Des Moines Register. October 7, 2016
Insurance industry wields ’awesome power’ with regulators.
In theory, our nation’s insurance commissioners are working for the people of their state, protecting them from predatory pricing and outright scams.
In actual practice, however, some commissioners operate like economic development directors and are focused on creating a system of industry-friendly oversight and regulation.
As reported recently by the Center for Public Integrity, the nation’s state insurance commissioners wield an incredible amount of power and make decisions that affect nearly every American citizen, but many of them openly curry favor with the companies they are paid to oversee.
One reason: the revolving door between the industry and state government. Some commissioners, such as Iowa’s Nick Gerhart, have worked for insurance companies before joining the state. Others, such as Gerhardt’s predecessor, Susan Voss, go to work for the industry soon after they’ve cashed their last check as the industry’s top regulator.
In 2013, within months of stepping down as Iowa’s insurance commissioner, Voss took a job as a consultant, and later as an executive, for American Enterprise Group, the parent company of the American Republic Insurance Co. According to CPI, she then began emailing her former state colleagues, and her successor, seeking information on insurance issues. She also had breakfast regularly with a deputy state insurance commissioner.
In 2014, Voss emailed Gerhart’s assistant asking for five minutes of the commissioner’s time.
Within two hours, Gerhart phoned her. “How was that for efficient,” the assistant wrote back. “You ask and he calls. Have a great day Susan!!!!”
“Wow! Awesome power!” Voss responded.
Awesome, indeed.
Iowa law prohibits insurance commissioners from lobbying on behalf of insurance companies for two years after leaving office. Voss said she was not lobbying or attempting to influence legislation or regulations, and told CPI that while she has access to the commissioner’s office, she’s not omnipotent.
“I might get in the door,” Voss said, “but I’m certainly not as successful as people think.”
CPI says that half of the 109 state insurance commissioners who have left state employment over the past 10 years have gone on to work for the insurance industry, and many of them left before their terms as commissioner were scheduled to expire.
Granted, former industry executives possess knowledge and expertise that can be put to good use on behalf of consumers, and vice versa. But these individuals are also saddled with obvious conflicts of interest. At best, they’re hired guns - shifting their allegiance from the industry to consumers, and then back again, depending on who is signing their most recent paycheck - or, perhaps, their next paycheck.
Can an insurance commissioner be bought off with a series of dinners and the unstated promise of a high-paying industry job? It doesn’t really matter, since even the appearance of impropriety is enough to undermine the public’s confidence in its regulators. Consider the case of former Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman.
Even as she weighed complaints against United Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, Bowman dined repeatedly with the company’s lawyers and lobbyists. After one evening of entertainment, she emailed a United Healthcare attorney: “I had a blast with you Monday night. Thank you so much for entertaining us.” Bowman later ruled in United Healthcare’s favor on the complaint - and a judge would later vacate that decision due to the appearance of impropriety. By that time, Bowman was officially on United Healthcare’s payroll.
The wining and dining also takes place on a larger scale, with regulators and industry officials mingling at corporate-sponsored conferences at which company officials are promised one-on-one face time with the regulators of their choosing. At the April meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in New Orleans, commissioners hobnobbed with corporate executives at a cocktail reception that featured an open bar and buffet stations of Cajun-dusted beef and crab cakes with roasted corn couscous.
No doubt many state insurance commissioners are trustworthy advocates for consumers. But because of the revolving door, and the special access enjoyed by those who have passed through it, even the most dedicated public servants wind up tainted.
At the very least, the Iowa Legislature should consider tightening the law so that our insurance commissioners aren’t policing the actions of their future employers. If the law can’t be written to exclude all future employment in the industry, then the state should establish a policy by which insurance commissioners are contractually prohibited from taking jobs in the industry within three years of leaving state employment.
Until that happens, our insurance commissioners will always be viewed as “industry executives in waiting.”
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Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. October 7, 2016
Firefighters define valor.
Area firefighters, law enforcement officers and other emergency responders have proven their mettle time and again handling any number of crisis situations. They do their jobs so well, we often take for granted their heroic actions and endless hours of past and ongoing training.
All of that comes in the name of public safety. So, when they are recognized for something extra special, we want everyone to take notice.
This week, four Cedar Falls firefighters were recognized with the Sullivan Brothers Award of Valor in the rotunda of the State Capitol in Des Moines.
Cedar Falls Fire Capt. Derek Brown and firefighters Shane Farmer, Todd Taylor and Troy Purdy were honored for their actions in a February mobile home fire at 2508 S. Union Road, where Ashley Calfee and her two children, Avery Hundley, then 5, and Mason Hundley, then 3, were rescued from the burning home.
Those firefighters and fire Capt. Josh Lux, who assisted at the scene and helped nominate the firefighters for the award, also received medals from the city at an April City Council meeting.
At that meeting, an explanation written by then-fire chief John Schilling was read.
“Without the protection of a hose line, Captains Brown and Lux, along with Firefighters Farmer, Taylor and Purdy, were able to enter the structure with high heat and near zero visibility, find and rescue the mother and her two young children,” Schilling wrote. “Their heroic actions will always be remembered.”
Certainly, those actions will be forever remembered by Calfee, whose children were in grave danger during the fire. She was at the April award ceremony. And all of us need to remember these are the situations these professionals are trained for in order to keep us safe.
We’re also grateful for state officials who saw fit to implement such an award to recognize these public servants.
