I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Health insurers showered New Mexico elected officials with nearly $428,000 in campaign contributions during the 2004, 2006 and 2008 election cycles, according to campaign finance data analyzed by The Independent.
The data show the companies, an industry association and political action committees spread the money around, giving to several state office holders and nearly every state lawmaker in the Legislature.
Gov. Bill Richardson took in the largest haul, more than $180,000, while Lt. Gov. Diane Denish received more than $26,000, data show. But nearly half the $428,000 — $202,000 – was divvied up in small amounts to 119 state lawmakers over the period, data shows. (There are only 112 lawmakers in the Legislature at any one time, meaning that some legislators in the Legislature during one election cycle were not there during another election cycle.)
About a third of that $202,000 — $67,500 — went to just 10 lawmakers who either were legislative leaders or chairs of powerful committees.
Donations ‘keep oversight at bay,’ critics say
One critic pointed to the showering of money on New Mexico’s decision-makers by health insurers as an example of the power the industry wields with policy makers.
The money helps to “keep oversight at bay, to get the best marketplace money can buy,” said Larry C. McNeely II, the healthcare advocate for Washington-based U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
A spokesman for one of the health insurers disputed those accusations, saying that the company was only supporting good elected officials through its campaign contributions.
“We tend to support elected officials we think are positive, helpful voices in the health care debate,” said Todd Sandman, a spokesman for Presbyterian Health Services, which contributed more than $250,000 to New Mexico elected officials over the four-year period.
As to the charge that the companies try to stave off competition by showering elected officials with campaign contributions, Sandman said, “I don’t know what evidence they would bring to that. I don’t see a lot of barriers to insurers coming in” to New Mexico.
Presbyterian insures more than 400,000 New Mexicans.
Influence of health insurers becomes an issue
The role of health insurers in policy-making decisions is coming under additional scrutiny at a time when a battle is brewing in time for the 2011 legislative session. Lawmakers and health insurers likely will face off over the question whether policy makers should re-write state laws to strengthen how New Mexico vets health insurers’ requests to raise premium rates.
The battle comes in the wake of the state Division of Insurance’s decision in April to approve a request by Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico to raise by 21 percent what 40,000 New Mexicans pay in monthly premiums. Spirited protests followed that decision. Ultimately the state’s Insurance Superintendent at the time of the decision resigned and the insurance division has decided to reconsider the request, a move that was unsuccessfully challenged in court by Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Past efforts to strengthen New Mexico’s rate-review process have failed. That includes one proposal that would have given authority to the Public Regulation Commission to act as an appellate body in such requests, several state officials have said.
Currently, the state Insurance Superintendent is the only decision-maker on such cases.
The PRC proposal likely will be resurrected for the upcoming legislative session. But it will compete with other proposals.
The scrutiny over how New Mexico examines health insurer’s rate-hike requests also coincides with an increasing concern from the public about the rising cost of health care.
The data The Independent analyzed came from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on revealing the influence of campaign money on state-level elections and public policy. The Institute provided the data after The Independent asked for campaign contributions from health insurers to successful political candidates from 2004 through 2008. It did not ask for campaign contributions from the 2010 election cycle because the fundraising by candidates is ongoing.
The Independent then analyzed the data. The records do not include campaign contributions to successful Public Regulation Commission (PRC) candidates. The PRC includes the state Division of Insurance, which vets health insurers’ requests for premium rate increases. The PRC does not have oversight authority over health insurers’ rate requests, however.
Blue Cross Blue Shield was second-biggest donor
Second in the amount of money given by a health insurer was Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico, aided by its Illinois-based parent company, Health Care Services Corp., (HCSC) and subsidiaries. The companies contributed $81,450 to New Mexico elected officials over the time period examined.
That total included two contributions to New Mexico elected officials by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, a sister company of Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico owned by Health Care Services Corp.
The Illinois company gave $7,000 to Richardson during the 2006 cycle, when he was running for re-election, and $500 in the 2008 election cycle to Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, D-Santa Fe, the chairman of the Legislature’s budget arm, the Legislative Finance Committee.
A spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico told The Independent on Friday she was waiting to see if the company’s president, Liz Watrin, wanted to respond to The Independent.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico insures about 375,000 New Mexicans, the spokesperson said.
Insurers have much to gain—and fear—from states
Health insurers “have a stake in taxation policy. They have a stake in provider rates, in a Medicaid program,” said Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque. “They have so many stakes. It’s not only a question of oversight, but also policymaking.”
As chairwoman of the Senate Public Affairs Committee, one of the destinations for health care bills, Feldman ranked second among legislative recipients in the amount of money health insurers gave from 2004 to 2008, data show. She received $9,150.
When asked how the money might influence her, Feldman responded with an old political adage.
“If you can’t take their money, drink their wine and vote against them, you shouldn’t be in politics,” Feldman said. “If you look at my record, you’ll see I’ve done that.”
The contributions are often unsolicited, Feldman added. “They are routinely given to those that the company has decided are in key positions,” she said. It’s a situation of good people trapped in a bad system. In the best of all worlds, I’d rather not take money from anyone but my constituents.”
The data seems to bear out Feldman’s point. Among the 10 lawmakers who received the most health care industry money, five were legislative leaders and five were chairpersons of important legislative committees.
Legislative leaders have more say than rank-and-file lawmakers in determining the fate of legislation, as do lawmakers who chair powerful committees.
Data show that Sen. President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, was the top legislative recipient, receiving $9,550 over the four-year period.
“I’m not going to sit here and say you never notice. That’s naïve. You do notice when someone sends you money,” Jennings said. “The money might help companies get access to lawmakers, but it isn’t the only factor in their decisions. Legislators tend to respond more to the constituents than to a business group,” he said.
Jennings added that his long-standing interest in health care might help explain the amount of money he received. Jennings’ late wife ran the state’s medical high-risk insurance pool, which is a last-resort destination for hard-to-insure individuals.
House Minority Leader Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, — the top Republican in the state House of Representatives — was the top GOP legislative recipient of health insurers’ money, according to the data. He received $5,800.
Like Feldman and Jennings, Taylor said the money doesn’t influence how he votes.
“I can honestly say I have never had an insurance company remind me of their contribution,” Taylor said. “For me, basically I try to give everyone a fair shot.”
By way of example Taylor said he doesn’t drink alcohol and generally doesn’t “accept money from the liquor folks. I don’t see any benefit to society,” he said. “But I’m not just against them. I try to keep a very open mind and try to analyze it from a business standpoint. The same goes for health insurance.”
He added, “All of us receive funding from those guys.”
Money makes an impression
The amounts given to state lawmakers appears paltry when compared to what health insurers gave Richardson. But, except in rare instances, spending in legislative contests often reaches into the tens of thousands of dollars, not into the millions, like a run for governor.
“What I’d be more wary of than these $1,000 contributions or $500 contributions, is if one organization gives one candidate $50,000 to completely finance their campaign,” Feldman said. “There is no reason for the candidate to reach out to other entities, or other individuals.”
But Feldman acknowledged that the money sprinkled around by the health insurers, their political action committees and industry associations makes an impression on decision-makers, even if doesn’t alter their final decision.
While Jennings called the giving by deep-pocketed companies and industries a necessary evil of the political system, Feldman said she knew how to reduce that influence.
“I want public financing of campaigns,” said the Albuquerque lawmaker, referring to the idea where candidates would run on public money and forego contributions from individuals, businesses and unions.
