Elizabeth Warren Goes Scorched Earth On Biden Nominee
Category: News & Politics
Via: texan1211 • last year • 15 commentsBy: Michael Luciano Load Comments (Mediaite)
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Michael LucianoSep 28th, 2023, 8:04 pm Twitter share button <?php // Post Body ?>
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) lost it on a nominee who refused to answer straightforward questions about his current role in the private sector and whether he will resign if confirmed by the Senate.
Demetrios Kouzoukas was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a trustee on the boards of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. In his opening statement, Kouzoukas thanked the members of the Senate Finance Committee and concluded, "I look forward to answering your questions."
Warren tested the limits of that pledge when she asked the nominee about his board seat at Clover Health, a company that insures seniors as part of Medicare Advantage. At first, Kouzoukas refused to answer a question about his compensation as a Clover board member before finally relenting. But when asked if he would resign his seat if confirmed, the nominee refused to say, prompting Warren to tell him she will oppose his nomination.
"A big factor influencing Medicare solvency today is the growth of Medicare Advantage, a program that allows for-profit insurance companies to sell Medicare coverage that experts say is on target this year to charge- overcharge the government by $75 billion," Warren said, before getting down to brass tacks:
WARREN: Mr. Kouzoukas, you sit on the board of Clover Health, a for-profit insurance company that according to its most recent SEC filing, receives a "substantial portion" of its total revenue from Medicare Advantage premiums. How much are you paid for your work at Clover?
KOUZOUKAS: Senator, I'm paid in accordance with the company's process for-
WARREN: Ok, and what's the dollar amount? That's what I'm asking.
KOUZOUKAS: Well, there's a, uh, portion of the compensation that [unintelligible]
WARREN: So, you don't know the amount that you're getting paid from Clover?
KOUZOUKAS: I do, Senator.
WARREN: Then how about you tell me?
KOUZOUKAS: Well, there's a portion that relates to the-
WARREN: Could I have a dollar amount, please?
KOUZOUKAS: It also depends on the year and the time-
WARREN: Ok, you did a financial disclosure last year. Would you like to tell me what you said on your financial disclosure, which you signed under oath?
KOUZOUKAS: I believe, Senator, as laid out in your letter, you pointed out to the payment that was from Clover for, with regards to 2022, and the compensation therein being in the category of $100,000.
WARREN: Ok. So, you received $100,000 from Clover for your service. And if confirmed as a public trustee, do you plan to quit the Clover board?
KOUZOUKAS: Senator, I appreciate the opportunity to address your question.
WARREN: Uh, it's really easy. You can say "Yes" or you can say "No."
KOUZOUKAS: Senator, the role of the trustees of the Social Security-
WARREN: Is that a yes or a no? Do you plan to quit the job for which you were paid $100,000 a year?
KOUZOUKAS: Senator, I'm grateful to the president and his team for the review of my credentials and qualifications-
WARREN: I mean, really?! You know you're gonna have to answer this question. Is it yes or is it no? Are you planning to resign the job that pays you $100,000 a year while you are a trustee for Medicare?
KOUZOUKAS: Senator, the review of my current activities and my credentials and qualifications is one that all nominees undergo and that's one that led to the president putting my nomination before this body. I'm grateful for that and if given the opportunity-
WARREN: I'm not gonna get into why the president nominated you. What I wanna know is, are you gonna keep a job where you get paid by a for-profit outfit somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000 a year while you keep your government trustee job? Can you answer that question?
KOUZOUKAS: Senator, the role of the trustees-
WARREN: Ok, I'm gonna take that as a "yes" because I'm gonna assume that if you were gonna quit that job, you would be really happy to tell me that right now before we go into the question of what it means for you to keep this job.
Mr. Kouzoukas, as we both know, as a member of the board, corporate law requires you to help Clover to maximize its profits. So, for example, if you highlighted the amount of fraud that Medicare Advantage undergoes every year and how that fraud is undermining the solvency of Medicare, that could lead to policies that might limit the Medicare Advantage program. And if that happened, Mr. Kouzoukas, would limiting the Medicare Advantage program undercut the profitability of Clover, the company that bylaw, you are supposed to be watching out for?
[SILENCE]
WARREN: That was a question.
