How did Trump's health chief lose nearly $50k in luggage in three days?

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He hires "only the best!"

How did Trump's health chief lose nearly $50k in luggage in three days?
Seema Verma, senior Trump official who is anti-Medicare for All, filed a claim to be reimbursed in taxpayer dollars after luggage was stolen

Seema Verma who, as a senior figure in the Trump Administration has made it more difficult for poor Americans to access health coverage, has filed a claim of $47,000 for the loss of her luggage while on a three-day work trip. AND, not from her personal insurance BUT wants the government to "bail her out".
 
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Hi GB,

However again, more wise heads seem to have prevailed. It's my understanding that she was only reimbursed some $2,800. or so for covered losses. The bulk of her claim was denied as items not covered as a part of her employment. Maybe next time she'll buy travelers insurance.

God bless,
In Christ, ted
 
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cow451

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He hires "only the best!"

How did Trump's health chief lose nearly $50k in luggage in three days?
Seema Verma, senior Trump official who is anti-Medicare for All, filed a claim to be reimbursed in taxpayer dollars after luggage was stolen

Seema Verma who, as a senior figure in the Trump Administration has made it more difficult for poor Americans to access health coverage, has filed a claim of $47,000 for the loss of her luggage while on a three-day work trip. AND, not from her personal insurance BUT wants the government to "bail her out".
Sounds like she flew Delta Airlines...
 
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Sounds like she flew Delta Airlines...

My dad's a pilot for Delta, mom is a VP for Delta, half my extended family works for Delta. With that said, you're probably right, lol.
 
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yougottabekidding

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He hires "only the best!"

How did Trump's health chief lose nearly $50k in luggage in three days?
Seema Verma, senior Trump official who is anti-Medicare for All, filed a claim to be reimbursed in taxpayer dollars after luggage was stolen

Seema Verma who, as a senior figure in the Trump Administration has made it more difficult for poor Americans to access health coverage, has filed a claim of $47,000 for the loss of her luggage while on a three-day work trip. AND, not from her personal insurance BUT wants the government to "bail her out".

Coming from someone who travels consistently for work -

First the title is misleading as well as the "he only hires the best" crack.

The vast majority of the claim is for jewelry she had in her cases and it was the luggage she uses to travel from her home to DC and then on business. So no, you don't need a whole lot of jewelry for a three days trip, but you might if you are doing business in DC five days a week.

Now, I'm not a millionaire, but my watch and wedding ring are close to 18,000.00 alone. 47k in jewelry is really not much when you are a person of her wealth (has nothing to do with her position).

Secondly per the "He only hires the best" crack - What un God's green earth does the airline losing her luggage have to do with her job ability? But it's a good chance to jab at the President huh?



I know personally when I am trying to find unbiased reporting from 2018 I go to the Guardian (snicker, gag, wretch).
from the link:

This article was amended on 10 December 2019 to clarify that Verma filed the claim in 2018, and that the requested claim amount was roughly equal to eight Medicaid patients, rather than Medicare.

No bias there, but a wonderful opportunity for the far left to demagogue someone who works for the administration. Always good fun and held in high regards among Republicans.

Valid observation. The Guardian is an extreme left biased news source and seldom reports anything that does not have the far left narrative.

Look at the inflammatory wording in the article:

Seema Verma, senior Trump official who is anti-Medicare for All, filed a claim to be reimbursed in taxpayer dollars after luggage was stolen

as a senior figure in the Trump administration, has made it more difficult for poor Americans to access health coverage, has filed a claim of $47,000 for the loss of her luggage while on a three-day work trip.

She had originally estimated the cost of those pieces at $20,000, but came back with the higher $43,065 price tag after visiting a jeweler three weeks after the theft. Because sometimes you’re just that rich that you forget about that extra 20 grand you dropped at the jewelers.

In evidence that shows money does not equal class, one of those pendants was this Ivanka Trump gold, prasiolite and diamond pendant, which looks like it was picked by the claw machine in an arcade.

Is this a reporter or a middle school girl?

How can anyone take it seriously. What outright bunk!​
 
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Hank77

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Coming from someone who travels consistently for work -

First the title is misleading as well as the "he only hires the best" crack.

The vast majority of the claim is for jewelry she had in her cases and it was the luggage she uses to travel from her home to DC and then on business. So no, you don't need a whole lot of jewelry for a three days trip, but you might if you are doing business in DC five days a week.

