News

Below are the latest articles and press releases.

Oklahoma Chides Insurer in Medicare Marketing Case

May 15, 2007
By ROBERT PEAR
The New York Times

WASHINGTON, May 14 — In the first major investigation of Medicare marketing, the Oklahoma insurance commissioner has documented widespread misconduct by agents working for Humana and has ordered the company to take corrective action to protect consumers against high-pressure sales tactics.

The commissioner, Kim Holland, said some agents had enrolled Medicare recipients in Humana products that “they did not understand and did not want.”

At least 68 agents did not have the licenses needed to sell insurance in Oklahoma, Ms. Holland said Monday in an interview.

“Humana took advantage of a new market, but did not adequately supervise its agents,” said Ms. Holland, who was an insurance agent for 25 years before becoming the state’s top insurance regulator in 2005.

Humana has made a big push to expand its Medicare business and is now the second-largest participant in the Medicare market, after the UnitedHealth Group.

Thomas T. Noland Jr., a senior vice president of Humana, said that people who chose its products were overwhelmingly satisfied. “As the guardian of the company’s reputation, I would know if there were any problems,” Mr. Noland said.

In its latest financial report, Humana said its “increased sales and marketing efforts” had been effective. Enrollment in its Medicare Advantage plans totaled 1.1 million on March 31, up 50 percent from a year earlier, and the number of people in its free-standing drug plans shot up 77 percent, to 3.5 million. The drug plans provide pharmacy benefits, but do not pay for doctors or hospitals.

Of the 41 states responding to a recent survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 39 said they had received complaints about misrepresentations by insurance agents or companies in marketing Medicare-related products. Twenty-two states reported complaints of fraudulent activity like falsifying signatures on applications.

Many state insurance commissioners say some insurers have used improper hard-sell tactics to persuade Medicare recipients to sign up for private health plans. Oklahoma is the first state to conduct a formal “market conduct examination,” visiting a company’s offices and reviewing its files to assess sales practices.

Karen M. Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade group, said her organization would adopt stricter standards to ensure that agents provided “clear, complete and accurate information.”

After being reprimanded by federal auditors, WellCare Health Plans announced new compliance measures last week.

Janet S. Trautwein, executive vice president of the National Association of Health Underwriters, which represents insurance agents and brokers, said: “A few bad apples have been behaving unethically. I make no excuses for them. They do not reflect the behavior of the majority of agents who work with seniors.”

The Oklahoma Insurance Department said it had found many cases in which agents enrolled Medicare beneficiaries in Humana plans that were not in their best interests. In some cases, the regulators said, consumers were confused because they had dementia or other mental impairments.

Oklahoma investigators found that some people who wanted to buy just drug coverage from Humana were instead enrolled in “an unwanted plan,” a comprehensive Medicare Advantage plan. The investigators’ report said it appeared that some agents had used “bait-and-switch tactics to secure the initial invitation” into the homes of Medicare beneficiaries.

In one case in the report, a man was switched to a Humana plan from traditional Medicare. As a result, he lost the extra benefits that he had under a Medicare supplement policy from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, and he incurred additional costs when he became ill.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department said: “The member had to borrow against his house to pay for these uninsured hospital and medical expenses. This was solely due to the failure of the agent to properly explain his existing coverage and the impact of purchasing a Medicare Advantage plan.”

Humana investigated numerous complaints. But, the report said, in many cases “the investigation was conducted more to mitigate, justify and defend the actions of the agent and the company” than to help consumers.

In its report, the Oklahoma Insurance Department also made these findings:

Humana gave agents a strong incentive to sell Medicare Advantage plans, typically paying a commission of $250 for each sale, five times as much as the commission for selling a prescription drug plan.
Humana did not maintain a complete record of complaints from Medicare beneficiaries, as required under Oklahoma law.
Independent agents had to complete a 16-hour training course that included three hours of “self-study” and four hours of telephone conference calls.

“This training program,” the report said, “did not appear to be sufficiently comprehensive to fully cover a topic as complex as Medicare and the products which these agents would be selling.”

Okla. Commissioner Testifies Before U.S. Senate

By Tim Talley
The Insurance Journal
May 18, 2007

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland told members of a U.S. Senate committee recently that federal law is impeding the ability of insurance commissioners to protect the elderly who buy Medicare managed care plans.