KOUZOUKAS: I'm not sure I understood the question-
WARREN: So, my question is, you are on the board of Clover, you are legally obligated to try to help Clover, to improve its profitability over time or at least sustain its profits. That's corporate law 101, right? So, if you are also serving as a Medicare trustee, I just wanna be clear here. If the focus in the Medicare program is on the amount of fraud that is currently in the Medicare Advantage program, I think it's reasonable to assume that could lead to reducing the amount of money that we put into Medicare Advantage, to putting more restrictions on Medicare Advantage, to saying we've gotta put a cop on the beat, maybe cut it out altogether.
What I'm asking you is, would that injure Clover? That is, would it reduce Clover's profitability?
KOUZOUKAS: Senator, I think all Americans and I, especially would share your attentiveness to the questions of fraud-
WARREN: I appreciate that, but I asked you a pretty straightforward question. If you're actually gonna be a trustee on behalf of the American people and people who care about the solvency of Medicare, then I think you oughta be able to answer - if Medicare currently, as it stands, put more restrictions on Medicare Advantage, would that likely cut into the profitability of Clover, the company from which you receive more than $100,000 in compensation annually?
KOUZOUKAS: Senator, I think that the question you're asking-
WARREN: I know the question I'm asking. Could you answer my question, please? You wanna be a trustee for the American people. You oughta be able to answer that question.
KOUZOUKAS: The question you're asking is one that deserves a greater context about the role of the trustee.
WARREN: No! It deserves an answer from you. You wanna be the trustee, the answer the question. If Medicare cut what goes into Medicare Advantage, would that hurt Clover's profitability? That's not a hard question. And in fact, Clover has already pretty much answered that in its public documents. So, could you give an answer to that, please?
KOUZOUKAS: I think, Senator, what's important to focus on here-
WARREN: I know what's important to focus on here. That's why I'm here, is to ask the questions that are important to focus on. Could you answer my question, please?
KOUZOUKAS: Yes, Senator. I think that, if confirmed, Dr. Newman and I would be an outside set of eyes and ears-
WARREN: That is not my question. Can you answer my question or are you just flatly refusing?
KOUZOUKAS: Senator, I'd be delighted to-
WARREN: Then answer my question!
KOUZOUKAS: And I think the question is one that is, in the context of-
WARREN: No! It's a question that's a straight financial question. You know, Mr. Kouzoukas, I think you think you're gonna get away with this by just not answering the question and not having any clip that admits how much money you're taking from a private insurance company that makes its money through Medicare Advantage, at the same moment that you're trying to take a public role that will influence whether we focus on the fraud in Medicare Advantage, or whether we turn a blind eye to it.
Let's be clear. If Mr. Kouzoukas ignores the fraud, he helps Clover. If he focuses on the fraud, he hurts Clover. The conflict of interest here is so big and so pervasive that there is no action that Mr. Kouzoukas can take that doesn't either help or hurt Clover, the company that pays him $100,000 a year to sit on its board and watch out for the company. And there is no waiver that can change that fact. This kind of conflict is shocking and it is deeply unethical. Not a single other trustee has ever received compensation from an insurance company while acting as a Medicare trustee.
And if you won't step down from the Clover board, then you should withdraw your nomination. And if you do not withdraw, given the clear conflicts posed by your board service, I will strongly oppose your nomination and I will encourage every other senator in this body to do so as well.
Watch above via the U.S. Senate.
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I wonder if Biden or if anyone in his family received anything for this seemingly BIZARRE nomination?
The clown couldn't answer a question to save his life!
I wish that Warren had a chance to ask Biden or his handlers WTF they were thinking when they nominated this guy.
The answer just has to be entertaining.
This guy belongs nowhere near public office. The real question she was obviously asking was “would you use this position to screw over the US government, and this the people, in order to enrich your current employer and thus yourself?”
And his “answer” to my ears was an emphatic “yes!”
Fuck that guy.
This is the person Biden picked.
I wonder WTF he was thinking.
I agree. There is a long history of administrations picking business insiders to run departments and oversite offices. It's obscene. That said let's not pretend Biden invented the practice.
I love Elizabeth Warren. She should be in the White House.
But your boy Joe picked this guy!
Sheer genius!
He’s not my boy and never has been. He’s just the candidate who is not Donald Trump.
Then this is evidence Biden isn't fit for office.
That is hands down the most retarded comment you have made to date on this site. [deleted]
A very hard concept for some to grasp.
I am sure you just didn't understand it then.
She's too far to the left for me as President, but her ideas on oversite are spot on.
She is fiercely honest. As a country we have devolved to the point that that characteristic ranks very high in my book. Being too far left and being able to force the country too far in that direction as POTUS are two different things, imo.
I can't argue with that.