Just as the House Republican bill to slash much of the Affordable Care Act moved forward, Rep. Mike Conaway, a Texas Republican and member of Speaker Paul Ryan’s leadership team, added a health insurance company to his portfolio.
An account owned by Conaway’s wife made two purchases of UnitedHealth stock, worth as much as $30,000, on March 24th, the day the legislation advanced in the House Rules Committee, according to disclosures. The exact value of Conaway’s investment isn’t clear, given that congressional ethics forms only show a range of amounts, and Conaway’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
It was a savvy move. Health industry stocks, including insurance giants like UnitedHealth, have surged as Republicans move forward with their repeal effort, which rolls back broad taxes on health care firms while loosening consumer regulations which prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for medical treatment. UnitedHealth has gained nearly 7 percent in value since March 24.
He wasn’t the only one. As the health care system overhaul advanced last month on the other side of Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma purchased between $50,000 to $100,000 in UnitedHealth stock.
“Sen. Inhofe has a financial advisor who makes transactions on his behalf and these transactions are disclosed as required by the STOCK Act,” Nicole Hage, Inhofe’s spokesperson, told The Intercept. “The transaction you reference was routine and made without the Senator’s prior knowledge or consultation.”
The issue of insider political trading, with members and staff buying and selling stock using privileged information, has continued to plague Congress. It gained national prominence during the confirmation hearings for Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, when it was revealed that the Georgia Republican had bought shares in Innate Immunotherapeutics, a relatively obscure Australian biotechnology firm, while legislating on policies that could have impacted the firm’s performance.
The stock advice had been passed to Price from Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a board member for Innate Immunotherapeutics, and was shared with a number of other GOP lawmakers, who also invested in the firm. Conaway, records show, bought shares in the company a week after Price.
Conaway, who serves as a GOP deputy whip in the House, has a long record of investing in firms that coincide with his official duties. Politico reported that Conaway’s wife purchased stock in a nuclear firm just after Conaway sponsored a bill to deal with nuclear waste storage in his district. The firm stood to directly benefit from the legislation.
Some of the biggest controversies stem from the revelation that during the 2008 financial crisis, multiple lawmakers from both parties rearranged their financial portfolios to avoid heavy losses. In one case, former Rep. Spencer Baucus, R-Ala., used confidential meetings about the unfolding bank crisis to make special trades designed to increase in value as the stock market plummeted.
Congress eventually acted with the STOCK Act, legislation designed to curb insider trading abuses. But the law was quickly watered down with amendments, and some provisions of it were later repealed. As we’ve reported, the House of Representatives has actively fought efforts to enforce the law after the Securities and Exchange Commission attempted to investigate one congressional staffer accused of passing health care information to a set of hedge funds.
Update: July 6, 2017
This piece was updated with a response from Sen. Jim Inhofe’s spokesperson.
Top photo: Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX), now leading the House Intelligence investigation after Devin Nunes was forced to recuse himself, arrives for a hearing featuring former Director of the CIA John Brennan at the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 23, 2017.
HOW COME THAT IT SEEMS THE WHO. IT ARE LIVE’S NOT SENATORS NOT EVEN ILLEGAL PRESIDENT THIS WHOLE CONGRES AND GOVERMENT IS OUT OFF CONTROLE AND IT HAS TO BE STOPPED NOW OR WE ALL JUST KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE
Some nice points made here, Mr. Fang. I have a hair-splitting question. The title of the article implies knowledge of multiple Republican lawmakers buying up health insurance company stocks. Are there others not divulged or is Rep. Conway the only one you found in this case? If it’s only the one representative, maybe the article title should be changed to reflect that or to broaden the scope a bit. Otherwise, it feels a little click-baity, although I understand the need to make article titles that are provocative, but they should also be genuine.
According to Senator Inhofe’s office, his purchase was made without his consent or knowledge.
What part of that is too difficult to understand? He has a registered financial advisor (which I will not name, since they are a well-known local business) making all of his investment decisions on his behalf. Not just some of these decisions; ALL of these decisions.
