Lauren Sausser, Post and Courier
GREENVILLE — The General Assembly has gone home for the year, but the fight over Medicaid expansion — a major building block of the federal Affordable Care Act and one of the most contested issues of the legislative session — is far from finished.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Survey Finds Health Care Costs Top CFOs' Worries
The Affordable Care Act's provisions for employee health care top chief financial officers' lists of concerns this year.
$3.6M Being Spent in SC to Market the #UNaffordableCareAct
By SEANNA ADCOX — Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina isn't helping promote the federal health care law to the uninsured, but millions of marketing dollars will still be spent within the state.
The federal government is distributing $3.6 million directly to community groups and health centers to promote the law to an estimated 906,400 South Carolinians without health insurance. The grants are part of a nationwide marketing blitz costing taxpayers at least $684 million, according to data compiled by The Associated Press.
The Obama administration and many states are launching campaigns this summer to get the word out before enrollment for new benefits begins in October. Beyond doling out grants directly, the federal government is also funding state-awarded contracts.
South Carolina is receiving proportionately less, as are other Republican-led states that have opposed the law.
It requires people without health coverage to pay a penalty starting Jan 1. Online marketplaces called exchanges, set to debut in October, will enable residents to compare coverage terms and prices and then use federal subsidies, if they qualify, to buy a policy.
South Carolina is not running an exchange, leaving that responsibility to the federal government. That's why the state didn't seek any of the millions available for outreach, marketing and advertising, said John Supra, deputy director of the state's Medicaid agency.
"When we chose to have the federal government operate the exchange, that put the responsibility for marketing and supporting it on the federal government," he said.
South Carolina ranks 32nd in both per capita and total spending.
The federal government is spending 78 cents per person in South Carolina, where an estimated 20 percent of the population lacks coverage. Nationwide, per capita spending ranges from 46 cents in Wisconsin — which also isn't running an exchange — to $9.23 in West Virginia. Total spending in states ranges from $914,000 in Wyoming to $174.2 million in California, slated to receive a quarter of all public money identified by the AP.
The spending in South Carolina includes $2.4 million awarded to 19 health centers statewide.
Those centers operated 157 sites and served more than 315,000 patients last year — 36 percent of them uninsured. They expect to use the money to hire 45 workers and help more than 41,000 residents enroll in health plans, according to a July 10 release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Amounts awarded range from $59,000 to Foothills Community Health Care in Clemson to about $208,500 to Care South Carolina in Hartsville.
The federal government has set aside an additional $1.2 million for community groups. The winning applicants are expected to be named in mid-August.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina isn't helping promote the federal health care law to the uninsured, but millions of marketing dollars will still be spent within the state.
The federal government is distributing $3.6 million directly to community groups and health centers to promote the law to an estimated 906,400 South Carolinians without health insurance. The grants are part of a nationwide marketing blitz costing taxpayers at least $684 million, according to data compiled by The Associated Press.
The Obama administration and many states are launching campaigns this summer to get the word out before enrollment for new benefits begins in October. Beyond doling out grants directly, the federal government is also funding state-awarded contracts.
South Carolina is receiving proportionately less, as are other Republican-led states that have opposed the law.
It requires people without health coverage to pay a penalty starting Jan 1. Online marketplaces called exchanges, set to debut in October, will enable residents to compare coverage terms and prices and then use federal subsidies, if they qualify, to buy a policy.
South Carolina is not running an exchange, leaving that responsibility to the federal government. That's why the state didn't seek any of the millions available for outreach, marketing and advertising, said John Supra, deputy director of the state's Medicaid agency.
"When we chose to have the federal government operate the exchange, that put the responsibility for marketing and supporting it on the federal government," he said.
South Carolina ranks 32nd in both per capita and total spending.
The federal government is spending 78 cents per person in South Carolina, where an estimated 20 percent of the population lacks coverage. Nationwide, per capita spending ranges from 46 cents in Wisconsin — which also isn't running an exchange — to $9.23 in West Virginia. Total spending in states ranges from $914,000 in Wyoming to $174.2 million in California, slated to receive a quarter of all public money identified by the AP.
The spending in South Carolina includes $2.4 million awarded to 19 health centers statewide.
Those centers operated 157 sites and served more than 315,000 patients last year — 36 percent of them uninsured. They expect to use the money to hire 45 workers and help more than 41,000 residents enroll in health plans, according to a July 10 release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Amounts awarded range from $59,000 to Foothills Community Health Care in Clemson to about $208,500 to Care South Carolina in Hartsville.
