the wages of workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans.”
Maybe we should garnish her wages as U.S. Senator.
(Oh, but the rules never apply to those who make them)
Jim (dcb78c) — 3/31/2008 @ 9:46 pmObama is right: Greedy white people.
Alta Bob (aada0c) — 3/31/2008 @ 9:52 pmObama should pay it w/ his campaign’s money, on the condition that it be repaid when (if) Hillary pays.
He should say that he can’t stand to see dedicated, but maybe a little bit naive, young people go without health insurance.
He could have lots and lots of fun with this.
It would be an open sore on Hillary’s campaign (moreso than it is now) until she finally paid up.
Daryl Herbert (4ecd4c) — 3/31/2008 @ 10:43 pmI think some of th Eem old timers are fleecing the campaign. I recall reading that Penn was getting paid millions.
davod (5bdbd3) — 4/1/2008 @ 6:46 amThe dems had lots of decent candidates. I may disagree with them, but Bill Richardson, Al Gore, Joe Biden perhaps, and others could have been credible candidates.
Instead, Clinton sucked all the oxygen up so that only the least serious… the Edwards idiot, OBama with his 3 years of ‘present’ votes, etc, were left in the race to provide the impression of a race. Now that Hillary has fallen on her face, all that’s left is Obama… a guy who is pretty damn pathetic compared with other serious presidential nominees.
The GOP has had an uphill battle for a while… but the dems are doing everything they can to give this contest away.
Hillary could not be a less appealing candidate. She doesn’t even pretend to be productive or honest. She’s unpleasant sounding and has a terrible attitude. She reeks of selfishness. Any business that dealt with her had to expect the possibility of getting screwed. Same for the voters.
Jem (4cdfb7) — 4/1/2008 @ 12:41 pmIf this is evidence of her proposed health care plan – no thank you.
Thank you for your time.
http://theoutlander.blogstream.com
The Outlander (faf1ae) — 4/1/2008 @ 1:47 pm