Today, the Savannah Morning News endorse Mary Squires for Insurance Commissioner. Some of their best quotes:
…she supports the state mandate that says insurance companies that sell policies in Georgia must cover certain life-saving procedures like mammograms. Yes, this requirement may add slightly to the cost of policies. But it saves money in the long run by detecting cancer and getting patients into early treatment, which improves the chances of survival.
This is one major area in which she differs with Ralph Hudgens, a 67-year-old Republican who owns a small business and has served in the state legislature for 14 years, including six years as chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee. Mr. Hudgens wants to relax mandates as way to lower insurance premiums to help make insurance more affordable – a seemingly noble goal. But cheaper coverage doesn’t translate into better outcomes. As always, you get what you pay for.
Mr. Hudgens also said in a recent debate aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting that he doesn’t see anything wrong with letting insurance lobbyists pick up the tab for meals or in accepting campaign contributions from industry officials. That’s troubling. While Georgia law puts limits on gifts and contributions, elected officials who seem to have their hands out send out the wrong message to the public when it comes to access and influence
Indeed, Mr. Oxendine ran afoul of the State Ethics Commission over insurance company contributions. That era must be in the past.
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