The purchases to his account were properly disclosed by his financial advisor. This is what is required by the law.
The reason a Senator would hire out his investment decisions is because the Senator himself is conducting his regular job duties, and can’t be bothered with also trying to make these decisions. He hires out this assistance. The financial advisor has a duty to look out for the best financial interests of its clients. As such, they have to make decisions based upon projections of future business expectations. To do otherwise would be negligence on the part of the financial advisor.
But if you still think it’s wrong for a financial advisor to not make investment decisions based upon intelligence and a duty to their client’s financial health, then I believe they would be seriously conflicted.
Conflicted is right… Shoot, if cosmosodding is paying the bills, it’s paying the bills, amaerite?
Can one presume a similar review will be made of the Democrats? I couldn’t help but notice nothing was said about them, which seems odd given The Intercept’s usual efforts to achieve balance even in the face of bias.
And no, I’m not a Republican. I’m a journalist.
As a journalist you are of course capable of producing a similar view of the Democrats. Please let us know when and where we can read that.
Note that the previous article by Lee Fang is about a democrat profiting from GOP victories: https://theintercept.com/2017/07/06/mark-penn-centrist-neoliberal-democrats-profits-donald-trump-republicans/
Selling our health out to the highest bidder is the republican way!
i suggest Fang does better research
in the midst of an opiod crisis letting state opt out of services that help this group is going to be devastating to our children and economy. http://addictionnomore.com/senate-to-vote-to-end-insurance-coverage-for-substance-abuse
If it was you or me we would end up on jail ! Fantastic democratic system USA. Way to go !
TECH the USA is a democratic republic, but it is also a constitutional republic. Either way, there are different rules for us regular people and politicians/the rich, and it’s bullshirt!
Profiteering should equal expulsion. One office/term/lifetime/no lobbying; should be part of a much needed Constitutional Convention ammendment
It’s been long overdue to start chopping off heads. It won’t change anything but they deserve it anyway.
No mention in any other media outlets. They are more interested in the pointless G20 distraction
This should be completely illegal and grounds for dismissal from Congress. What a sham. In any other industry, this would be something you’d go to jail for. Instead here, you get re-elected. Disgusting!
Unfortunately Janeenr, that would mean the removal of most of Congress. It’s the way it does business these days. And the American Sheeple bleat on …
Why would the removal of most of Congress be unfortunate?
And the bleat goes on… And the bleat goes on…the dumb sheep sounding lost to my brain…la dee da dee baaa, la de da dee baaaaad…so sad!
That would be the most fortunate thing in history, but it hasn’t happened in my 60 years, and I bet it won’t be changed in yours.
USA stays in a perpetual state of amnesia, Never remember the past and always repeat it. It is called dumbing down the masses and lack of REAL education. Notice it is now being handled by the people who don’t give a crap about kids today unless they have a few million ready to hand out. This country SUCKS, just like this government!
“Health industry stocks, including insurance giants like UnitedHealth, have surged as Republicans move forward with their repeal effort…”
UNH went up 105% during Obama’s first term and 200% in his second term. Was that also due to the Republicans?
Or is it possible this author doesn’t understand what makes HMO stocks go up and down, and he’s using stock price movements to justify what he already wants to believe to be true?
“UnitedHealth has gained nearly 7 percent in value since March 24.”
And 5% before March 24th.
And 35% in 2016.
And 15% in 2015.
etc.
Are you defending politicians profiting from insider information?
As for Con Away, he also helped get a toxic waste site, including nuclear, to get built over the Ogadalla Aquifer. No doubt he profited from that beyond the campaign contributions from the odious Harold Simmons.
No. I’m saying the author should refrain from discussing things he doesn’t understand.
He did not discriminate in pointing out that such insider trading has taken place on both sides of the aisles. It sounds like you are still stuck in the binary system that sets republicans against democrats. On all the issues that matter, the parties have been nearly identical- they are the business party.
