Sullivan's Insurance Folly

I'm beginning to think Sullivan's quest to undermine the Begich administration stems from his inability to believe that a person can be a successful politician without engaging in the same amount of legerdemain as himself. Earlier this week, the Anchorage Press reported on the George M. Sullivan Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, and revealed yet another budget hypocrisy from an administration claiming our city is hovering at the edge of financial ruin. Apparently, George Sullivan (Dan's father) was added to the city's group life insurance plan after finishing his term in office by the Anchorage Assembly because he had recently undergone triple bypass surgery, and faced the possibility of being denied coverage by a private insurer. 

This was in 1982, the policy amount was for $193,000, and Sullivan made the payments until 2002. Aetna, the company providing the plan, canceled his coverage since he was no longer a municipal employee. They were no longer carrying a policy for him, the elder Sullivan didn't qualify because of his age, and yet he still continued to pay the premiums until his death in 2009. Let me repeat that:

George Sullivan continued to pay the premiums for an additional seven years even though he was no longer under a plan, or receiving coverage from Aetna. 

I'm not an insurance agent, but common sense says if you aren't receiving service from a provider, then you no longer need to send them any money, especially not to the tune of $19,662.84. Yet, that is what Sullivan did, and as soon as he was dead the city decided to donate the amount of the original policy, $193,000 to the George M. Sullivan Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust.

Wait, what?

This is a classic example of what happens when someone abuses the power entrusted to them by the people who elected them into office. Since his first day on the job, Dan Sullivan has claimed that our city is so far in debt we need to cut important public amenities including fire and police services, and recently axed the funding for the only boat capable of performing water rescue in the Cook Inlet. He also spent $50,000+ on a forensic auditor to prove Mark Begich was "cooking the books" while in office, over $30,000 on the Unity Awards farce, and the list goes on. Since turnabout is fair play, let's break down the situation, shall we?


First of all, the Anchorage Assembly should not have voted to have George Sullivan continue to receive coverage in the first place. Aetna's policies are for current municipal employees, and at the time the resolution passed Sullivan was no longer the Mayor of Anchorage. 


Second, if his coverage ended in 2002, why did Sullivan continue to pay his premiums, and what happened to the $19,662.84 he sent to the city until 2009? Where did it go? What were the funds being appropriated for if Aetna was no longer accepting payments for a canceled premium?


Third, why would the Department of Law find it necessary to donate the same amount of the policy, $193,000 to the George M. Sullivan Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust? Why not the amount paid by the former mayor for the seven years following cancellation?


Fourth, who are the beneficiaries? The Anchorage Press contacted Suzanne McVicker, the attorney in charge of the trust, and was informed that information is "confidential".


Excuse me? Almost $20,000 is unaccounted for, $20,000 spent on a premium that didn't exist after 2002, and $193,000 of taxpayer monies rolled over into a trust that refuses to disclose its beneficiaries to the public. If that isn't a prime example of a conspiracy to inveigle, obscure, and obfuscate the truth then I don't know what is. If Sullivan was the upstanding guy he claims to be, then he should have requested that the Department of Law not donate the monies, disclose the fate of the $19,662.84, and make the Trust's operations transparent. We have 3.5 years to go until Sullivan's term in office is up, and when that time comes the ;progressives need to have their act together in order to run Dan right out of office.

Time to go blue.

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http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2010/03/03/news/doc4b8eec08eff81865973914.txt