Insurance Commissioner

Insurance Commissioner

“Consumer protection is the most important job of the Insurance Commissioner.”

The role has expanded from simply registering insurance companies doing business in the state to include overall industry regulation, making sure companies meet all their obligations and abide by the financial and legal standards. The agency is responsible for testing, licensing, and oversight of all companies. Any citizen may file a complaint with the Insurance Commissioner and request an investigation via the Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-562-6900. Senior Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) are available for advice statewide. The Insurance Commissioner’s office collects a tax levied on insurance companies, and collects fees from insurance companies to support its work.

They’re a necessary watchdog on a rather sharp industry.

So, we’ve got a Libertarian who wants to “reform” Affordable Care. We’ve got a Republican who claims the office is tainted by scandal. So I looked into the scandal. It looks like someone cut some serious corners – and Mike Kreidler suspended him and instituted an investigation. What else should he have done?

There really is only one choice here, and that is Mike Kreidler.

The candidates:

Mike Kreidler, incumbent (since 2000)    D         mike@mikekreidler.com

http://mikekreidler.com/

education: Pacific University  Dr of optometry

served in legislature and senate 16 years, served in US Congress

Accomplishments include:

Strengthening the insurance market, increasing competition and bringing more choices to consumers

Cut excessive rate increases by insurance companies, saving auto and homeowner consumers over $310 million

Successfully fought repeated attempts by big out-of-state insurance companies to take away consumer legal protections

Helped individual consumers recover over $160 million on their insurance policies when payments were delayed or denied

Protected women by requiring that contraceptives be included in prescription drug coverage

Brought transparency and regulatory oversight to the individual health insurance market

Priorities:

Continue our work on health care reform.

Ensure consumers get a fair deal.

Protect the environment. Maintain a healthy business climate.

Endorsed by FUSE Progressive Voters.

Justin Murta             Libertarian     justinmurta@gmail.com

http://www.electjustinmurta.com/

education: U of Missouri. Doesn’t say if he graduated.

Has had various positions in the health insurance industry.

His agenda:

  Strengthening the insurance market, increasing competition and bringing more choices to consumers

  Reform the rate maintenance that currently allows only the multi-national and BIG business insurance organizations to succeed

  To uphold consumer legal protections from in state and out of state insurance companies

  To create a new system to help insurance carriers and consumers to recover money for denied or subrogated claims

  Reform the prescription drug marketing practices and to create a state regulated Prescription Drug Manager to ensure affordable access to prescriptions

  To maintain transparency and regulatory oversight to the individual health insurance market

Reform healthcare, the State Exchange and “Affordable Care Act”, which he believes has taken autonomy from the state and is not working.

Ensure consumers get a fair deal.

Broadening consumer choice and making a larger market, which includes eventually the practice of setting rates is abolished.

I have a problem with anyone who wants to “reform”  the Affordable Care Act, unless they state specifically that they want to create a single payer system. That’s not this guy’s agenda.

Richard Schrock       R         dickschrock@gmail.com

found no campaign website

education: St Martin’s College, political science (degree not mentioned)

Served as director of WA Dept of Commerce under Gov John Spellman.

Statement: Paying too much for insurance? Do you want four more years of the same 16-year policy direction that governs the state agency that regulates insurance companies?

Washington’s health insurance rates are proposed to rise another 19% next year. Richard Schrock, as Washington’s next Insurance Commissioner, will fight unjustified premium increases, hold down deductibles and limit co-pays.

In 2013, highly respected Seattle Children’s Hospital waged a successful legal battle with the Insurance Commissioner’s Office and three major insurers. Children’s, the region’s premier pediatric hospital, took legal action to get their insured child patients covered by Commissioner-approved insurance plans that had excluded Children’s from service provider networks. In 2014, newspapers reported that a whistleblower compliant revealed scandalous conduct within the Office of the Insurance Commissioner involving “major systemic problems”. Our state’s largest newspaper subsequently called for “major reforms” that have not happened.

Obviously, policy changes are long overdue to broaden access to affordable coverage. If elected Commissioner, Richard Schrock will institute reforms that prevent powerful special interests from influencing agency decisions, vigorously enforce consumer protection laws, and mandate expanding healthcare service- provider networks. Future appeals of Commissioner decisions must be fairly and transparently decided by independent, impartial judges.

I looked into the accusation of wrongdoing in the Insurance Commissioner’s office, and found that Commissioner Mike Kreidler placed an assistant, the chief presiding officer, on leave, while a whistleblower complaint against him was investigated. The complaint was that this officer had attempted to influence some cases inappropriately. It looks like Kreidler did the right thing by suspending and investigating.