Photo: C-SPAN3

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann — famous for urging the media to expose anti-Americans in Congress – did her own probing today, pressing AIG CEO Edward Liddy for names of her colleagues who had foreknowledge of AIG’s controversial bonus payments. “Did any members of Congress know anything about the bonuses?” asked Bachmann. Yes, Liddy responded –  at least some were aware of “the obligation to pay the bonuses.”

But he didn’t name names for Bachmann, any more than he did earlier when Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) asked Liddy for names of the AIG executives who got bonuses.

Bachmann’s interrogation went like this:

Which members of Congress or staff knew about this and when?

Any members of the administration who knew about this?

Did any members of Congress know anything about the bonuses?

Could you be responsive about which members of Congress knew?

Liddy said he didn’t know but promised to try to find out for her.

Bachmann’s five minutes of questioning came toward the end of a long day of testimony from Liddy and an earlier panel of witnesses before the House Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

Bachmann, a member of the committee, appeared to be in attendance for the full hearing. Her questioning was measured in tone and lacked the incendiary word choice of other committee members, who shouted “Damn!” and warned Liddy of legislation that would be worse for AIG than waterboarding.

At one point, Rep. Paul Kanjorski (DR-Pa.) banged his gavel and threatened protesters from the group Code Pink with expulsion from the hearing room unless they surrendered their signs. Frank lightened the mood by expressing relief — after seeing how Kanjorski dealt with the signs — that the protesters weren’t wearing the slogans on their shirts.

Here is video from Bachmann’s questioning of Liddy:

Via GOOD.

Click to enlarge.

If your insurance company is denying your health care claims, it pays to be a California resident. Since 2006 California’s Department of Managed Health Care has been investigating consumer complaints about insurance being snatched away when it’s most needed, as in the middle of chemotherapy, for example. One of the most egregious companies, according to a number of California claims? Minnesota’s own insurance monolith, UnitedHealth Care.

California has gained national attention recently for ordering insurance companies to pay up. And now “online activism,” including repeated calls from the California Nurses Association, has forced PacifiCare, a California insurer under  UnitedHealth Group (aka the worst insurance company in the country, according to a recent survey of hospitals), to pay for a 17-year-old boy’s cancer treatment. The boy, Nick Columbo, has bone cancer.

Both the Daily Kos and the Consumerist reported Wednesday that  UnitedHealth was denying Columbo what’s known as CyberKnife treatment, which his doctors had recommended. (Read the PDF).

Later in the day, a representative of the Minnesota company told the Consumerist that the decision to deny the boy doctor-recommended treatment had been reversed.  And he added the unrepentant caveat that Columbo’s case was being used as a “political tool.”

The bill cleared the Senate earlier this week; expectations are that it will be taken up by the House before the current session ends. The House bill’s sponsors are Rhode Island Democrat Patrick Kennedy and Minnesota Republican Jim Ramstad.

Currently, many plans that include mental health coverage provisions offer a lower level of coverage than for other health problems. For instance, plans may require higher co-pays and deductibles, lower limits for the numbers of inpatient or outpatient visits allowed or annual and lifetime caps on the amount of coverage. The proposed mental health bill would require those who offer mental health coverage to provide the same level of benefits for mental health coverage as for physical health.The Senate version of the bill also mandates out-of-network mental health coverage, while the House bill does not. If the House passes the bill, its version will need to be reconciled with the Senate’s.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that one in five American families are affected by mental illness, and that passing the parity bill would have significant impact in Minnesota. Minnesota NAMI executive director Sue Abderholden explained that although Minnesota already has a mental health parity law, “Over half of Minnesotans with coverage are covered under self-insured plans.” The significance of that, Abderholden explained, is that self-insurers are not required to provide mental health coverage, and that the federal plan would close that loophole.

Although the parity bill has had many supporters over the years, two of its most ardent proponents have been Ramstad and the late senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota; the House version is named “The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.”

Most members of the Minnesota congressional delegation have voiced their support for the parity bill. Republican Rep. John Kline is said to favor the Senate version; Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann’s position is unclear. Neither returned calls seeking comment.

Ramstad, a recovering alcoholic who has announced he will not run for re-election, spoke of the parity bill as his legacy: “Before I leave Congress, I expect the mental health and addiction treatment parity bill will become law. This landmark bill to provide greater access to treatment is the legacy I want to leave to millions of Americans suffering from mental illness and addiction; a legacy of access to treatment and recovery; a legacy of hope for a healthy and sober life.”

Abderholden agreed that the bill’s passage would be Ramstad’s “crowning moment,” and referred to him as a “great friend of the mental health community.”

Ramstad and Abderholden also had kind words for Paul Wellstone and his efforts.

“I will always cherish my work with Paul to provide greater access to treatment for people with mental illness and chemical addiction,” Ramstad said. “Paul would call me frequently to breathlessly relay his progress in securing another co-sponsor or to share counsel.  I came to absolutely treasure those late-night phone calls.”

Abderholden said that if Congress passes the mental health parity bill, “I can just see Paul Wellstone smiling and saying, ‘It’s about time.’”