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Raid, D.C. rally coincided

A WellCare member says he was kept in the dark.

By KRIS HUNDLEY
Published October 30, 2007

More than 200 federal and state agents seized documents and computers from the WellCare's headquarters in Tampa Wednesday as part of a wide-ranging investigation.
	[Chris Zuppa | Times]

When the Coalition for Medicare Choices offered Stan Hardie an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., last week to lobby Congress on behalf of the Medicare Advantage program, the disabled Jacksonville-area resident figured he had nothing to lose.

Unfortunately, Hardie's insurer is WellCare Health Plans Inc. And as Hardie and about 60 other WellCare members were gathering in the nation's capital on Wednesday, more than 200 federal and state agents were seizing documents and computers from the company's headquarters in Tampa as part of a wide-ranging investigation.

Hardie said two WellCare representatives accompanying his group didn't say a word about the embarrassing news unfolding back home. But he suspects it was the reason his contingent was rushed through scheduled meetings with lawmakers Wednesday morning and excluded from an afternoon rally.

"I felt like an idiot," said Hardie, who didn't learn about the WellCare raid until after he returned home Thursday afternoon. "If the trip had been used appropriately and our goals were accomplished, it would have been great. But no goals were accomplished. Not one."

In fact, the Coalition for Medicare Choices, an advocacy group organized and financed by insurers, declared the event a victory.

Mohit Ghose, spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the insurers' trade group, said the summit attracted more than 400 Medicare Advantage members from 22 states. In addition to WellCare, about 18 companies recruited enrollees to attend the midweek event.

All expenses -- including meals, flights and lodging -- were picked up either by the insurer or the trade group, which receives more than $32-million a year from insurers' dues.

Ghose said the rally was a response to threatened cuts in Medicare Advantage funding. The plans are paid 12 percent more than traditional Medicare and are projected to cost taxpayers an additional $54-billion over the next five years.

Insurers like WellCare and Humana, which announced its profits had nearly doubled Monday, say the higher payments translate into more benefits for members.

"It's important for Congress to understand that this conversation not be about insurance company profits," Ghose said. "It is actually about these beneficiaries who would be paying more out of pocket and getting fewer services if it were not for these plans."

Ghose said several WellCare members attended the Wednesday rally at the Hyatt Regency, which received modest media coverage.

Amy Knapp, a WellCare spokeswoman, also insisted that the group's itinerary on Capitol Hill was not cut short because of the raid. She said WellCare's Florida members spent about 10 minutes with Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, and also got to meet with a staffer from Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson's office.

"I'm not sure where the disconnect is," she said of Hardie's claims.

Nor was there any intent to hide the federal investigation from members, Knapp said. WellCare executives simply kept mum until they had a better idea of what was going on.

"But since that point, we've made an effort to communicate with all our constituencies," she said.

Hardie said when he finally reached his WellCare contact after returning home Thursday, the executive was extremely apologetic. But after buying new clothes for his date with Congress, Hardie still thinks his group was given the bum's rush because of its connection to WellCare.

"We were rushed out of the Capitol and whisked away from the rally," he said. "We ended up standing out in the rain."

Carlos and Petrona Cantillo, WellCare members from Port St. Lucie, had a better experience in D.C. Carlos, 78, said the couple met Martinez and attended the rally, all at WellCare's expense.

But he is apparently still in the dark about the WellCare investigation.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said Monday.

Kris Hundley can be reached at hundley@sptimes.com. Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.

[Last modified October 29, 2007, 23:11:51]