This financialization of the healthcare industry is destroying it just as it has destroyed many exploitatable segments of our economy. The excellent book “Makers and Takers” makes this clear. Our legislators are the ultimate takers, the ultimate “insider traitors”.
Oh. Look.
Now, they wouldn’t be lining their pockets off the profits of insurance against sickness and disease. Would they?
Nationalize health insurance. Today.
Ask the VA how that government-run health care is working. It amazes me how often folks need to be reminded that PROSPECT OF PROFIT and FEAR OF LOSS are the only enduring motivators. When either is taken away, we end up with the nationalized telegraph utility (which turned into Western Union after privatization), the U.S. Postal Service (as opposed to Airborne Express, FedEx, UPS, etc.), and many more examples.
Look, I get it. Capitalism sucks. It’s the worst system in the world, I agree…..except for every other system that has been tried in this world.
Um. Why don’t we ask Canada, England, France, Germany, most of Europe and most of if not all the other 1st world countries in the world how government-run healthcare is working?
Capitalism the way the US does it isn’t better than every other system tried, we just refuse to try any other system and hide behind misinformation like what you are peddling. Sadly most Americans (probably you included) still believe we lead the world, when in fact Europe does at this point. We are only respected because of the exorbitant amount we spend on our military that we only need because we try and police a world that doesn’t want it.
For every example of good nationalized healthcare, there is an example of bad. The UK to the Northern Ireland.
The question isn’t whether or not nationalized healthcare *works* (out of the large amount states that have it, plenty have higher quality care than the US), the question is why it works in some states and not others.
We need to reflect on what went wrong in the failing (UK’s NHS) and what’s being done differently in others to cause the succesful ones.
Same with capitalism. We need to reflect on what went wrong in the failing alternate economies (the USSR’s planned econ), where they went right, and how we can do better to improve living conditions for all of humanity.
Let’s not just toss all pragmatism aside, stick our fingers in our ears, and yell, “this is the best we can do! It is impossible to do better!”
We *can* do better. Capitalism isn’t forever. It isn’t our last stage.
The UPS, Fed Ex etc do not provide anything like the level of service and low price that the USPS does.
And the British NHS has been rated the best healthcare syatem in the world.
And the assumption that profit and fear of loss of wealth are prime motivators of Homo sapiens is totally unsupported by actual scientific sociological and anthropological study. It is fabricated nonsense used to ram a theory of domination by the powerful (aka capitalism) down our throats.
I live in a country with socialized healthcare and it works pretty well. We’ve had it for decades and no politician would dare touch it due to its popularity. Americans pay the most for healthcare in the world and get worse service than essentially all other developed nations. Why protect the profits of these companies? It makes no sense…
It isn’t Capitalism that sucks it’s corrupt crony Capitalism that reeks and wrecks societies in my estimation. Even when so-called socialist systems fail it’s almost always due to corrupt and self-serving people (read corrupt Capitalists) gone wild. Sometimes the cause is simple ineptitude. Funny thing, the same blames hold true for Dictatorships. Corruption (imposed from within or without) and/or clueless ineptness are the two greatest human causes of political system failure. Unfortunately, Mr. Trump couples corruption with clumsiness in my opinion. When the first order of business of our Congress was to try remove the Independent Ethics Office, it occurred to me that ethics may not be their first priority.
The plutocracy leading the way again, showing us all how it’s really done and leaving all of us American farmed tax stock a little poorer.
Or, actually, A LOT poorer.
I believe this is a conflict of interest. If you work in a position of political power you should not be able to invest in stocks period. Insider trading is a federal crime, these crooks need to be locked up.
Amazing revelations, just like your report on Mark Penn. Thank you.
This is why we can’t have nice things.
