Editorial Page staff
The Seattle Times
The state insurance commissioner regulates the practices of 1,350
insurance companies operating in Washington, selling every type of insurance
from auto to life to health. In many ways, it's a thankless job, overseeing rate increases,
monitoring benefit packages, being the ombudsman for consumers who typically know little about
their insurance policies until they run into trouble.
Incumbent Deborah Senn won the office in 1992 by running as a consumer advocate, unbeholden
to the insurers she is supposed to regulate. She has fulfilled that promise and, despite some
personnel controversies connected to the unionization of workers in her department and allegations
of politicizing the office, she deserves a second term.
Her challenger, Republican Anthony Lowe, a former deputy prosecutor, is running on a
free-market platform. He says he is a consumer advocate, promising people more insurance choice by
letting market mechanisms work. But he is poorly versed on the insurance business, and after
months of campaigning, appears no better informed about the issues or the job. He seems uncomfortable
with the regulatory role though that is the nature of the office.
Senn has the smarts to handle arcane matters of insurance law and policy, and she has survived
pummeling from an insurance industry that enjoys influence in the Legislature and is accustomed to
accommodation from the commissioner's office.
Her critics blame her for premium increases in the individual health-insurance market.
Their criticism is misplaced; the rate increases are the result of the rapid shift
toward managed care and away from traditional fee-for-service plans and the Legislature's
efforts to broaden access with new laws on insurance portability, guaranteed issue and pre-existing
conditions. Though Senn did not single-handedly create these reforms, she is a strong,
articulate advocate for them.
Her first term has been rocked by lawsuits from health insurers who wanted big premium increases
and felt put upon by Senn to justify those raises. Her skepticism on rate increases may be irksome
to insurers, but has served the interest of consumers.
The health-insurance arena is undergoing enormous changes. The commissioner, along with
regulating the industry, must educate consumers on their options and work with insurers as
they seek to offer more cost-effective products. Senn is the candidate best prepared to
understand and meet these challenges.