In testimony before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Holland said the federal government's failure to adequately regulate Medicare Part D and so-called Medicare Advantage plans "has led to virtual lawlessness in Oklahoma.''

"Unlicensed agents are setting up shop in pharmacies, large retailers, and nursing home lobbies to prey upon seniors' confusion and concern over their medical care coverage,'' Holland said.

Almost 500,000 Oklahomans are enrolled in Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage programs but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which regulates the programs, has no employees in the state, Holland said. Federal law pre-empts states from regulating the sales and marketing practices of the plans.

"As insurance commissioner, I currently have greater authority to address a consumer's problem with pet insurance than I do protecting the half a million Oklahoma senior citizens covered under a Medicare Prescription Drug or Advantage plan,'' Holland said.

She asked senators to change Medicare regulations to better protect the public.

"Allow me to do the job that I do everyday to assure the financial solvency of companies selling health plans in my state. Allow me to fully deploy the substantial and immediate resources of my office to protect the interests of all policyholders in my state,'' Holland said.

Holland documented numerous consumer complaints logged by her office, many describing misleading marketing practices and misrepresentations during the sale of Medicare supplemental products.

She launched the first major investigation of Medicare marketing and documented widespread misconduct by agents working for Humana Insurance Company, the second largest Medicare marketer of private health plans to Medicare recipients in the country.

The investigation led to an order by her office requiring the company to better protect consumers from high-pressure sales tactics.

Holland requires that agents who enroll Oklahomans in Medicare plans be licensed by her office. The Humana investigation, filed last month, found that the company accepted business from 68 agents who were not licensed to sell insurance in the state.

A telephone call by The Associated Press to Dick Brown, director of corporate communications for Humana in Louisville, Ky., was not immediately returned.

The investigation found that Humana agents sold Medicare policies to beneficiaries with lifelong mental conditions and others who did not understand the policies.

In one complaint, a man was switched from traditional Medicare to a Humana plan. He lost the extra benefits that he had under a Medicare supplement policy from Blue Cross and Blue shield of Oklahoma and incurred additional costs when he became ill.

"The member had to borrow against his house to pay for these uninsured hospital and medical expenses,'' the report states. "This was solely due to the failure of the agent to properly explain his existing coverage and the impact of purchasing a Medicare Advantage plan.''

Voter beware
Read the fine print in campaign ads

The Oklahoman Editorial
10/31/2006

WITH the Nov. 7 election nearly upon us, the television air waves are sure to be even more crowded with political advertisements than they have been in recent weeks. And, of course, many of the ads will be negative in nature, although they won't necessarily be the creation of the candidate on the attack.

Campaign finance reform laws that have allowed politicians to crow about "cleaning up" the system have also made it more difficult to track exactly who is behind some of the mudslinging that goes on. A case in point is a group called Just the Facts America, which has spent a boatload of money attacking the state's incumbent insurance commissioner, Kim Holland, but hasn't let the state Ethics Commission know where it's been getting that money.

Considerable digging by The Oklahoman's Nolan Clay revealed that Just the Facts America has ties to Texas businessman Gene Phillips, who has been investigated by two of Oklahoma's multicounty grand juries — including one that returned indictments against former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher, leading Fisher to resign under pressure. Holland was appointed by the governor to replace Fisher.

The ad paid for by Just the Facts America doesn't mention Holland, but uses silhouettes that resemble her. It mentions "thousands upon thousands of out-of-state insurance industry dollars flowing into her office as if it were up for sale ..."

National political action committees help muddy the water as well, paying for attack ads and literature in states across the country. Here, leaders from both sides of the aisle are trading barbs about whether Ethics Commission rules have been followed by two such PACs that have gotten involved in state Senate races.

Our advice as Election Day approaches: Pay attention to the fine print, and consider the source.

Just the fiction
By World's Editorial Writers
10/30/2006

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Sleazy ads emerge from the depths

"Just the Facts America," a Texas mystery group that's trying to muddy the waters in the state insurance commissioner race, has emerged from the murky depths with questionable political advertising.

Moving as stealthily as a Swift boat, the group's apparent target is Democrat Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland, a Tulsan, who's running against Republican Bill Case, a former Oklahoma City legislator.

