My Interview with Gerry Purcell (Part III)

This is the third part of my interview with Gerry Purcell. Mr. Purcell is running for Insurance Commissioner for the State of Georgia. In the previous two posts, I gave a little background on who Mr. Purcell is and why he's qualified for this job. This time we talked about the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), global warming, and how to prevent the federal government from intruding in our health insurance.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

In researching Mr. Purcell, I came across the NAIC. This is an organization made up of the insurance commissioners from all 50 states. During our interview, Mr. Purcell pointed out that 36 of the states appoint their insurance commissioners. Georgia is in the minority in that we elect the Insurance Commissioner. Because of that, it's questionable how much this organization reflects the public, or what the voters in the 50 states want. Originally, this group did not have the power to force states to do anything. They could only make recommendations to the states. Mr. Purcell told me that changed under Obamacare. He said that Obamacare, "…nullifies, I think inappropriately, and perhaps illegally, the McCarran-Ferguson Act. " This act, "…basically establishes that states have control over their own insurance markets." With a federal health care system, this goes out the window. "Now you have this new, monstrous, insurance bill that invades and intrudes into that legislative authority that has been established for years, "he said. Mr. Purcell did warn what Obamcare would become a "full employment act" for lawyers because of the number of challenges that will be mounted on both sides of the aisle. There will be,"…dozens, if not hundreds {of lawsuits}, suing for the determination of the appropriateness of the legislative mandate, the nullification of McCarran-Ferguson, and the constitutionality of a non-governmental entity giving direction to a state." The last part of the comment brought us back to the NAIC.

I found that the NAIC had recently gotten into trouble because they had "asked" states to provide data on "climate related risks". They also stated that the states should have the ability to mandate insurance companies provide "climate related risks" data. I asked Mr. Purcell if he was elected, would he require insurance companies provide information on "climate related risks", would he ask they provide it, or would he drop the issue entirely? Mr. Purcell stated that he was the first candidate in the race to release a statement about this. When he first heard about this NAIC mandate, he made a call to John Oxendine's office asking them to drop this requirement, and then to the NAIC. He wanted to know under what authority the NAIC could make this a mandate to the states. When he spoke with the NAIC they stated it was actually "voluntary" and not a mandate. One of Mr. Purcell's concerns was the cost of this mandate. He estimated that the reporting would cost insurance companies millions of dollars. Further, that cost would be passed onto the consumer, and he didn't want to see insurance rates increased without any benefit to the consumer. Mr. Purcell said the only reason he could think that the NAIC would want data on "climate related risks" is to help generate support for a Cap and Trade bill. That shouldn't be the purpose of an insurance committee

How do you challenge Obamacare?

I asked Mr. Purcell if he would support a tenth amendment challenge to Obamacare. His response was very interesting:

"The tenth amendment is en vogue right now in Republican circles. Let me zero in on what that means to me. The question for me is: Does the federal government have the right, both legally and morally, to bankrupt the State of Georgia, and I say they don't. I say they don't and then you trigger the tenth amendment to exercise your push back on that."

Mr. Purcell is convinced that Obamacare will bankrupt Georgia. He points out that Obamacare will cost Georgia alone $1 Billion a year in today's dollars just in Medicaid. The federal government will fund this for the first couple of years. After that, they are going to stop funding it but require Georgians pick up the tab. Mr. Purcell estimates this could be as early as 2014 or 2015. By then, this will cost some $5 to $6 Billion. Mr. Purcell pointed out that Georgia had to balance its budget using $2 Billion in stimulus funds this year. Imagine trying to balance our state's budget without that money, but with an additional $6 Billion in expenses.

Next installment....

Next time, I ask Mr. Purcell how he would lower auto and health insurance costs for Georgians, and why he supports forcing Europe to pay their fair share of research costs for new drugs.

My Interview with Gerry Purcell (Part II)

Last week I mentioned that I was able to sit down and talk to Gerry Purcell. Mr. Purcell is running for Insurance Commissioner for Georgia. I gave a short biography of him last time, and thought I would start with the issues in this post.

The Interview:

When I sat down with Mr. Purcell, he was fresh off a string of successful straw polls. While straw polls don't guarantee a win, they do give a general picture of the mood of the participants. Gerry Purcell was particularly excited about two polls: the Sixth Congressional district and a UGA teen Republican poll. Mr. Purcell told me that he was really excited about the Sixth Congressional because, "… it was an opportunity to see all the candidates side by side." At that poll, Purcell won 78.2% of the vote. That translated into 360 votes. The next closest opponent won around 22 votes. At the teen Republican poll, Mr. Purcell won by 55% of the vote. The next closest candidate ended up with 19% of the vote.

