Declarations – South Central

July 23, 2012

Agent Advocates

“I am committed to insurance products and services being offered by licensed agents and brokers, not unlicensed navigators. Licensed agents and brokers are the front-line advocates for consumer protection in the state of Oklahoma,”

—Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak. Doak said while he is disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold federal health reform legislation, he will do his duty under the law. However, he said potential legal challenges remain, namely on the issues of religious freedom and navigators. Doak remains opposed to the use of unlicensed navigators, an element of the law that he says threatens consumer protections.

Assault Prevention

“It became obvious to me if we didn’t do something that there would be an all-out assault on Citizens in the next legislative session.”

—Louisiana Sen. Dan “Blade” Morrish, R-Jennings, comments on the decision by the board of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to drop rates by 10 percent across a dozen south Louisiana parishes retroactive to June 7, when a measure mandating the reduction was signed into law. Morrish sits on the Citizens board as chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee. The new rate continues until 2015 and is estimated to save policyholders in the 12 parishes $16.4 million a year.

No Doubt

“If anyone was in doubt, we in Texas have no intention to implement so-called state exchanges or to expand Medicaid under Obamacare.”

—Texas Gov. Rick Perry sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius confirming that Texas will not implement a state insurance exchange or expand Medicaid as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which was passed by Congress in 2010. The U.S. Supreme Court in late June questioned the Medicaid expansion requirement but upheld the bulk of the law. Perry stated that he “will not be party to socializing healthcare and bankrupting my state.”

Topics Texas Louisiana

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Insurance Journal Magazine July 23, 2012
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