The negative ads have prompted Holland to run ads focusing on her record. Meanwhile, The Oklahoman filed a lawsuit against the group claiming trademark and copyright infringement because the newspaper's name was used without permission in the ads.

One of the ads depicts part of a September story from The Oklahoman about Holland's donations as well as The Oklahoman's name.

"Just the Facts America" has paid about $250,000 for ads that have run over the past few days. More buys to continue the ad through election day Nov. 7 are expected by television sales managers. Ads don't show Holland. Instead, some of the ads depict a silhouette that looks like hers.

Holland said she is spending $225,000 for her campaign and that she has no idea who's funding the "Just the Facts" ads.

"I've obviously stepped on somebody's toes. . . . My job is to hold insurance companies accountable, and I've probably made a few mad."

"Just the Facts" has not reported donor names to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission and is not required to according to the group's attorney, who explained that this is an issues-oriented ad campaign.

Attorney General Drew Edmondson said the ad is electioneering, violates rules and that the Ethics Commission should implement procedures to bring legal action against ads of this type in the future.

In her short time in office, Holland has worked swiftly and decisively to clean up, modernize and energize an office she inherited from former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher, now a convicted felon because of his behavior in office.

Deceptive ads posing as informative, "just-the-facts" guides for voters have no place in any campaign. Voters most likely will see them for what they are -- misleading.

Our Choices: Five Incumbents deserve new terms
By The Oklahoman's Editorial Writers (10/22/2006)
http://newsok.com/article/2960047/

Insurance Commissioner: In electoral terms, this is an open seat because incumbent Democrat Kim Holland was appointed to the job less than two years ago after her corrupt predecessor was forced out of office. She’s restored order and integrity to an agency plagued by cronyism, graft and incompetence ... For the sake of continuity, we think it best that Holland remain in office.

For Kim Holland
By World's Editorial Writers (10/8/2006)

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A first-rate insurance commissioner

To say that the department was in disarray at the time of her appointment is an understatement. Her predecessor, Carroll Fisher, had just resigned in the face of impeachment proceedings and criminal charges related to his performance in office. A key aide also was embroiled in the criminal case.

Holland, with a 25-year career in the insurance industry, immediately reorganized and streamlined the department and has operated it since without a breath of scandal. That, as anyone who has paid attention to the office over the years, is by itself a significant accomplishment.

But Holland did more than simply stop the bleeding. She expanded and improved the Insurance Department Consumer Hot Line to better respond to consumer inquiries, with an emphasis on those from senior citizens. She increased the size and law-enforcement capabilities of the anti-fraud investigation team and as a result the department under her leadership recovered more than $2.4 million on behalf of Oklahoma consumers.

Oklahoma has long had one of the nation's worst rates of people without health insurance, and Holland has made reducing that rate a primary issue. She convened a summit meeting on the high cost of health insurance to come up with ideas for reforming the system.

Recognizing that many of Oklahoma's uninsured are working people, she was instrumental in developing the state's O-EPIC program, which pays part of the premiums for eligible employees of small businesses.

Holland, a Democrat from Tulsa, is opposed by state Rep. Bill Case of Midwest City, who is term-limited.

Kim Holland stepped in under emergency conditions to fix a troubled state agency. She did that and has done a first-rate job of operating it. She deserves to be elected on Nov. 7 to a full term as insurance commissioner.

Criticism of Holland off base
(From the editorial page of The Oklahoman, 9/13/2006)

"Campaign cash: Commissioner sends mixed signals" (Our Views, Sept 6) criticizing state Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland's contributions to her re-election campaign from industry-related entities, particularly out-of-state sources, is off base. Several years ago I served as president of an Oklahoma insurance company dealing with the insurance departments of the different states in which we did business. The integrity and compitence of a department is of utmost importance to every company doing business in a state, whether it's domiciled in that state or not. From what I've read in The Oklahoman, Holland is doing an excellent job of freing the department of past problems. The fact that she has such broad industry support is a positive recommendation for her continuence in office. It should be recognized as such." --Jim McNeese, Ponca City

INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS ENDORSE KIM HOLLAND FOR STATE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

The Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma (IIAO), the state’s largest insurance and property casualty agents association have endorsed incumbent Commissioner Kim Holland in her campaign for a full term as State Insurance Commissioner. Holland, a Democrat, was appointed in 2005 by Governor Brad Henry to fill the unexpired term of former Commissioner Carroll Fisher who resigned under pressure before the end of his term.

