http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.redmer12oct12,1,6153801.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
Redmer resigns after 2 years
State's insurance agency chief takes job leading regional HMO
By Andrew A. Green
Sun reporter
October 12, 2005
State Insurance Commissioner Alfred W. Redmer Jr., who came to office
with a mandate to increase competition in Maryland's insurance
industry, has resigned his post to head a Delaware health maintenance
organization.
The former Republican delegate and insurance broker from Perry Hall was
admired by industry officials, but his two years in office were marked
by several disputes.
He eventually won over those who criticized his response to complaints
stemming from Tropical Storm Isabel, but he was rebuked by Democrats
for his political activity and for his decision to let HMOs pass along
a tax increase to their customers. And his agency was at the center of
the furor over Joseph F. Steffen Jr., the gubernatorial aide whose
e-mails sparked an investigation into politically motivated firings.
Redmer, 49, said yesterday that he has few regrets about his tenure and
believes he has increased competition in Maryland without sacrificing
consumer interests.
"The governor gave me as a single directive that we need to continue to
maintain vigorous consumer protection, but we need to do it in a way
that fosters a business-friendly environment," Redmer said. "Vigorous
consumer protection and vigorous competition are not mutually
exclusive."
He leaves his $136,000-a-year state job Friday to become the chief
executive officer of Coventry Health Care of Delaware, a regional
health insurance company that does business in Delaware, Maryland and
southern New Jersey.
Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. praised Redmer yesterday for bringing
business and political savvy to the post.
"His perspective as the state's top insurance regulator reflected an
expert understanding of the insurance industry and the need to
safeguard and serve the public," Ehrlich said in a statement.
But Redmer has faced criticism at times from leading Democrats and
consumers that he has been too cozy with the insurance industry.
Democrats reacted angrily - some calling for his resignation - when
Redmer told HMOs this year that they could pass on the costs of a new 2
percent premium tax to consumers without going through a rate hearing.
Democrats enacted the tax over Ehrlich's objections as part of a plan
to hold down medical malpractice insurance rates.
Redmer said at the time that he was simply following precedent, but
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said he should step down so the
state could have "a watchdog instead of a lapdog."
After Tropical Storm Isabel, victims accused the Maryland Insurance
Administration of being insensitive to their plight and unwilling to
help them resolve disputes with the National Flood Insurance Program.
At a town hall meeting after the 2003 storm, Redmer told the audience
that he understood their frustration because his weekend house on the
waterfront had been destroyed, a remark that fell flat in a crowd of
people who had lost their homes.
However, advocates for Isabel victims said yesterday that Red- mer
became a powerful ally.
Steve Kanstoroom, a Talbot County man whose research helped convince
Congress that the federal flood program was flawed, said Redmer
persuaded federal officials and other insurance commissioners to take
up the issue.
"He moved heaven and earth to do that," Kanstoroom said.
The National Flood Insurance Program eventually agreed to re-examine
Isabel claims, and it paid out $8.6 million in additional settlements
to victims in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.
Redmer said he built on his agency's experience from Isabel to create a
consumer education and advocacy unit, which informs citizens about
insurance issues and expedites the state's response to complaints.
Immediately after taking office in June 2003, the former House minority
leader came under fire when a Baltimore attorney organized a
$2,000-a-head Ehrlich fund-raiser with Redmer as the headliner. The
event was eventually canceled.
A year later, Democrats and watchdog groups complained about an
invitation-only meeting Redmer held with selected insurance industry
executives, saying it raised questions about who had access to the
commissioner and influence over his decisions.
The agency also came into the public spotlight when Steffen, a longtime
Ehrlich aide who was then the communications director for the Insurance
Administration, resigned amid news reports that he had spread rumors on
the Internet about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
E-mails Steffen wrote on the job also showed he was trying to identify
employees at the Insurance Administration and other agencies where he
worked who could be replaced with people more loyal to the governor.
But insurance industry insiders say Redmer's legacy will be one of
maintaining consumer protections while fostering greater competition in
Maryland's insurance market, a development that they say will give
consumers more choice and ultimately drive down premiums.
Maryland Health Care Commission Chairman Stephen J. Salamon said two
companies make up 94 percent of the small group health insurance
market, a situation that "is not healthy for our business climate or
our small employers."
"The insurance commissioner has been working very hard in an attempt to
rejuvenate that market with some additional competition, and to the
extent his successor continues to do that, it'll be a good thing for
our state," Salamon said.
Deputy Commissioner James V. McMahan III will serve as acting
commissioner until Ehrlich names a permanent successor.
andy.green@baltsun.com
Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun