Washington will soon elect a new insurance commissioner for the first time in decades. Here's a look at who's running and why you should care:
Jul. 6āKuderer
For the first time in 24 years,
Eight candidates have thrown their hats into the ring for a shot to fill the seat of outgoing Commissioner
These events led Gov.
But when news broke last year that Inslee would not seek re-election, Kreidler immediately followed suit and announced he would not run for another term as insurance commissioner.
Why should you care about
Despite being frequently overshadowed by more flashy elected leaders such as the state governor or attorney general, the job of running the state's insurance commission is no small task.
The person who fills that role plays a part in deciding how much Washingtonians pay for things like health, car and home insurance.
The insurance commissioner has the power to work as a representative for state residents as insurance rates continue to skyrocket in the wake of climate change, corporate mergers and inflation.
Who's on this year's primary ballot?
Boyd is a longtime insurance broker and political newcomer who lives in
"I own my own business," he said. "I own my own brokerage. I've built this business from the ground up. I work well with people. I've been helping my clients fight against the big insurance companies. Now it's time for me to take it to the next level."
Boyd owns
If elected as insurance commissioner, he said he'd work to lower home and auto insurance prices in
"There are companies that are raising rates tremendously ā they're not writing new business," he said. "It's a very difficult place to have insurance right now. Short term, I will invite additional insurance companies into the state and get their pricing in here to get more competitive to help reduce prices immediately."
He added he would also use his power in the office to try to privatize the state's workers' compensation system.
"If we can privatize it, the cost will go down by half, probably, over the state-run, antiquated system, and then the employees don't have to pay into it," he said.
Boyd said property crime in
When it comes to WA Cares ā a program that provides
He said he'd work to repeal or drastically change the program if he gets elected.
A ranking member of the state's
Fortunato believes in a privatized health insurance system and would push against any efforts to fund public health programs.
"The only thing that keeps Medicare afloat is everybody else paying full price," he said. "You wanna see Medicare for all? Just look at the
Fortunato said he is worried one of his Democratic opponents, Sen.
The
Hendrix, of
"With more than 35 years executive experience in various capacities, I have an end-to-end understanding of insurance, but through a business lens," Hendrix said.
Hendrix said his experience as an insurance executive would allow him to work across the aisle to solve problems. Hendrix worked at
If elected, Hendrix said he will work to ensure artificial intelligence used by insurance companies does not harm consumers in the state.
Hendrix said he would work with lawmakers to pass laws and regulations in the name of three goals: affordability, access and customer experience.
"If we continue with the status quo path of voting in politicians beholden to stakeholders and special interests, the voice of the people, communities and businesses who buy, maintain and use insurance is diminished," Hendrix said. "While I won't be hostile to stakeholders, I will insist that there is respect for people, communities and businesses whose earnings support the multibillion-dollar insurance system in
Kuderer pointed to a pharmacy benefit manager bill she said she worked on for several years and that was signed into law earlier this year. The bill, which was part of a larger consumer protection package of laws, instituted transparency laws and rules around employee health care companies with the mission of lowering pharmaceutical drug prices .
"The second sponsor on that bill was Sen.
Kuderer said she hopes
Kuderer said she hopes the state will keep its new WA Cares insurance program, noting that it's different from long-term care because it's targeted to help groups that need six or less months of assistance.
"One of the misconceptions about WA Cares is that it's intended for nursing homes," Kuderer said. "... For example, if you break your leg, you may need a ramp for a couple months. You might be laid up for three, four months. WA Cares pays for that. WA Cares pays for the ramp to be put in. WA Cares pays for your family member to leave work, so you're not losing money as a household."
Pestinger, an Air Force Veteran who lives in
"I have worked in insurance since 2000," he said. "I handled over 25,000 claims and helped people through some of the worst days of their lives. In 2019, I switched to insurance regulation as a project manager at the
To bring rates down, Pestinger said the state needs to stabilize the hard insurance market by avoiding making any changes.
"Once the market stabilizes, we can work to improve coverages," he said. "Those changes need long-term vision and well -thought-out plans, to avoid the unintended consequences the Legislature has caused the last few years, that we are all paying for."
In the
Pestinger said he initially supported the state's long-term care insurance program, but after seeing the way it was rolled out, he now supports the voters' right to choose.
Verzal is a retired auto body mechanic who lives in
Verzal said he's sick of government officials allowing companies to raise insurance rates.
After he retired in October from running Eatonville Collision, he said he decided to run for office on his own dime because he's fed up.
"I've seen the foolishness that the auto insurance people have done," he said. "If elected, I plan on going to hospitals to find out why they're charging
Verzal pointed to the fact that insurance companies can afford to pay millions of dollars for a
Verzal is not a career politician, and he said that's the reason he's running. He said he walked to work before he retired with no insurance claims and despite that, his auto insurance rates skyrocketed the past few years.
"These career politicians get voted in, and they do the same thing: nothing," he said. "There's a reason that they're doing this, and it's just greed for money."
Others
Two candidates, Democrat
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