Governor reappoints insurance chief

Gov. John Baldacci announced Wednesday the reappointment of Alessandro Iuppa as Maine’s insurance superintendent. Consumer advocates greeted the news with reserve, but members of the progressive Baldacci administration said Iuppa has proven himself as a team player.

The insurance bureau is responsible for regulating all insurance companies doing business in Maine for solvency and consumer protection.

Iuppa was initially named to the leadership post in 1998 by Baldacci’s predecessor, Angus King, after serving four years as deputy superintendent. His official five-year term expired in June 2003, but he has continued to serve pending Baldacci’s appointment.

Iuppa said Wednesday the Baldacci administration has been “conducting due diligence” since June to determine his suitability for continuing in the position.

During his first term, Iuppa came under fire from consumer advocates who felt he supported insurance industry interests over consumer well-being. In particular, Iuppa’s approval in 1999 of the sale of Maine’s nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance plans to Anthem Insurance, a for-profit company based in Indiana, drew fire, as did his approval afterward of a series of rate hikes requested by Anthem and other health insurers.

On Wednesday afternoon, Joe Ditre, director of Consumers for Affordable Health Care, said he was disappointed the administration didn’t conduct a national search before naming someone to the post.

“Maine’s Dirigo health system is a system of national stature and importance,” and requires special regulatory sensitivity, Ditre said.

Ditre said Iuppa had failed to protect Maine consumers in the 1990s from underpriced health maintenance plans designed to draw market share away from the Blue Cross programs. The Massachusetts companies marketing these plans, Harvard Pilgrim and Tufts, lost money and were unable to meet their commitments to health care providers. Tufts was ultimately liquidated in Maine and Harvard Pilgrim reorganized and stopped doing business in Maine.

“We are concerned that history may repeat itself,” Ditre said. If commercial insurers like Anthem, Cigna or Aetna are allowed to undercut the Dirigo insurance product with unsustainable, low-cost plans, affordable coverage may be even harder to come by, he said.

Robert Murray, commissioner of the state Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, oversees the insurance bureau. Murray said Wednesday he has spent several months working with Iuppa “to determine to what extent he feels like part of the Baldacci team.”

Murray agreed that Dirigo is likely to be in the limelight in coming months. He said he is confident in Iuppa’s support for the innovative program while enforcing regulatory standards for all insurance providers.

Although health insurance currently gets the most attention, the bureau regulates all insurance providers, including workers’ compensation, property and casualty. Iuppa said that in addition to ensuring a fair competitive environment for Dirigo and other health insurance plans, he expects to see greater focus on homeowners’ policies in the near future. Insurance is a cyclic market, he said, and companies are currently tightening their standards, making it difficult for many homeowners to obtain or renew coverage.