I asked Mr. Purcell to tell me what he believed qualified him for the office of Insurance Commissioner. I was impressed with his answer. He pointed out that he, "…is the only candidate that brings to the office a national perspective on health care." Mr. Purcell has been a "functional area health care expert", for the last 15 years. He has been involved in working with health care payers at the national level and at multiple states around the country. He pointed out that with national health care reform being signed into law, Mr. Purcell believes Georgia voters want an Insurance Commissioner with national experience. He also stressed that while, "some of the other candidates have worked for mostly insurance companies," he has worked for the payers. He told me:

"I represent payers. Those who pay the bills. That's where my allegiance is to and it will be the consumers, if I'm elected. Of course we will do the right thing by the insurance companies. But my first allegiance is to the Constitution of the State of Georgia, and to protect the consumers of the state, secondly."

I was very impressed. I haven't heard many elected officials promise loyalty to the Constitution of the State of Georgia.

I have said a number of times on this blog that elections are important, and that voters should pay attention to every race. I asked Mr. Purcell why he thought voters should pay attention to the race for Insurance Commissioner. He then rattled off a list of areas that the Insurance Commissioner can affect your life. Anyone over 18, and even some under 18, has insurance of some sort, "whether your parents cover you to drive, you own a home, a business, a boat, or simply have health insurance." The Insurance Commissioner also manages the Fire Safety aspect of the state. In addition to fire stations, last year there were 960+ inspections of nursing home sprinkler systems last year in Georgia. The Insurance Commissioner is also responsible for small loans operators. "If you get a loan for under $3,000 as a consumer, its' regulated by the Insurance Commissioner's Office," Mr. Purcell informed me. This year, the job is even more important. With the passage of national health care reform, the State Insurance Commissioners are going to be responsible for implementing the program in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Purcell stated that the title "insurance commissioner" is mentioned about two dozen times in the new healthcare reform legislation. He also mentioned a surprise from the purposed financial reform bill. "…[I]n this new financial reform bill, the "too big to fail bill", we're talking about, has a provision that establishes, under the Treasury Department, a National Insurance Czar." I hadn't heard any reports of this in the media. Additionally, "…that individual would be responsible for all lines of insurance." In my opinion, this is just one more intrusion by the federal government.

In Part Three of this interview, Mr. Purcell talks about a group called the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and why we should be watching them. We also talk about Mr. Purcell's plan to lower insurance costs for Georgians, and how he wants to hold other nations responsible for "their fair share" of drug research and development costs.

My Interview with Gerry Purcell (Part I)

Back in October I ran an interview with Maria Sheffield. Mrs. Sheffield is running for Insurance Commissioner for the State of Georgia. I mentioned then that if I could get an interview with any of her competition for Insurance Commissioner, I would be happy to post those interviews. I was able to sit down with Mr. Gerry Purcell this week. We talked for about an hour on his campaign for Insurance Commissioner and his thoughts on the national health care debate.

The Presidential election of 2008 has taught us an important lesson: elections matter. Few people would have thought Barack Obama would be President when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. No one thought he might get elected before the end of his first term. Many of our State and Local politicians could quickly run for national office, or even become figures on the national stage in the blink of an eye. It's important to look at every position on the ballot in November. I hope these interviews help Georgia voters go into July (the Georgia primary) and November a little more informed.

Mr. Purcell announced his campaign in March of 2009. According to his Facebook page, he is running as a conservative and a constitutionalist. One of his primary goals is to lower health and auto insurance costs for Georgians.

Gerry Purcell was born in Toccoa, Georgia and grew up in north-east Georgia. He graduated from Truett-McConnell College and enlisted in the Army. While serving in the Army he was stationed in Hawaii and earned an ROTC scholarship to the Chaminade University of Honolulu. He came back to Georgia as a military intelligence officer and was stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia. At Fort Stewart, he supervised 150 soldiers and millions of dollars worth of equipment. After the military, he took a job with Mobile Oil and turned around a number of multi-million dollar business units. At the age of 29, he was diagnosed with cancer. His fight with cancer brought him back to Georgia, and he started a career in health care. He started as an agent and worked his way up to National Sales Director before he left to start his own company. According to information from his campaign, he is,"…recognized as a free-market health care and insurance expert, saving millions for companies and local and state governments nationwide". Mr. Purcell is very passionate about lowering health care costs for the payer, whether that payer is an individual, company, or insurance provider. He pointed out during our interview that he is the only candidate running for this office with national health care experience working for "those who pay the bills". He currently lives in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Over my next few posts, I will go into the question and answer portion of our interview. Like the posts with Mrs. Sheffield, these posts will probably be longer than my typical posts. I hope you enjoy them. If you are in Georgia, let me know if there is a specific candidate you would like me to get an interview to post on here.