“We’re honored to endorse Commissioner Holland in her campaign for a full term,” said Bruce Magill, IIAO Chairman. “Commissioner Holland has restored honesty and integrity to the Insurance Commissioner’s position at a time when it was desperately needed. She has been extremely open to our concerns, has met on a regular basis with IIAO leadership to discuss regulatory issues, and has assisted IIAO members to further identify issues that can improve the insurance-related services they provide to Oklahomans.”

During the 2006 legislative session, IIAO and the Oklahoma Insurance Department worked together to ensure approval of several important insurance industry reforms including passage of a surplus lines law and a pilot program to identify steps to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on Oklahoma roads and highways.

More than $10.5 Million Recovered by Insurance Department in 2005

Tulsa Daily Commerce and Legal News
June 15, 2006

Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland announced today that the Department recovered more than $10.5 million from consumers during the 2005 calendar year. This is the largest claims and fraud recovery ever recorded by the Oklahoma Insurance Department.

"As we have assembled our data from the past year to analyze how we can become more efficient and improve our processes, we are elated to report that 2005 represented a record year in claims recovery for Oklahoma consumers by the Insurance Department,” said Commissioner Holland.

During 2005, the Consumer Assistance Division of the Insurance Department recovered $8,211,634.50 for Oklahomans.

The Consumer Assistance Division works with consumers and insurance companies confidentially to resolve disputes regarding claims. To date, the department has already facilitated the recovery of nearly 2 million dollars since January of this year.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department hotline can be reached at 1-800-522-0071.

The Anti-Fraud Division, with law enforcement status, also had a record setting pace of recovery last year with more than $2.5 million in fraud monies returned to consumers.

The Insurance Department also offers EAGLE mediation program through its Legal Division. The EAGLE Program is a Conflict Settlement Program certified by the Oklahoma Supreme Court as par4t of the state’s Alternative Dispute Resolution System.

For more information or to use the program, contact the Oklahoma Insurance Department at 405-521-2828, or toll-free at 1-800-522-0071.

Insurance Law to Help Military
The Oklahoman
June 14th, 2006

Adoption of the state Insurance Department omnibus bill will provide new protections to state-based military veterans, and should help consumers, Commissioner Kim Holland said.

Under the new law, signed recently by Gov. Brad Henry, Oklahomans called to active military duty will be able to reinstate previous health and property casualty insurance upon their return without penalties for any lapse in coverage.

The bill also allows the agency to hire two new law enforcement officers to serve in its anti-fraud division, the department’s law enforcement unit that works with other enforcement agencies to fight insurance fraud.

The measure established new fiduciary responsibility requirements for insurance agents to protect consumers. Combining premium payments with and agent’s personal or business operations is now prohibited. The law also establishes strict rules on how payments must be forwarded to insurance companies upon receipt from agents.

The bill also creates “Affidavit of Exempt Status” to assist independent contractors establishing self-employment status with respect to worker’s compensation insurance.

The affidavit replaces the old “certificate f Non-coverage” card formerly issued by the Labor Department and abolished last year by the Legislature.

Independent contractors will be required to execute a signed and notarized affidavit at the start of a work project for each contractor or employer. It will be good for one year from the date of notarization.

The new law also formally eliminates the state Property and casualty Rates Board, which has no responsibilities after the agency last year adopted a “use-and-file” system of setting insurance rates.

State Insurance Commissioner in Town to talk About Consumer Concerns
Lawton Constitution
June 8th, 2006

Uninsured motorists and residents without health insurance top the list of concerns for Oklahomans, the state’s insurance commissioner said.

Kim Holland, who is seeking election after being appointed Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner in January 2005, was in Lawton this week to discuss insurance concerns. Holland, the second woman to hold the state’s top insurance post, described last year as “fast and furious” for an office that has made accessibility, visibility and integrity top issues.

Efforts are being made to get a better handle on uninsured motorists, Holland said, describing the creation of a data bank that will allow law enforcement and state agencies to track such motorists.

“The data is there,” Holland said, noting the data now collected is “poorly managed,” meaning improvements to the system will ensure better accountability.