Now, I'm not a millionaire, but my watch and wedding ring are close to 18,000.00 alone. 47k in jewelry is really not much when you are a person of her wealth (has nothing to do with her position).

Secondly per the "He only hires the best" crack - What un God's green earth does the airline losing her luggage have to do with her job ability? But it's a good chance to jab at the President huh?





Valid observation. The Guardian is an extreme left biased news source and seldom reports anything that does not have the far left narrative.

Look at the inflammatory wording in the article:

Seema Verma, senior Trump official who is anti-Medicare for All, filed a claim to be reimbursed in taxpayer dollars after luggage was stolen

as a senior figure in the Trump administration, has made it more difficult for poor Americans to access health coverage, has filed a claim of $47,000 for the loss of her luggage while on a three-day work trip.

She had originally estimated the cost of those pieces at $20,000, but came back with the higher $43,065 price tag after visiting a jeweler three weeks after the theft. Because sometimes you’re just that rich that you forget about that extra 20 grand you dropped at the jewelers.

In evidence that shows money does not equal class, one of those pendants was this Ivanka Trump gold, prasiolite and diamond pendant, which looks like it was picked by the claw machine in an arcade.

Is this a reporter or a middle school girl?

How can anyone take it seriously. What outright bunk!​
It seems to me that if one is traveling with something of that value they would make sure it was insured.
 
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yougottabekidding

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It seems to me that if one is traveling with something of that value they would make sure it was insured.

My insurance company makes me go through the Airline and then any insurance from my employer before covering the loss.

It's how they limit liability.
 
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It seems to me that if one is traveling with something of that value they would make sure it was insured.

According to the link I posted, her insurance company told her to get reimbursed from her employer. If I had to guess, the insurer will probably pick things up from there.
 
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Hank77

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My insurance company makes me go through the Airline and then any insurance from my employer before covering the loss.

It's how they limit liability.
I can see through the airline but unless your employer mandates that you bring expensive, personal items with you they can't be held liable. Insurance companies will put every roadblock in the way to avoid paying a claim.
 
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Medicare administrator asked for reimbursement for stolen jewelry, clothing: report

A CMS spokesperson told Politico that HHS lawyers told Verma and two other staffers to file detailed claims for stolen luggage, adding that she was traveling with personal items because she travels between Washington and Indiana, where her family lives, each week. However, the spokesperson said the department cannot reimburse employees for lost items such as jewelry, according to the news outlet.

The report comes months after the HHS Office of Inspector General announced an investigation into reports Verma directed taxpayer dollars to GOP consultants to boost coverage of agency work and burnish Verma’s own image.
 
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JackRT

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The vast majority of the claim is for jewelry she had in her cases and it was the luggage she uses to travel from her home to DC and then on business. So no, you don't need a whole lot of jewelry for a three days trip, but you might if you are doing business in DC five days a week.

Now, I'm not a millionaire, but my watch and wedding ring are close to 18,000.00 alone. 47k in jewelry is really not much when you are a person of her wealth (has nothing to do with her position).

No one NEEDS jewelry. My sole item of jewelry is a wedding ring that was worth about $200 some 45 years ago. That dresses me up just fine.
 
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No one NEEDS jewelry. My sole item of jewelry is a wedding ring that was worth about $200 some 45 years ago. That dresses me up just fine.

I am excited that my grandmother gave me her engagement ring for when the time comes for me to propose. That's priceless.

She's got insurance on it, and when passed to me, I'll insure it as well.
 
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iluvatar5150

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No one NEEDS jewelry. My sole item of jewelry is a wedding ring that was worth about $200 some 45 years ago. That dresses me up just fine.

Well, to be fair, you're not a high level executive at a large company or government agency (I assume). Above a certain level, you're expected to look the part. I don't fault her for wearing jewelry or for claiming it as a work-related loss if that's what her insurance required of her.
 
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Well, to be fair, you're not a high level executive at a large company or government agency (I assume). Above a certain level, you're expected to look the part. I don't fault her for wearing jewelry or for claiming it as a work-related loss if that's what her insurance required of her.

I was about to write that you hardly need a $5990 Ivanka Trump-brand pendant to look the part, but with this administration maybe you do, lmbo.
 