The award is named for five Waterloo brothers who died together during World War II. We hope this award, named for these area heroes, brings some extra special significance to these firefighters.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety has information about the award, including the following statement:
“The Sullivan Brothers’ Award of Valor shall be awarded to peace officers and firefighters who, while serving in an official capacity, distinguished themselves by the performance of a heroic act in excess of normal demands of police or fire service where the person was fully aware of the threat to his/her personal safety.”
The criteria for eligibility include:
The situation was extremely hazardous.
A strong possibility existed at the time the officer/firefighter acted that he/she could have suffered serious injury or death.
The act was not foolhardy.
The officer/firefighter did not use poor judgment, thus creating the necessity for his/her acts.
We must never take for granted the daily risk our public safety personnel can face at any time. As always, we are grateful for their presence and their service.
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Sioux City Journal. October 5, 2016
No place exists for name-calling by local leaders.
We were prepared in today’s opinion to share strong criticism of Councilwoman Rhonda Capron for a recent Facebook comment about one or more members of the Woodbury County board.
“What I really want to say I can’t print … idiots … racists … and bigots … that’s a start …,” Capron posted on Sept. 25 in reaction to the absence of Supervisors Jeremy Taylor, Matthew Ung and Mark Monson at a Sept. 15 forum on the minimum wage hosted by the Morningside College Democrats (Capron participated in the forum).
To Capron’s credit, however, she apologized for the remark at Monday’s City Council meeting. As a result, it’s time to move on from this dustup.
As for the minimum wage discussion itself, we again today reiterate our support for the Woodbury County board majority. This is an issue for state legislators, not county supervisors. The Statehouse in Des Moines should be the focus for proponents of raising the minimum wage. We, in fact, do not oppose this discussion during the next legislative session.
If the Woodbury County board as an entity wishes or members of the board as individuals wish to make a recommendation to the Legislature about the minimum wage for the entire state of Iowa, fine, but we do not believe value exists for the state as a whole in having a patchwork of county minimum-wage levels.
Finally, we offer some food for thought, in a general sense, moving forward.
The Woodbury County minimum-wage debate provides valuable lessons about the need for respect and decorum from our elected leaders toward one another, even in the face of disagreement, and the wisdom for those leaders in exercising caution with respect to what they say on social media. At a time when we see encouraging signs of improvement in city-county relations (agreement on financial support for the proposed ag center in the former stockyards area of Sioux City is one example), we do not want progress to stall due to unnecessary, poorly chosen words.
Bottom line: Name-calling within or between local elected bodies, at any time in any place, serves no useful purpose.
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Dubuque Telegraph Herald. October 3, 2016
Dunn tribute worthy of a great role model.
Accolades abounded Thursday night as 50-50 in 2020 presented its fifth annual Equity for Women Award to Sister Catherine Dunn.
This is a woman who has done Dubuque and Iowa proud. As president of Clarke College, Dunn was the force that led the institution to rise up and flourish after being devastated by a 1984 fire less than four months into her tenure. That telegraphed the kind of extraordinary leader who was working in our midst. Soon, Dunn became a presence on boards and commissions in the fields of business, philanthropy and government. Her communication skills and her ability to get things accomplished led her to great and varied leadership roles beyond the scope of education.
She shattered barriers as the first woman to head the state’s transportation board. She served on the Iowa Department of Transportation Commission for 12 years and had a hand in building the Northwest Arterial and four-lane road access to Dubuque.
A vocal advocate for students, Dunn lobbied lawmakers for increases in student financial aid to help make college more affordable.
Accepting Thursday night’s honor, Dunn admitted she might have run for political office herself, if the pope would allow it. She would certainly get our endorsement. Few people make such an impact across so many disciplines.
It’s fitting that Dunn would get this award from a group whose aim is to groom female leaders for political office. Dunn makes an ideal role model.
When it comes to holding political office, there’s a guy in Manchester who knows a thing or two about a good track record.
Forget political promises or social media - or even yard signs for that matter. Milt Kramer gets by just fine by knowing his constituents, most of the time, literally.
Forty-two years as mayor will do that.
Kramer took over the reins as Manchester mayor back in 1974. He’s been re-elected 13 times since, usually unopposed.
Citizens have come to think of Kramer as a fixture - someone who’s always there. When flooding hit the community hard recently, Milt was right there checking on folks and businesses and helping where he could.
These days, we hear a lot about politicians who most people don’t like very much. It’s nice to know that sometimes small-town government gets it right in ways that big government never could.
Over the weekend, Ralph Montgomery got a little of the respect he has long been due.
Dignitaries came and spoke at the final resting place of this former slave who fought the establishment in the name of freedom.
Montgomery was a former Missouri slave allowed to enter the free territory of Iowa in the 1830s to work in the Dubuque-area lead mines. Captured by slave catchers Montgomery made history when two Dubuquers intervened and rescued Montgomery from being forcibly returned to his former master. He won his freedom in an Independence Day 1839 decision by the Supreme Court of the Territory of Iowa. It was the state’s first landmark court case.
Members of the Linwood Cemetery Board believed Montgomery deserved a permanent and fitting tribute, and he got just that on Saturday.
Credit goes to the Linwood Cemetery trustees who worked to raise money for a marker and spread awareness about a case and a man who could easily have been forgotten. It is a reminder that cemeteries are full of life stories, and telling those stories can be most enriching.
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