Reports about insurance commissioners meeting with leading payers have sparked a discussion about the nature of this relationship and whether it influences policy decisions, according to The Washington Post.
Here are seven highlights:
1. A Center for Public Integrity investigation uncovered nearly 50 percent of the 109 state insurance commissioners who resigned from their post in the last 10 years have taken roles in the insurance industry.
2. At the National Association of Insurance Commissioners annual meeting in April 2016, there were 21 former commissioners from 18 states and the District of Columbia who were now employed by the insurance industry. Nine U.S. states do not require commissioners to file public disclosure reports, and two other states do not deem food or drink of "immediate consumption" a gift.
3. Consumer advocates and various commissioners question this relationship, which is often accompanied by extravagant meals and even the potential of future career opportunities. Those opposing the relationship say it is in the disinterest of the consumer as premiums continue to escalate.
4. Insurance companies argue the industry is highly regulated and their meetings with commissioners are necessary to educate them and other legislators about the ins-and-outs of the insurance industry and its impact on consumers.
5. The Center for Public Integrity investigation found four commissioners had direct financial ties to insurance firms that their offices oversee. Additionally, a regulator in New Jersey only sold his insurance stocks after the Center for Public Integrity State Ethics Commission probed the regulator about his shares.
6. Payers also are big donors in state campaigns, with many insurance companies being the top donors to commissioner candidates in at least five of the U.S. states that permit insurance company campaign contributions, National Institute on Money in State Politics found.
7. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners continually strives to counteract industry influence and therefore pays for a small consumer advocate group to attend its meeting where regulators set insurance standards and create model laws. NAIC President John Huff told The Washington Post, "State insurance regulators are committed to their shared dual responsibilities of consumer protection and the regulation of insurance company solvency."
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