Oklahoma requires insurance verification cards for its licensed motorists, but Holland said those cards are easily counterfeited, noting her department ended a flea market operation that was using printed tablets to provide fake cards. And, while insurance companies are supposed to notify the insurance commission when drivers cancel or fail to maintain their insurance, Holland said there are problems with the process, even for those driving legally. For example, drivers may face problems when they change insurance carriers; if there is an overlap of time, the state may be notified you are without insurance.

A database will eliminate the need for that system, Holland said, adding that, even with the new system in place, uninsured motorists – 30 percent of the driving population, half of those undocumented workers – will continue to be a problem.

Health care also continues to concern residents and business owners. Holland said 21 percent of Oklahoma employees are uninsured.

“We’re one of the top five in the nation for working uninsured,” she said, noting the largest gap comes from small businesses that can’t afford health insurance for their work forces.

Oklahoma is working to narrow that gap: the Oklahoma Employer/Employee Partnership for Insurance Coverage gives small business owners the means to obtain affordable health insurance by pooling resources, but it requires a financial commitment from participants.

“We’re promoting that,” Holland said, of the OEPIC system, adding the Legislature recently increased the eligibility criteria to business with up to 50 percent employees (the cutoff was 25 employees).

State officials also want to increase the eligibility provision for gross annual income to 200 percent of the federal poverty level (it now is 185 percent).

The information campaign is part of what Holland calls her department’s commitment to be a catalyst for change. Noting the department has been reactive in past years, she said she wants to change to a proactive stance, in regards to issues that concern consumers.

Among those educational efforts: plans for a weather school, drawing together key players to discuss how weather will impact on insurance. For example, the recent drought will impact crop insurance, she said, noting other weather concerns are wind and hail damage, and flooding. Flooding is a special concern: 87 percent of the population in flood zones is uninsured against flood damage.

“We do our part to educate consumers,” she said, calling education efforts a “big part of the mission.”

Contractors, Regulators Happy with Affidavit System

The Journal Record
June 13th 2006

Oklahoma City – The new “affidavit of exempt status” program for independent contractors is working out just fine, contractors and regulators agree. The affidavits were officially recognized in Oklahoma’s statutes with Gov. Henry’s signature of House Bill 2905 last week. The 2006 legislative session’s so-called omnibus insurance bill makes a few other key changes in insurance law as well.

“The contractors are happy with it, and it appears to be accomplishing what it needs to,” said Insurance Commissioner Kin Holland, who helped devise the affidavit system last year.

During a special legislative session last June 2005 to address workers’ compensation reforms, the Oklahoma Legislature did away with what were known as certificates of non-coverage. The MNC program, which had been administered by the Department of Labor, was used for independent contractors to verify their exemption from having to buy workers’ compensation insurance coverage.

Citing abuses of the certificates by some who did not qualify as independent contractors, the Legislature did away with the certificates effective July 1 – but did not provide any alternative form of verifying independent contractor status at any time.

The Insurance Department began providing an affidavit form for contractors to use in August, and asked private insurance carriers doing business in the state to honor the forms. A number of companies and contractors began using the affidavits on a voluntary basis, but the Insurance Department was unable to require anyone to use or recognize the affidavit without legislation to enact the program into law.

The legal authority provided the affidavits by HB 2905 was welcome to the construction industry, said Mike Means, executive vice president of the Oklahoma State Home Builders Association.

“We’d been pushing for the law to validate the affidavits,” said Means. “Some insurance companies would not accept them because there was no rile of law behind it.”

The new law will be of help to those general contractors who do not buy their workers’ compensation coverage throughout the state-created insurance company, Compsource, which had supported the affidavit program.

"We think it’s a great deal, and we’ve moved forward with it,” Means said.

Taking on the new program was not difficult fir the Insurance Department, said Holland, since the affidavits worked to streamline the process and shift the responsibility for determining a worker’s status away from the state and onto the worker and the general contractor.

“And I think that was the legislative intent,” said Holland.

House Bill 2905 also shifted the duties previously assigned to the State Board for Property and Casualty Rates onto the commissioner. The board was rendered obsolete last year by the worker’s compensation reform bull, which allowed insurers to “file and use” their rates instead of having to first ask for the board’s approval. The board was eliminated last year.

The effects of adopting a file-and-use system in Oklahoma will likely go unnoticed by the average consumer for some time, said Holland. But the new system allows insurance companies to respond more quickly to changing market conditions, and efficiency the new system provides may translate into better services for consumers over the long run, she said.

