Candidates disagree on containment
Republican Duane Grimes stresses the need for competition and consumer choice, while Democrat Monica Lindeen talks about the need for preventive care and other measures for holding down the cost of health care.
Speaking Thursday in Kalispell at a forum sponsored by the Northwestern Montana chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisers, the two candidates for state auditor mostly discussed insurance rather than securities issues.
The state auditor also serves as insurance commissioner for Montana.
Both candidates said the upward spiraling cost of health care is an issue that must be addressed.
For Lindeen, a former legislator and businesswoman from Huntley Project, wellness programs, screenings and other preventive health care are common-sense ways to head off medical problems requiring more expensive treatment.
And she said the population of uninsured people who don't get preventive health care creates a huge source of increased health-care costs.
Grimes, a former legislator and businessman from Clancy, said improved competition among health care and insurance providers, along with better choices for consumers and aggressive enforcement against fraud, will drive down health-care costs.
Specifically, Grimes said he wants to empower consumers with the ability to shop for insurance rates and health-care procedures through the auditors office.
Grimes lightly jabbed at his opponent, noting that she has publicly supported the concept of single-payer, nationalized health care.
"I think that creates more government that will have you standing in line for Hillary-care," he said, referring to Sen. Hillary Clinton's health-care proposals. "I think you should make choices on your care rather than have some bureaucrat making choices for you."
Lindeen said as state auditor, she wouldn't have much influence over the national direction of health care, an issue that mostly will be guided by the next president.
"Do I want everyone insured?" she asked. "You bet I do, because it will bring down costs."
As state auditor, Grimes said he would put a high priority on the position he would hold on the State Land Board. The board currently is dominated by Democrats and has not been as aggressive as it can be in advancing resource development on school trust lands, he said.
The board has "the keys to Montana's economic engine," he said, and the board "has held those keys in their pocket for far too long" in failing to advance projects such as development of the state's Otter Creek coal tracts in southeast Montana.
He pledged to be a "rock solid" vote in favor of moving that project forward and boosting Montana's economy in a fashion similar to Wyoming.
Lindeen said she also supports "responsible development" of natural resources on trust lands.
"If we can find how to develop those resources in a responsible way," she said, it will be "a good step" forward for Montana.
Lindeen cited her experience in starting and growing an Internet service business in the 1990s in saying that she would carefully review internal operations in the auditors office to ensure that it is running as well as it possibly can.
One chapter member said there has been an increasing public perception, due to auditor advertising focusing on fraud, that the insurance industry is not well managed. He said the state auditor should be an advocate not only for consumers, but also for responsible members of the insurance industry, rather than putting out a message "that we're out to get you."
Lindeen agreed, saying the auditor should promote "stability and reliability" in the industry.
Grimes said the auditor is the industry's regulator, but he wants open communication with insurance companies and agents.
"I'm smart enough to know that you will see problems [in the industry] before I do," he told the group of about two dozen. "There is an adversarial relationship sometimes … but you also won't mind having me on your speed dial."
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com