This is only a small share of the iceberg trade. Someone else mentioned the 60 Minutes segment on this issue, which was broadcast in 2012, after which the house passed a silly “ethics rule” that amounts to, uh, nothing. Politico did a long expose on the issue this past May that showed –
– Three in 10 members of Congress made a stock trade over the past two years
– All told, they made over 21,300 trades
– The top 12 traders are responsible for two thirds of those trades
– Approximately 7,300 trades are attributable to a single congressman, Mike McCaul of Texas
– 31 percent of Republicans made a trade, as did 28 percent of Democrats
– 39 percent of senators made a trade, versus just 28 percent of the House
But, 11 of the top 12 traders are House members
Con-away was one of the featured players in the Politico article as well. These activities are certainly part of the explanation as to why anyone would spend tens of millions for a job that pays under 200K. There is no stopping this.
Can you name one Congressperson who isn’t a millionaire? Many using insider trading information gained thru their “investigations” have doubled their portfolios. 60 Minutes once tried to question Pelosi about her portfolio. F**k off. You don’t exist.
There are actually many members of both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives whose net worth is below one million dollars. As one might expect, it all depends on their state of origin and family background. That information is publicly available and can be located with a simple internet search. The most recent financial disclosures are dated 2014. This might call into question some members net worth but a lot of it is still accurate. Not saying that some won’t trade on insider information. The temptation is likely too great for the ethically weak members.
Corporations. A.) Ghouls or B.) Machines? C.) Personhoodies? D.) Mob? E.) Aliens? F.) “Other”? – “They” certainly are not, We the People! lol
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
E.
E.
printed in this article: “Sen. Inhofe has a financial adviser who makes transactions on his behalf and these transactions are disclosed as required by the STOCK Act,” Nicole Hage, Inhofe’s spokesperson, told The Intercept. “The transaction you reference was routine and made without the Senator’s prior knowledge or consultation.”
WOW, Inhofe has authorized someone to play with $50-100K of his money
without even asking?!
From the Center for Responsive Politics –
James M Inhofe (R-Okla) ranks 25th in the Senate with an estimated net worth* of $6,295,938 in 2014.
*Estimated wealth is defined as the average of the maximum debt figure subtracted from the minimum asset figure and the minimum debt figure subtracted from the maximum asset figure.
So he probably doesn’t worry a lot about 50-100K unless they lose all of it. At that point Inhofe could simply find a new broker.
In Canada, they’d be in jail. Here’s the Conflict of Interest Act for any legal geeks out there.
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-36.65/FullText.html
Great reporting, Lee!
The word Congress is derived from ‘gross con’. Members of Congress are using their office to enrich themselves, as the founding fathers intended. If Mr. Conaway or Mr. Inhofe demonstrate their competence by becoming sufficiently wealthy, they may even become candidates for higher office.
Excellent, excellent work, Lee. Here’s looking forward to the tar and feather party for these crooks. They really have no clue what is coming down the pike shortly, any of them.
Even so, many Americans consider the Republicans to be the lesser of two evils.
The Democrat Party has destroyed itself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7fVOSgh1eI
Both parties have destroyed themselves. Neither are anyone that I would trust or count on. When you have congress making money off healthcare for peoples lives, that is wrong and it is time to OVERTHROW such corruption.
There is no hope for the people if we don’t stand up for what is OURS! Insider trading should be an offense that makes you lose your seat in your government position. This is the reason there is NEVER any change for the good, it must benefit someone in government. America the CORRUPT! They should all be taken out, tried by the people, and have their heads chopped off like Let them eat cake Marie Antoinette.
GET A CLUE!!! your blind bias and slanted story make you a mouth piece not a reporter!! You nor any of your liberal friends have any idea what the profits will be and ignore the simple fact if the profits rise it may well come from selling diversified affordable policies instead of government mandated polices that are HIGH COST AND HIGHEER DEDUCTABLE. Maybe you should go get a TREAL education on reporting instead of the liberal brain washing you apparently received!!!
You’re a dumb prick.
“Maybe you should go get a TREAL education”
lol
But yea … this article isnt about the profits, its about insider trading.