HB 2905 also creates a new law that guarantees Oklahomans serving in the Armed Forces will be able to reinstate their previous health or property and casualty insurance coverage upon their return from active military service, without facing penalties for a lapse in coverage.

The measure also allows the Insurance Department to add two more law enforcement officers to its Anti-Fraud Division, which recover more than $2.5 million in fraud last year, the Insurance Department reports.

Holland suspects money was misappropriated

The Oklahoman, August 10, 20006

“State regulators will try to recover nearly $58,000 from a southwest Oklahoma funeral home director after determining that amount is missing from a trust fund of prepaid funeral benefits administered by his business, Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland said Wednesday.

"It appears that the funds were misappropriated,” Holland said.

John W. Hodge, owner of Hodge Funeral Home in Fletcher and Elgin, signed an agreement with the state Insurance Department granting permanent receivership of the trust fund to Holland.

The agency seized temporary control of the fund last month after Hodge failed to file required reports or respond to questions about it accounting. Wednesday, Hodge agreed to relinquish control of the trust fund.

“I’m agreeing that I was late on the audits on those,” Hodge said Wednesday. “That’s why they showed some funds missing.”

Hodge blamed the problems on confusion over the required forms, a new accountant and difficulties with the bank. Hodge said no money is missing from the account and none of his customers are in danger of losing money.

However, Holland said it appears that Hodge used trust money for personal purposes.

"What our job is at this point is to do a complete accounting of the trust, assess and pursue any assets that might be available and then if not, go after Mr. Hodge and his assets if there are any available,” Holland said.

The Hodge Funeral Home fund contained $207,059, according to the 2004 report confirmed by the Insurance Department.

In March, the funeral home reported that the trust held nearly $180,000 as of Dec. 31, but that certification contained discrepancies that the department was unable to clear up, agency spokesperson Marc Young said. The funeral home received an extension to file its required report earlier this year but failed to produce a complete accounting,

Hodge reported that 41 clients had money in the trust find at the end of 2004.

“We’ll be going over it with a fine-toothed comb and finding out where the money is and what’s not there, and what’s not there we’ll be pursuing aggressively and take care of these folks who were counting on these funds being there to bury their loved ones, for crying out loud,” Holland said.

The Insurance Department has issued nearly 400 permits to sell prepaid funeral plans in Oklahoma.

Control of the trust fund does not affect Hodge’s day-to-day operations of his funeral homes.

Oklahomans receiving $8,799,988.61 in Early Disbursement of AmCare Settlement Funds

The Capitol Hill Beacon
Feb. 23rd, 2006

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland successfully petitioned the Oklahoma County District Court for an early distribution of funds to Oklahomans defrauded or owed money by now defunct AmCare Health Plans of Oklahoma, Inc., a Health Management Organization (HMO). Judge Norma Gurich ruled on the motion February 23, 2006.

AmCare was manipulating its financial records by transferring assets back and forth between sister companies in Texas and Louisiana in an attempt to appear solvent. AmCare was placed into receivership by the Oklahoma Insurance Department in July of 2003. AmCare owes approximately $25 million to thousands of creditors in Oklahoma, records show.

“Our policyholders deserve the security of knowing their policies are going to pay when they have claim,” Commissioner Kim Holland said. “I take very seriously my role in assuring the solvency of insurers doing business in this state. It is our primary responsibility and greatest consumer protection.”

The Oklahoma Insurance Department monitors the solvency of insurance companies doing business in the state of Oklahoma. Solvency is based on a company’s ability to pay for the benefits of the policies it issues. When a company fails to meet established solvency criteria, the Insurance Commissioner can place a company into receivership.

While in receivership a company falls under the control of the Insurance Commissioner as a court appointed receiver. The Insurance Commissioner preserves its assets and determines if the company can continue to conduct business in the State. Receivership is a process that is similar to bankruptcy, and the Insurance Commissioner’s role as receiver is similar to that of a trustee.

Creditors are paid from the assets of the company and from recoveries the Insurance Commissioner, as receiver, can make from third parties. Formerly, HMOs were regulated by the Oklahoma Health Department; due to a change in Oklahoma law, the Insurance Department took over their solvency regulation in 2003.

