At an hour long Oneonta debate last night, state Senate candidate Don Barber (D-Caroline) highlighted how Sen. Seward's deregulation policies and lack of oversight had hurt all New Yorkers. Citing Seward's campaign contributions from insurance interests in Albany, New York and Washington D.C., Barber, (D-Caroline) linked insurance company cash to Seward's decades-long deregulation activities. Seward (R-Milford) denied that the hundreds of thousands he received from insurance interests influenced his policies.
In remarks after the debate Barber stated, "Sen. Seward made the claim that he had no role in regulating insurance. He neglected to say that the state Senate has an enormous influence over everything from health insurance rates to auto insurance rates. These insurance companies don't contribute money without expecting something in return, and they get it from Sen. Seward."
Barber also pointed to Aetna Insurance Political Action Committee spokeswoman Susan Millirick's statement to the Utica Observer-Dispatch on July 26th. Referring to insurance company campaign contributions to politicians, she said "Such contributions are made because insurance companies are highly regulated... He (Seward) plays a distinct role in the laws that regulate our business..."
Seward's claim that he has no influence over insurance legislation belies the facts, Barber said. The Assembly passed bills to control health insurance rates five times from 2001-2005. (A 6852A and A7485) These bills would have required State Insurance Department hearings if health insurers intended to raise rates over 5% in a given year. The companion bill (S 3757-A) never moved out of Seward's Senate Insurance Committee.
"During this period health insurance rates rose exponentially," Barber said. "And insurance company profits rose 93%. I'd say the insurance industry made a good investment when they showered all this cash on Sen. Seward."
In addition, Seward also pushed through dangerous stripped-down health care policies, Freedom Health Insurance Plans, that demand deductibles as high as $10,000 and are "exempted from all state mandates and rules regulating the type and quality of care," according to the Drum Major Institute.
"I can't think of any more blatant act of deregulation than tearing down all the state mandates that improve health insurance. Sen. Seward's legislation destroyed protections it took years to build into these policies. Deregulation is just another word for letting huge corporations take advantage of consumers, and when I'm elected I will do everything in my power to protect New Yorkers' health care, not make them more vulnerable to catastrophic illnesses and the bankruptcies that inevitably follow."
I have been hearing good things out of the Barber campaign in recent days. Come November 4, I would watch this race. There is something brewing in the 51st.