The federal government has set aside an additional $1.2 million for community groups. The winning applicants are expected to be named in mid-August.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Happy Independence Day!
By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s
breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers
stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world. ~ "Concord Hymn,” Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1837
Today marks the 237th anniversary of The Declaration of
Independence. After passage by the Continental Congress, a War for Independence
ensued, with the insurgents risking their fortunes, their very lives and the
lives of their families, all because of the truths that they and we to this day
hold to be self-evident. There are few people today who would put themselves in
their shoes. Imagine a citizenry willing to lay their lives on the line for
principle. The great principles of political freedom and of natural justice,
embodied in that Declaration of Independence are what we celebrate today.
We will celebrate Independence Day as we do every year on July 4th. For most, it marks a holiday from our daily work.
It’s planned around barbecues and fireworks. For some, today reopens the wounds
of the brave men and women who have returned home from war to the land of the
free and the home of the brave. For all, it should be day spent with family and
loved ones honoring the heroes who returned and the heroes our Creator took
Home.
Happy Independence Day from Palmetto Policy Forum!
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Wednesday, July 3, 2013
For Pension Funds, Higher Fees Don't Mean Higher Returns, Study Finds
Originally published in the Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2013
Report on State Pension Funds Adds Fuel to Debate on Active Investment Managers
By MICHAEL CORKERY
Public-employee pension plans paying the highest investment fees aren't generating the highest returns, according to a new study by a pair of Maryland think tanks.
In fact, just the opposite may be true, says the Maryland Public Policy Institute and Maryland Tax Education Foundation.
On average, 10 states paying the most money-management fees had lower investment returns between June 30, 2007 and June 30, 2012 than 10 states paying the fewest fees.
In recent years, many pensions have been willing to live with the high fees charged by alternative investment managers, such as hedge funds, in hopes that these firms can deliver high returns with less risk than stocks.
The report could add fuel to the growing debate over whether pensions should be moving away from higher-cost, active-investment managers and toward lower-cost, passive investments such as indexes.
The report calculates investment fees as percentage of a pension fund's total assets.
"Many states are spending millions of dollars a year in Wall Street fees and they seem to be getting very little in return," says Jeff Hooke, a co-author of the study and chairman of Maryland Tax Education Foundation, a conservative-leaning group.
The 10 state pension funds paying the most fees had a median five-year annualized return of 1.34%. The 10 state funds paying the least in fees reported a 2.38% return for the five year period.
The study ranks fees and investment returns at the largest pension funds in 35 states with fiscal years ending June 30, 2012.
The study examined fees for statewide pension funds covering a range of workers. In some states, the study looked at the largest pension plan, such as teachers' funds. South Carolina Retirement System paid the most fees in the study, totaling 1.3% of total pension assets. The Teacher Retirement System of Georgia paid the least in fees, totaling 0.09% of total assets, according to the study.
South Carolina's five-year return rate was about 1.5% while Georgia's returns were about 2.9%, the report says.
In a statement, South Carolina chief investment officer Hershel Harper said "there is no one common practice in reporting investment fees paid.''
"We understand practices vary widely, making any 'apples to apples' comparison of standard financial statement investment management fees nearly impossible," Mr. Harper said. South Carolina has a relatively large allocation to alternative investments.
A spokesman for the Georgia teachers' pension couldn't be reached.
The study grew out of the Maryland think tanks' scrutiny of the pension plan of their home state, says Mr. Hooke, a managing director at Focus, an investment banking firm in Washington, D.C. Maryland's investment fees totaled 0.64%, the third highest in the study.
Mr. Hooke says in a similar study last year, his group missed some fees paid by certain states, but those oversights have been corrected this year.
Some pension plans have been demanding lower fees from hedge funds and private-equity firms. One plan in Montgomery County, Pa. has moved nearly all of its money into index funds to lower costs.
By MICHAEL CORKERY
Public-employee pension plans paying the highest investment fees aren't generating the highest returns, according to a new study by a pair of Maryland think tanks.
In fact, just the opposite may be true, says the Maryland Public Policy Institute and Maryland Tax Education Foundation.
On average, 10 states paying the most money-management fees had lower investment returns between June 30, 2007 and June 30, 2012 than 10 states paying the fewest fees.
In recent years, many pensions have been willing to live with the high fees charged by alternative investment managers, such as hedge funds, in hopes that these firms can deliver high returns with less risk than stocks.
The report could add fuel to the growing debate over whether pensions should be moving away from higher-cost, active-investment managers and toward lower-cost, passive investments such as indexes.