An Interview with Maria Sheffield, Part I

Looking at the current political landscape we have a single party that controls the Presidency, the Congress, and the Senate. Depending on how things shape up over the next three years, they could control the Supreme Court as well. Elections are important, and they are important at every level. Barack Obama started as a State Senator. Most elected officials start as state and local officials before they run for federal office. If for no better reason than this, we should be paying attention to our local elections.


At the beginning of September Maria Sheffield formally announced her candidacy for Insurance Commissioner for Georgia. At the same time, I was trying to come up with a way to discuss some of the elected offices that will be on next years ballot but don't usually draw a lot of attention. I thought a great way to start this discussion might be to do an interview with Mrs. Sheffield. I contacted her, and she agreed. This week, I will be discussing the interview I conducted with Mrs. Sheffield. Tonight, I want to get into a little of her background. The first question and answer session will be on Tuesday night, with the second to follow on Thursday night.


I first heard of Maria Sheffield on Facebook. I started researching her, and I felt she had a very interesting background that might make her a strong candidate for Insurance Commissioner. She was born and raised just North of Macon, Georgia in the town of Ivey. Her mother was a nurse and her father served a career in the Air Force and retired from the Air National Guard. Before her 26th birthday, Maria had obtained four degrees including an MBA and a Juris Doctor from Georgia State University. However, her life wasn't all roses either. Her mother was killed when Maria was 15. Her father died of brain cancer when she was 25.


Maria has worked for the Republican Party since the 90's. She served as a District Chairman for Phil Gramm for President in 1996 and as a Vice-Chairman for George Bush for President in 2000. She worked for the Georgia Department of Insurance for six years and served as the Legislative Liaison and Legal Counsel. She is currently an attorney for Burr, Forman, LLP where she specializes in insurance and regulatory compliance matters.


As a final note, this week is not intended as an endorsement of Mrs. Sheffield's candidacy. I think it is too early for any voter to commit to a particular candidate for the 2010 election. If I get the chance to interview some of Mrs. Sheffield's competition, I will be happy to run those on this site as well. However, from what I have read of Mrs. Sheffield, and from looking at her responses during this interview, I think any Georgia voter should consider Mrs. Sheffield over the coming months. Kathryn Ballou of Sheffield's campaign told me that she would encourage the voters to listen to what the candidates are saying. She points out that almost anything can sound good in a 10 second sound bite, but who really has the experience and who is in the race simply because they don't have anything better to do? I think this is good advice for any of the positions we will be voting on in November.

Update for Georgia Readers

I have a number of readers in the Georgia area. For those of you out there, Freedomworks is advertising two events in Georgia on March 21st. Go to the link for more details, but I have taken everything below directly from their site:

Georgia -

FreedomWorks Georgia is going strong with two important events this weekend, Saturday, March 21 in Duluth and Albany. We hope you can attend one!

Duluth Event:

Rep. Tom Price will be speaking to us March 21st, 8:30 am at Golden Corral in Duluth. Off 85, Pleasant Hill Road Exit. 3270 Satellite Blvd, Duluth, GA 30096 (770)495-7999.

Rep. Price is Chairman of the Republican Study Committee and will be giving us an update on upcoming bills and will speak to us about the “Card Check” Bill. Everyone is invited.



Albany Event:

John Oxendine Georgia Commissioner of Insurance will be speaking to us March 21, 3-4:30pm at the Albany Government Building at 222 Pine Avenue. During his tenure as Commissioner of Insurance, Mr. Oxendine has consistently put taxpayers and small businesses first, increasing the efficiency of his department to better serve constituents and saving taxpayer funds.

In addition to remarks by Mr. Oxendine, attendees will learn how to organize the grassroots in their community and get updates on current issues on the local, state, and federal level. If you are interested in attending the Albany event, please call Donna Driskell at (229) 881-0717.