Maybe you should get a real education …
Well, dick, it seems you take this article rather personally.
Why would that be, could you work in one of the good politician’s offices as an assistant to staff, or a family member, why else would you have this little online temper fit?
While I agree with Croaker, I’d say there’s something self revealing in using the name dick in small lower case letters.
LMAO
Hahahahahahahaha……yea like that worked over the past 8-9 years. What are you smoking?
To dick ray. Someone commented that you’re missing the point and you are. But to play the devil’s advocate for a minute, how can an insurance company’s profits go up from selling policies, when the insurance company will be denying coverage? There will be no policies to sell. Further, even if the company may decide to offer coverage, the deductibles and premiums would be unaffordable, so again no profits from selling policies.
Profits may go up from denying coverage to the patients (former policy holders under the ACA) who need coverage the most. The health insurer won’t pay be paying for expensive, life saving cancer therapies or therapies for those with disabilities. Before the ACA there was no insurance coverage for anyone with cancer or any other serious medical problem. Guess who paid? The US citizens. How? Medicaid. The replacement Act for Obamacare simply returns the US to the status quo.
Lastly, the tax breaks to the insurance companies could make their profits go up, as was also pointed out by another reader.
I thought this type of insider trading had been banned by law for Congress. Did they kill off the law, or just make sure there was a loophole in there for themselves. Corrupt, cynical and hopeless cretins.
I would love to know how you sussed out this info especially if there are public databases (SEC?) that citizen journalists could use. For example, my congressman, Brett Guthrie, is on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Super work here. Thanks.
Enriching oneself seems to be the most compelling reason to run for Congress. Wouldn’t this also be insider trading?
Isn’t this against the law, since that would be considered “Insider Trading”? The law makers interfere with the economic prospects in the public market and then trade upon that knowledge before the public market is affected by that interference! This is horrible politics and is truly evidence of a “Robber Baron” society!!
Con-gress is exempt from insider trading laws. Your Reps. and Senators at work!
You know I love your reporting, always something really juicy!
Said Inhofe’s spokesperson, Hage, “The transaction you reference was routine…” Yea, that’s exactly the problem–it’s routine. Both parties are complicit in legalizing what by any reasonably objective standard should be considered corrupt.
Hahaha!!! I’ll second that!
what confounds me the most, is that I do not know how to stop it …
who can you call that will change it …
B Sanders screams at the top of his lungs …
the crooks just ignore people like he or I
do we really need to hit the streets with pitchforks
the crooks won’t even do regular legislation during 145 work days per year
they certainly are not going to do anything to stop the corrupt money
falling into their hands …
so what do we do ??? … who do we call ???
voting is a waste of time, with Super Delegates, Gerrymandering, Electoral College
the whole process is rigged …
We The People are currently F#cked
I agree.
If voting worked, it’d be illegal.
I actually had to stop reading this after the 3rd paragraph and knock-back a half bottle of Pepto Bismal. Not only are these -traitors isn’t too harsh a term – knowingly supporting a plan that will kill Americans, they’re also going to try to cash-in as well. How can they live with themselves?
America – what will it take to wake you up?
Third missing post today.
If it appears twice, great.
As John Oliver says, “How is this still a thing?*
As John Oliver says, “How is this still a thing?”
The Old Boys Network……
Always makes you a buck or two…..
VOTE REPUBLICAN
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN
JOBS JOBS JOBS……………………………………..
Being a wallstreet thief requires initiation and that means proving yourself to your pimps. A good political whore will have to demonstrate their loyalty and ability by robbing the public and then lying to the public the nature of the robbery. Most of the whores in congress who allowed the wallstreet thieves to run amuck have secured their backing for re-election. The stock swindle thing is irresistable to the whores because unlike insider trading, it is legal because the foreknowledge hasnt been actually realized. The downside is that the investment simply lies flat without personal loss.
Swindling the American public and stealing public property throo privitization and denying the public productivity gains is hugely profitable for elected thieves and whores.
