Updated: AG Candidates Took Donations from Insurance Companies
Monday, July 12, 2010
Attorney General candidates Peter Kilmartin and Joe Fernandez have publicly denounced health insurance companies for hiking their rates, but behind the scenes they are taking donations from these same companies.
These donations raise new questions for the Democratic candidates—especially Kilmartin, who has received a total of $1,975 from health insurance companies, compared to $175 for Fernandez.
Just how serious are they about getting tough on health insurance companies? And, if elected, can they be effective advocates of ratepayers against these companies?
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSince 2004, Kilmartin (pictured left) has raked in $1,975 from the major health insurers in Rhode Island—either from individual employees of the companies or political action committees, also known as PACs (see charts below).
About half that money flowed in while he was running for re-election as state rep. The rest was donated in the past two years. All three major health insurers donated: Blue Cross and Blue Shield, United Health Care, and Tufts Health Plan.
Fernandez (pictured right) has taken in a lower amount of $175 from all three insurers since December 2008 (see chart).
The third Democratic candidate, Steve Archambault, has not received any money from health insurance companies, according to state campaign finance records. His campaign yesterday seized on the news as evidence that he was the only candidate who could be trusted to take on the health insurance companies.
“Steve Archambault has been consistently leading the fight against double-digit rate hikes by Blue Cross and other health insurers,” said spokesman Rob Horowitz. “The fact that Archambault is the only candidate in the Democratic primary not receiving contributions from the health insurance companies shows that they know he means business.”
Fernandez also claimed he is better suited for fighting the health insurance companies than Kilmartin. “It’s just another example of the inside baseball that’s holding the state back,” said campaign manager Dan Herkert. “It’s another reason why we need an Attorney General who’s not a part of the entrenched political establishment.”
Herkert dismissed questions about whether the donations given to Fernandez would influence him. “I don’t think that $175 is very significant in the grand scheme of things—not to mention the fact that less than one percent of Joe’s contributions have come from PAC contributions.”
Kilmartin: Donations Don’t Influence Me
Kilmartin spokesman Brett Broesder said he was committed to cracking down on health insurance companies, despite the money they have given him.
“These donations will not affect Peter Kilmartin who will fight against rate hikes and has a proven record of fighting against health insurance companies - and he will continue to be a watchdog over the health insurance companies regardless of whether they donate to him or not,” Broesder said.
Broesder noted that Kilmartin had helped pass two laws that cracked down on "abuses" in the health insurance industry. One of the laws requires public hearings before any proposed rate hikes are approved while the other mandates that insurers pay for reconstructive surgeries after mastectomies for breast cancer.
He said Kilmartin’s record of taking tough action against the health insurance industry was “unmatched” by the other candidates in the race.
And Broesder claimed that Kilmartin had a stronger record as an advocate for the public than Fernandez. “While Peter Kilmartin was fighting to protect Main Street as a police officer in Rhode Island, our opponent was working for a firm in New York City that defended white collar criminals at Wall Street banks. We’ll let the record speak for itself.” Broesder said, referring to Fernandez’s six years as a litigator in New York City.
Herkert dismissed the counterattack as a distraction. “Going on the attack to deflect attention from an issue is the kind of tired, worn campaign tactic we’ve come to expect from entrenched politicians,” he said. “Readers can judge for themselves which candidates are answering the questions at hand.”
Other Candidates Take Pledge on Donations
Two other candidates for Attorney General—Republican Erik Wallin and Moderate Chris Little—yesterday pledged to not take any money from health insurance companies.
“Under no circumstances will I take campaign contributions from health insurance companies,” Little said. “I don't think you should be taking contributions from people you may be regulating.”
Wallin agreed. “I have publicly stated that I will not take contributions from any PAC or ‘decision maker’ as defined by Rhode Island law that is subject to either the Public Utilities Commission or from health insurers. I have kept that promise. Others talk a good game, I do the walk,” Wallin told GoLocalProv. “Hopefully, people will follow the money trail and see just where the loyalties of these other candidates are - special interests.”
A search through state campaign finance records shows that Wallin has indeed not accepted any PAC money from health insurers, however, he did receive $20 from Christine Cota, an employee of United Health Care.
The independent candidate for Attorney General, Rob Rainville, could not be reached for comment.
CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, Brian Jordan was mistakenly identified as an employee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The source of this was the state campaign finance report Web site. In fact, Mr. Jordan left Blue Cross in 2007 and is now an administrator at the Westerly Hospital. We apologize for the confusion and have contacted the state board of elections urging them to correct this error in their online database.
Related Articles
- AG Candidates Decry Health Insurance Rate Hikes
- Candidates for AG: Who’s Ahead in the Race for Donors?
- RI Reacts to Health Insurance Rate Increases
- Health Insurance Hikes: Candidates Speak Out
