New insurance commissioner will wear many regulatory hats

“I’m going to have to comply with the federal law, but I’m not going to be real happy about doing it, I can assure you of that,” said Ralph Hudgens, the state senator who is the Republican candidate.

Hudgens sponsored a bill adopted by the General Assembly this year that bans any law requiring individuals to buy health insurance -- which is a major part of the health care overhaul. Hudgens also supports Georgia’s participation in the ongoing, multistate lawsuit challenging the federal health care law on constitutional grounds.

“Is it government’s responsibility to provide health care to everybody?” Hudgens said. “The answer is no. You have to point it back to individual responsibility and say my health care is not your problem.”

But Hudgens said he has been studying the requirements of the law to be prepared for implementation if the legal challenge fails.

Mary Squires, the former state senator who is the Democratic nominee, described the federal law as “not very well thought out.”

“I think they were looking to do something grand and nationwide, and they missed the mark,” Squires said.

But Squires, director of a trade association that represents the self-insurance industry, said she is better equipped than Hudgens to wisely handle the requirements of the law.

“I have spent most of my adult life in insurance and the risk-finance industry,” she said.

Libertarian candidate Shane Bruce freely admits that he has no background in the insurance industry. And as a Libertarian, he opposes government mandates and limits on competition.

He said Georgia’s approach to regulating insurers has been good for the companies and left consumers largely dissatisfied.

“There is nobody in the state of Georgia that is happy with their insurance,” Bruce said. “They have all got tremendous tales of woe and typically feel very betrayed.”

Squires has repeatedly criticized Hudgens for saying during a radio interview -- when he thought he was not on the air -- that the insurance commissioner “can’t do squat” about the federal health care law.

“The health reform act isn’t just a catchphrase,” Squires said. “It’s a piece of legislation that has some good and some bad, and the next insurance commissioner will be doing the rules and regulations on it. [Hudgens] doesn’t understand the impact of this office.”

Hudgens, who is chairman of the Senate’s Insurance and Labor Committee, said the insurance commissioner’s office is largely an administrative post that carries out the laws passed by the General Assembly.

“As the insurance commissioner, I can’t change anything,” Hudgens said. “That’s done by the Legislature.”

Hudgens has a significant lead in terms of fundraising, having brought in a total of $923,738 during the campaign, with $253,505 still unspent as of Sept. 30. Squires has raised $243,175 and still had $50,439 as of Sept. 30.

Bruce has raised $285 so far, and he had $225 on hand. “We’re really cheap,” Bruce said of Libertarians. “We don’t believe in spending money.”

All three candidates said Georgia urgently needs to foster a more competitive insurance marketplace.

Hudgens said the state needs to speed up its process of handling requests from insurers. “Georgia has a horrible reputation of being a bureaucratic nightmare to get anything done,” he said.

Attracting more companies to Georgia will help consumers, he said. “Competition will drive the prices down,” he said.

Squires said Georgia definitely needs more competition. She plans on making changes that will attract more carriers to Georgia, so that consumers will have lower prices and a better selection of all types of insurance products.

While the candidates agree on the need for competition and say consumer protection must be the commissioner’s focus, they differ strongly on the issue of insurance mandates.

Georgia law requires many health plans to cover a wide range of tests and procedures, including mammograms, Pap smears and screenings for colon cancer, prostate cancer and ovarian cancer.

“I think that mandates make everybody’s insurance increase,” said Hudgens, who believes consumers should be able to buy whatever coverage they want. “I’m opposed to making people pay for things they can’t use.”

Bruce, the Libertarian, also opposes the mandates.

Squires argues that the cost of preventive screening is minimal and saves money in the long term. She said eliminating mandates could make coverage more expensive or provide more obstacles to getting care.

Commissioner of insurance

The commissioner regulates the insurance industry in Georgia. While handling consumer complaints and licensing agents, the commissioner must also make sure companies are financially solvent and that rates are fair. The officeholder is also the state’s safety fire commissioner and the state’s comptroller general, with the duty to oversee the state’s small loan industry -- the state’s 1,000 storefront lenders who make loans of $3,000 or less.

Shane Bruce

Party: Libertarian

Age: 53

Home: Decatur

Political experience: None

Education: Bachelor of Science, Georgia Southern College

Professional: Industrial installer and Libertarian blogger

Family: Married, four children

Campaign website: bludgeonandskewer.blogspot.com

Cash raised through Sept. 30: $285

Cash on hand through Sept. 30: $225

Ralph T. Hudgens

Party: Republican

Age: 67

Home: Hull

Political experience: Georgia House of Representatives, 1997-2002; Georgia Senate, 2003-current.

Education: Bachelor of Science, University of Florida

Professional: Real estate investor and owner of small businesses. During the George H.W. Bush administration, he was the state executive director of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, which was part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Family: Married, four children

Campaign website: www.ralphhudgens.com

Cash raised: $923,738

Cash on hand: $253,505

Mary Squires

Party: Democrat

Age: 52

Home: Atlanta

Political experience: Georgia House of Representatives, 1999-2003, Georgia Senate, 2003-2005

Education: Bachelor of Arts, University of South Florida

Professional: Executive director of the Georgia Society of Professional Benefit Administrators, a trade organization. Director of the Olive Industry Association, which is trying to bring the olive-growing industry to Georgia. She served in the Georgia Army National Guard. She also worked on government affairs issues with clients that included insurance companies and health care providers. She also worked for a large company where she handled compliance issues related to safety and hazardous materials regulations.

Family: Married, four children

Campaign website: www.marysquires.com

Cash raised: $243,175

Cash on hand: $50,439