Thanks for all your great reporting Lee. Earlier this year there was outrage when Republicans wanted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics, but the Price confirmation hearing made me wonder why. If the Office is not working to stop politicians from using their positions to enrich themselves, what is it doing?
how is it that these pieces of garbage are allowed to walk the halls of congress. why is the fbi wasting time on Russia when their backyard is overflowing with financial criminals. and to think they put bank robbers in jail?
it appears that hl Mencken wrote in his column 9/19/1926
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
this kind of news proves the statement is truth.
That is a curious remark because it was made not long after 1917.
Borrowing from Wikipedia: The Russian Revolution was a pair of revolutions in Russia in 1917 which dismantled the Tsarist autocracy and led to the rise of the Soviet Union. The Russian Empire collapsed with the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II and the old regime was replaced by a provisional government during the first revolution of February 1917
Wow, according to “The Motely Fool” columnist, Keith Speights, United Health is the best health insurance investment stock. United Health’s “Optimum” company which specializes in Pharmaceuticals Management, Technology and consulting, has had a very profitable year so far, with revenues 24% higher than last year.
And what a coincidence..it is the 11th district, represented by Conaway!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrews_County,_Texas
Could this be part of this district Conaway is representing?? If so, insider trading pales in comparison.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2011/03/texas-nuclear-waste-dump/
Is this the district Conaway takes credit for??
I would think that these revelations would precipitate the resignantoin of all those mentioned and criminal prosecution as well. But that ain’t happening, is it?
It’s staggering how corrupt the United States has become. I think if you include massive spending and donations for elections ( bribes by any other name) the United States IS the most corrupt nation in the known history of the world.
And the fact that nothing is done and that most Americans don’t seem to understand just how corrupted their political system truly is, is the real issue altogether.
Do ordinary people not know? Or do they just shake if off as no big deal or even justify it?
I’m just a little mystified…
No, people are really that stupid to just blindly accept politicians. If they weren’t, there would have been a flood of “Independent” politicians coming in this year. But nope, just more of the same garbage.
There’s some smart people, they are always outdone by large groups of really stupid people.
People ignore it, don’t care, or see both sides doing it. This is why it’s important to have candidates with clean hands. (Third parties are always good choices.)
Most ordinary people read or watch the corporate-owned mainstream media, so they get the corporate viewpoint. They not only are unaware of how corrupted these politicians are, they also have a skewed view of the system. Notice that the corporate-owned media spends more time on things like Trump’s tweets than they do reporting on actual policy.
Yeah, that’s probably the answer.
Most vote on name recognition, still, and to their peril, return these people to office. This HAS to be changed to a single term, single office, per lifetime. Beyond that, lobbying needs to be subject to criminalization, period.
Trump has no policy to report on. Every other word out of his mouth is blaming Obama for something. He doesn’t recognize if Obama had stood up and screamed everyday before the election that the Russians were pushing for Trump to win he probably would have lost. But, no he just flips everything around to make it look like Obama screwed it all up. Then on the other hand won’t truly admit the Russians meddled because then he would have to admit he probably would have lost without his help. He wants to drain the swamp why doesn’t he push for the policy to stop Congress and all of Washington from getting rich while there. The only thing he has done to save money is not appointing necessary jobs. Truly he hasn’t saved any money because, he has spent so much on going back and forth to his properties, which he is using the office to enrich his businesses even more. Why do think the ethics guy is quitting he can’t stand it and keep up with all of it. He makes mad money on his hotel in DC having diplomats stay there. He also charged $35,000 a plate for his reelection campaign. Most of the money going directly in his pocket for “expenses”. I cannot believe anyone believed he would be any different, especially knowing how he screwed over so many people by not paying them and filing bankruptcy and admitted it.
Not ordinary poeple – ordinary USAns. Don’t be so US-centric.
God, this makes me sooo angry!!!
Then carefully vote by returning no one to another term. Period. Look for 3rd party candidates or write in a name, as it is a two party debacle we have