Gazette quoted GOP lawmaker criticizing insurance regulatory bill without disclosing insurance industry was his biggest campaign donor

Summary: Reporting on two upcoming bills that would increase state regulatory power over insurance companies, The Gazette of Colorado Springs quoted state Rep. Bob Gardner (R) as predicting that "some companies might pull out of the state rather than deal with excessive regulations" and urging that the state maintain a "competitive and open market." But the article failed to report that the top industry contributor to Gardner's 2006 House campaign was the insurance group, which gave $2,800.

An April 1 article in The Gazette of Colorado Springs about two forthcoming Democratic legislative proposals to increase the state's regulatory powers over insurance companies reported that state Rep. Bob Gardner (R-Colorado Springs) "predicted some companies might pull out of the state rather than deal with excessive regulations." The Gazette further quoted Gardner as saying, "We're getting into the micromanagement of insurance and the micromanagement of the market. ... The very best thing we can do is maintain the most competitive and open market we can." However, the Gazette did not report that the insurance industry was Gardner's largest contributor, other than himself, during his 2006 campaign for Colorado's House District 21 seat, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

The Gazette article by Ed Sealover reported that "[t]he Colorado Division of Insurance's ability to reject proposed rate increases by private insurance companies could expand greatly under a bill that is set to be introduced this week by the House Majority Caucus chairwoman." The article continued:

Also, the division would have more power to penalize companies that deny prompt payment of claims under another bill to be run by House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver.

The first measure covers health and auto insurers; Romanoff's bill pertains to all forms of insurance. Republicans warned that the bills will further burden an already heavily regulated industry and could lead to premium increases or to some insurance companies choosing to leave the state.

But Majority Caucus Chairwoman Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, argued the effect will be just the opposite. By requiring private insurers to justify proposed increases and using the state as an enforcer of new rules, companies are likely to bring down or at least slow the rate of premium increases that have forced thousands of people to drop insurance coverage in recent years, she said.

[...]

Carroll's bill would change insurance regulations from a file-and-use system under which companies can raise rates as soon as they inform the state of the changes to a prior-approval system where the insurance division must consent to increases before they go into effect. Insurance Commissioner Marcy Morrison, a former Manitou Springs mayor, would be able to examine if the hikes are justified by circumstances such as higher health care costs or if companies are overestimating usage increases and unnecessarily inflating costs, she said.

[...]

Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, predicted some companies might pull out of the state rather than deal with excessive regulations. Passage of Carroll's bill would make insurance the first nonmonopolized private product for which Colorado could be able to set prices, he said.

"We're getting into the micromanagement of insurance and the micromanagement of the market," Gardner said. "The very best thing we can do is maintain the most competitive and open market we can."

The Gazette article failed to note that Gardner received significant contributions from the insurance industry during his 2006 campaign for Colorado's House of Representatives, according to the Colorado Secretary of State's campaign finance database. In fact, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, the top industry contributor to Gardner's 2006 campaign (besides "Candidate Self-finance") was "Insurance," which gave $2,800.

Furthermore, Gardner's assertion that some insurance companies "might pull out of the state rather than deal with excessive regulations" echoed other state Republican lawmakers' similar unsubstantiated claims that energy companies would leave Colorado in the face of new regulations administered by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, as Colorado Media Matters has noted.

—C.H.