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Secondly per the "He only hires the best" crack - What un God's green earth does the airline losing her luggage have to do with her job ability? But it's a good chance to jab at the President huh?

Nothing since an airline did not lose her luggage. Seema Verma, Trump's top Medicare official, left luggage containing what she claims amount to nearly $50,000 worth of her personal possessions in a rented SUV parked in a popular tourist area where car break-ins are ubiquitous while delivering a speech in which she pilloried "Medicare for All." Her luggage was reportedly stolen from the SUV.

The vast majority of the claim is for jewelry she had in her cases and it was the luggage she uses to travel from her home to DC and then on business. So no, you don't need a whole lot of jewelry for a three days trip, but you might if you are doing business in DC five days a week.

She was not traveling between her home and Washington, DC. She'd flown to San Francisco for a three day trip. She was staying in a hotel that has safety deposit boxes. This is where she could and should have left her luxury possessions. Or brought her luggage into the Commonwealth Club where she was delivering the speech since they are known for being accommodating to members and guests. I'm not sure precisely where she parked, but the club is located on the Embarcadero, and throughout that neighborhood there are reminders from the San Francisco Police to never leave valuables unattended in their vehicles. Parking garages also have notices to to limit their liability. It's unfortunately not uncommon for tourists to abdicate reason and leave luggage or other obviously expensive items visible in their cars, so car thieves view the area as a smorgasbord. I doubt many deliberately leave belongings amounting to that high of an expense in their cars, though.

According to Verma’s lost property claim, the stolen items included 11 pairs of earrings, five necklaces and three pendants, and they were not insured. ETA: The HHS has a Travel Policy manual in which they specifically exclude coverage for jewelry that is lost or stolen during a work trip.
 
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Hi stanfordella,

I thought I had read that it wasn't an airline incident, but when I went back to check, none of the articles that came up right away on a Google search didn't make clear 'how' the goods were stolen/lost.

Seema Verma, Trump's top Medicare official, left luggage containing what she claims amount to nearly $50,000 worth of her personal possessions in a rented SUV parked in a popular tourist area where car break-ins are ubiquitous while delivering a speech in which she pilloried "Medicare for All." Her luggage was reportedly stolen from the SUV.

I had that exact same thing happen to me some 20 years ago when I was traveling on a vacation to Virginia. My father had suffered a stroke while I was in Virginia, I lived in Florida at the time, and so the wife and I packed up our stuff early and took off for Charleston WV to visit him in the hospital. While we were in the hospital, someone smashed in the side window of the Toyota 4Runner that we were driving, and got off with all of our luggage.

Of course, we didn't have anything valuable in our luggage at all and so they just got a bunch of clothing and toiletry items, but it was pretty devastating to suffer the loss of all our clean clothes to wear. However, most homeowner's insurance policies have a provision for items stolen out of one's vehicle.

This from an Allstate explanation: So, if your personal property — a golf bag full of clubs, for instance — is stolen from your car, and the personal property coverage in your homeowners or renters policy protects against theft, your insurer may help pay for its replacement. Keep in mind that items kept away from your home may have a lower coverage limit. Read your policy to learn now much off-premises coverage it provides for personal property.

So, someone who regularly, according to some of the reports this is a fairly regular amount of valuables for her to be carrying with her on trips, carries valuables should speak with their homeowner's insurer to ask about additional coverage for such items. Or just get a separate loss policy to cover such an eventuality.

The irony here though, is that for someone who pretty regularly talks up people taking responsibility for their healthcare costs by encouraging the purchase of health insurance, and quit sticking the government with your healthcare costs, doesn't seem to have the slightest qualm in not getting similar coverage for her personal belongings and then sticking the government with the cost of their loss. Sadly, many of those that are 'encouraged' to buy health insurance, really struggle to pay for it and generally have to make pretty great financial sacrifices to pay for it...except that under President Obama we got a healthcare plan that helps lower income folks with tax credits to help out. We've yet to see President Trump's grand and glorious, better than anyone else's plan ever in the history of the world, health insurance plan that is going to give us all better insurance at lower costs. Yeah, right!

God bless,
In Christ, ted
 
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Excellent point!

On the flip side, of course, anyone who hasn't figured out by now that working for Donald is career suicide with a 25% chance of getting indicted has already passed that hurdle.
 
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