“We are taking every necessary step to prevent an insolvency by monitoring companies closely,” stated Holland. “But when a company does go insolvent, I will do whatever I can to recover funds owed to Oklahomans, and ensure that we can distribute these funds as quickly as possible.”

Normally, funds are not paid out until the receivership has been resolved completely by a court of law. However, following Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland’s request the court granted an immediate and partial disbursement of thirty-six percent of the funds owed to Oklahoma creditors. The remaining funds could be tied up in litigation for some time as the case is currently under appeal.

“I am pleased to announce that checks are being sent to Oklahomans right now,” added Holland.

The recovery of assets and the management of the AmCare receivership have been monitored and conducted in Oklahoma by Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland as Receiver. If you have questions regarding this settlement, please contact the Oklahoma Insurance Department at 405-947-0022.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.

Insurance Commissioner begins “Southern State Tour”

(Tulsa) – Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland will be visiting communities in the southern part of Oklahoma next week on a thousand mile listening tour. Commissioner Holland welcomes the opportunity to speak with local residents at each of the stops listed below.

For more information, contact Kim Holland for Oklahoma 2006 at 918/592-4115 or by email at info@hollandforoklahoma.com.

Thursday, Aug 3 - (Southern State Tour)

9:30 to 10:30 AM - Muskogee - Commissioner Holland will be available to meet supporters in the green space at the 200 block of Broadway.

12:30 to 2:00 PM - McAlester - Commissioner Holland will be available to meet supporters at the Hotel Aldridge, 200 East Carl Albert Pkwy.

3:30 to 4:00 PM - Antlers - Commissioner Holland will be available to meet supporters at City Hall.

5:30 to 6:30 PM - Broken Bow - Commissioner Holland will be available to meet supporters at the Public Library, 404 N. Broadway.

Friday, Aug 4 - (Southern State Tour)

9:00 to 9:30 AM - Idabel - Commissioner Holland will be available to meet supporters at the Chamber of Commerce Building, 7 SW Texas St (at the end of Main Street).

10:45 to 11:30 AM - Hugo - Commissioner Holland will be available to meet supporters at City Hall, 201 S 2nd St.

1:00 to 2:00 PM - Durant - Commissioner Holland will be available to meet supporters at the County Court House gazebo, 402 W. Evergreen.

2:45 to 3:30 PM - Madill - Commissioner Holland will be available to meet supporters at the gazebo in Court House Square.

4:30 to 5:30 PM - Ardmore - Commissioner Holland will be available to meet supporters at the Creative Living Center, 1550 Knox Road

7:30 to 9:00 PM - Duncan - Commissioner Holland will join the Stephens County Democrats at a Watermelon Feed at the Stephens County Fairgrounds Exhibition Building.

Saturday, Aug 5 - (Southern State Tour)

8:30 to 10:00 AM - Lawton - Commissioner Holland will be available to meet supporters in front of City Hall, 103 SW 4th.

11:30 AM to 12:30 PM - Altus - Commissioner Holland will meet supporters at a tea with County Chair Sweet Pea Abernathy.

1:00 PM to 2:00 PM - Quartz Mountain - Commissioner Holland will speak to the state convention of the Fraternal Order of Police at Quartz Mountain.

3:30 PM to 5:00 PM - Mountain View - Commissioner Holland will attend the Mountain View Free Fair (at Tolbert Park at 12th and Washita).

Insurance Commissioner seeks more reforms for state

By Randall Turk
CNHI News Service

NORMAN, Okla.— Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland has been rebuilding her department and the services it provides in the 16 months since her appointment to the office.

Holland replaced long-time commissioner Carroll Fisher, convicted of charges involving malfeasance in office. She said she has worked on several fronts to open communication with consumers, legislators and insurance providers.

Holland was in Norman recently to address a morning meeting of the Central Oklahoma Association of Insurance and Finance Advisors. Of immediate interest to her is an insurance omnibus bill languishing in the Legislature. By law, the current legislative session must conclude Friday.

“The bill calls for more funds to increase our anti-fraud work and lower workers compensation insurance premiums for independent contractors,” Holland said.
Last year the Legislature dropped certification for independent contractors. That drove up workers comp costs for the self-employed, she said.

The insurance industry generates premiums of $11.8 billion a year in Oklahoma, Holland said.

“Oklahoma collects $200 million every year in premium taxes," Holland said.
Since being appointed, Holland has established relationships with other state agencies to collaborate in providing insurance services.