The report calculates investment fees as percentage of a pension fund's total assets.
"Many states are spending millions of dollars a year in Wall Street fees and they seem to be getting very little in return," says Jeff Hooke, a co-author of the study and chairman of Maryland Tax Education Foundation, a conservative-leaning group.
The 10 state pension funds paying the most fees had a median five-year annualized return of 1.34%. The 10 state funds paying the least in fees reported a 2.38% return for the five year period.
The study ranks fees and investment returns at the largest pension funds in 35 states with fiscal years ending June 30, 2012.
The study examined fees for statewide pension funds covering a range of workers. In some states, the study looked at the largest pension plan, such as teachers' funds. South Carolina Retirement System paid the most fees in the study, totaling 1.3% of total pension assets. The Teacher Retirement System of Georgia paid the least in fees, totaling 0.09% of total assets, according to the study.
South Carolina's five-year return rate was about 1.5% while Georgia's returns were about 2.9%, the report says.
In a statement, South Carolina chief investment officer Hershel Harper said "there is no one common practice in reporting investment fees paid.''
"We understand practices vary widely, making any 'apples to apples' comparison of standard financial statement investment management fees nearly impossible," Mr. Harper said. South Carolina has a relatively large allocation to alternative investments.
A spokesman for the Georgia teachers' pension couldn't be reached.
The study grew out of the Maryland think tanks' scrutiny of the pension plan of their home state, says Mr. Hooke, a managing director at Focus, an investment banking firm in Washington, D.C. Maryland's investment fees totaled 0.64%, the third highest in the study.
Mr. Hooke says in a similar study last year, his group missed some fees paid by certain states, but those oversights have been corrected this year.
Some pension plans have been demanding lower fees from hedge funds and private-equity firms. One plan in Montgomery County, Pa. has moved nearly all of its money into index funds to lower costs.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Stories of Freedom: a “First Principles” Must Read
The current edition of Hillsdale College's newsletter, Imprimis, contains an outstanding tribute by U.S. Senator
Ted Cruz (TX) to freedom and the career of a lady who famously said, “I am not
a consensus politician. I am a conviction politician.” Hillsdale
President Larry Arnne, a confidante of Baroness Margaret Thatcher, also
remembers defining moments in the career his friend. Enjoy a few
excerpts below or click here to read the entire publication.
From remarks by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (TX)
But most importantly, freedom produces opportunity. And I would encourage each of you to embrace what I call opportunity conservatism, which means that we should look at and judge every proposed domestic policy with a laser focus on how it impacts the least among us—how it helps the most vulnerable Americans climb the economic ladder.
The political left in our country seeks to reach down the hand of government and move people up the economic ladder. This attempt is almost always driven by noble intentions. And yet it never, ever works. Conservatives, in contrast, understand from experience that the only way to help people climb the economic ladder is to provide them the opportunity to pull themselves up one rung at a time…
Friday, June 7, 2013
Innovating SC Education Policy: Why the Need for Change?
Compelling statistics below that reinforce why education transformation is so vital to the economic future of our Palmetto State:
- Reading is not taught beyond 3rd grade, yet 38% of our state’s 4th graders are functionally illiterate and 72% read below grade level. (NAEP 2011)
- In Charleston County, nearly 20% of 9th graders read at a 4th-grade level or worse. (Charleston Post & Courier, May 18, 2010)
- Some 28% of South Carolina’s students fail to complete high school within four years, most of whom are dropouts. (SCDE Graduation Report, June 2011)
- According to ACT’s benchmarks, SC students who took the test, only 19% were deemed “college ready.” (ACT Profile Report, Class of 2011)
- Nearly 50% of SC students who enroll as freshman at a four-year college fail to graduate within six years. (SC Commission for Higher Education, 2011)
- While South has a 9.5% unemployment rate, there are extensive shortages of skilled workers for high technology manufacturing. (SC Department of Employment and Workforce; The State, Jan. 25, 2012)
- Most high school exit exams measure proficiency at the 8th to 10th grade levels. They are set this low to minimize the number of dropouts. (“Beyond the Rhetoric,” SREB, June 2010)
- The U.S. has fallen from 1st in the world in high school graduation rate to 18th of 24 industrialized nations. (“Benchmarking for Success,” National Governors’ Assoc., 2008)
- Between 2007 and 2009, teacher job satisfaction fell by 15 points to 44%, the lowest level since 1986. Additionally, 29% said they are likely to leave teaching for another profession. (The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, 2011)
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