Candidates for state insurance commissioner find common ground [Yakima Herald-Republic, Wash.]

Sept. 30--Incumbent state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler and challenger John Adams would be hard-pressed to find something they disagree on.

In a Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board meeting last week, the two seemed more like colleagues than opponents.

Both have extensive experience in the field. Kreidler, a Democrat, was a doctor of optometry, state lawmaker for many years and a one-term congressman before spending the last 12 years as insurance commissioner. Adams, a Republican, has spent four decades as an insurance broker.

Adams also has run twice against Kreidler and lost.

They agree on the importance of the state working quickly to prepare for federal health care reform, with several measures needing to be implemented before Oct. 1, 2013, so that insurance companies can start marketing policies through the health insurance exchange established under the Affordable Care Act. Policies that are sold become effective Jan. 1, 2014.

Washington is already ahead of the curve on developing the state health insurance exchange, which is aimed at individuals and small businesses that don't otherwise have access to affordable insurance.

Kreidler's current challenge is to establish what "essential benefits" carriers will be required to provide in the plans they make available both in the exchange and outside of it, which he needs to accomplish in the next several weeks.

One of the hurdles in health care reform is helping the public understand it and correcting misinformation, he said. Under the new law, everyone is required to purchase health insurance, with some exceptions, or pay a penalty.

"The more people outside the system that aren't covered but have significant medical costs that they can't afford ... the more it costs us," as the cost shifts to other insurance policyholders in the form of increased premiums, Kreidler said.

Adams agreed, and added that people within the insurance industry need to have a greater understanding, too. If he were elected, he said, he would make that suggestion to the industry so brokers and agents are qualified to talk about health reform.

Starting Oct. 1, 2013, Kreidler said, the state will have a "very robust website" to allow people to search for insurance plans that fit their needs and specific eligibility. The role of "navigators" -- ? well-informed people who will guide consumers through the system -- will also become important.

The two candidates also agree that more oversight is needed for the state's three big nonprofit insurance carriers, two of which (Premera and Regence) have accumulated more than $1 billion each in surplus funds, above and beyond what the companies need for reserves.

Kreidler has introduced legislation three times that would allow him to take those surpluses into account when the companies seek approval to increase rates, but the Legislature hasn't acted. Instead, he can only look at the medical trend for current health care costs when looking at rates.

He said the insurance companies have powerful lobbyists and they fight him "tooth and nail" on this issue.

"In continuing to see the surplus build, at the same time they're asking for double-digit rate increases -- it doesn't fit well," he said.

Adams acknowledges the large surpluses and says he wants to ask the insurance companies what they're saving that surplus money for.

He's also focused on bringing more competition into the state, moving away from the giant market share dominated by Premera, Regence and GroupHealth. He says Kreidler's office hasn't done enough to foster competition.

"I feel we have to get the consumer involved in making decisions too, about how they're getting gouged," Adams said. "If (the companies) think they're going to lose market share, then they start scrambling."

Kreidler pointed out that since health care reform has passed, two new insurance carriers have come into the Washington market, and two others are currently in serious talks about entering.

He also noted that in the late 1980s, when there were several other insurance carriers, the Big Three held almost exactly the same market share as they do now.

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