“In a populist government like ours, state services are dispersed everywhere,” she said. “Workers compensation insurance involves four agencies. Six other agencies have some bearing on auto insurance.”

Holland oversees the state’s health insurance premium assistance program that operates on funds from the state tobacco tax settlement. The program provides $8 billion in state funds to offset health insurance costs of workers with incomes less than double the federal poverty guidelines. The program applies to companies with 25 or fewer employees, but Holland said she is working to get the ceiling lifted.
The insurance department’s anti-fraud unit is another priority with Holland.

“We’re stepping up our anti-fraud efforts,” she said. “Last year the unit received over 700 referrals.”

The majority of fraud cases her department sees involve consumers cheating their insurance companies, she said. For instance, she said, “More than one of every three bodily injury claims from car crashes involve fraud.”

Last year the fraud unit received law enforcement authority from the Legislature. The 10-member anti-fraud unit works with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, other law enforcement agencies and district attorneys.

Holland said most disturbing to her is insurance fraud perpetrated against vulnerable seniors.

“Last year we caught a Texas group promoting estate planning that was convincing seniors to move money into annuity products of no value to them,” she said. “Last year we recovered $2.5 million for senior citizens.”

She has worked to establish a link with state lawmakers.

“There wasn’t a relationship with the Legislature,” she said. “We worked hard at it last year. My role is bipartisan, to make sure everybody has an equal opportunity to work through this office. I go to the Capitol every week. We have a full-time legislative liaison in our office.”

The insurance department has had some success with the Legislature this year.
“We were abe to get an interstate compact law that provides uniformity in products like life insurance annuities and long term disability insurance," she said. "It’s too expensive to follow the differing rules of 50 governing bodies.”

Oklahoma was the 23rd state to join in adopting the standards, Holland said. By law, 26 states must participate to form an interstate compact, she said.

On the national front, the commissioner said Senate Bill 1955, the comprehensive health care reform bill, will die for lack of a vote this year.

She noted Oklahoma health insurance premiums are among the costliest in the country. She is part of a task force creating a comprehensive health care package for Congress to consider next year.

The insurance department also operates a mediation program to settle disputes between insurers and consumers. Since its beginning in 1999, more than 75 percent of mediated complaints have resulted in full or partial settlements, Holland said.
Appointed in January of last year, Holland is the second woman to serve as insurance commissioner. Her career spans 25 years in the health and employment insurance fields.

“My grandmother was a life insurance agent who made a meaningful difference at important points in peoples’ lives,” she said.

She is a member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an organization that “has the largest database in the world.”

Among other changes in the Oklahoma Insurance Department, Holland began an outreach program “to break down barriers in delivery of services to benefit taxpayers and policyholders.”

Department staff teams conduct “road shows” throughout the state to talk to insurance representatives and consumers about issues important to them.
Holland said she also meets with chief executives of the top 10 insurance companies in the state on a quarterly basis.

Internally, the insurance department Web site has been updated and a communications department has been organized to interact with the public.
“We get 50,000 inquiries a year, many of them on the Internet,” Holland said. “We respond to e-mails within 24 hours.”

She said she believes in strong continuing education for insurance people.

“For the first time ever, we’re permitting companies with in-house training programs to be approved for continuing education," she said. "We’re working with Oklahoma City Community College to develop a certification program for the insurance industry.”

She said a plan is being considered to rely on the state’s career tech centers to broadcast insurance continuing education programs.

Randall Turk writes for The Norman (Okla.) Transcript.

Holland Goes To Max For Democrats
www.okdemocrats.org

State Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland has gone to the max to help build a strong state Democratic Party, becoming only the second statewide Democratic office holder to donate $5,000.00 to party coffers.

Holland, who was appointed by Gov. Brad Henry less than a year ago, joins long-time Democratic Party supporter Attorney General Drew Edmondson as the only two statewide elected Democrats to make a maximum donation this year.

"I am proud to be a Democrat and I want our party to be a strong, viable force in changing Oklahoma for the better," Holland said. "If I don’t do all that I can to help the party and other Democrats, how can I ask others to do it?"

Holland has also started promoting the party’s "1 In A Million" campaign to boost small donor contributions by encouraging people to take part in the effort at each of her events, speeches and other political gatherings.