NAIC Names 2015 Consumer Liaison Representatives

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) recently named 30 consumer liaison representatives for 2015. The 20 funded and 10 unfunded consumer representatives begin their terms Jan. 1, 2015. Eighteen of the funded consumer representatives participated in the program in 2014.

Established in 1992, the program promotes consumer interaction with the NAIC’s members, the insurance industry and interested parties through the individuals’ dedication and commitment to serving the public interest.

“Our consumer liaison representatives play an integral part in helping the NAIC and regulators protect U.S. insurance consumers,” said Monica J. Lindeen, NAIC President-Elect and Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance. “This partnership program is an important component of our mission to protect the public interest and facilitate the fair and equitable treatment of insurance consumers.”

The following are the 2015 NAIC funded consumer liaison representatives, with the two new representatives noted with an asterisk:

Amy Bach: Executive Director, United Policyholders
Birny Birnbaum: Center for Economic Justice
Brendan M. Bridgeland: Director, Center for Insurance Research
Bonnie Burns: Training and Policy Specialist, California Health Advocate
Brenda J. Cude: Professor, University of Georgia
Kathleen Gmeiner: Project Director, UHCAN Ohio
Timothy Stoltzfus Jost: Professor, Washington and Lee University School of Law
Debra Judy: Policy Director, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative
Karrol Kitt: Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin
Peter Kochenburger: Executive Director, Insurance Law Center, University of Connecticut School of Law
Sonja L. Larkin-Thorne: Consumer Advocate
Adam Linker: Health Policy Analyst, North Carolina Justice Center
Sarah Lueck: Health Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Annalise Mannix: Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe
Lincoln Nehring: Senior Health Policy Analyst, Voices for Utah Children
Jesse O’Brien: Oregon State Public Interest Research Group
Andrea Routh: Executive Director, Missouri Health Advocacy Alliance
JoAnn Volk: Senior Research Fellow; Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, Center on Health Insurance Reforms*
Jackson Williams: Director of Government Affairs, Dialysis Patient Citizens*
Cindy Zeldin: Executive Director, Georgians for a Healthy Future

In addition, the following are ten unfunded consumer representatives (seven returning from 2014 and three new, as noted with an asterisk):

Elizabeth Abbott: Director, State of California, Office of the Patient Advocate
Howard Goldblatt: Director of Government Affairs, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud
Marguerite Herman: Project Healthcare, Consumer Advocates
Anna Howard: Principal, Policy Development, Access to and Quality of Care, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network*
Angelo Lello: Director Housing and Community Living, Autism Speaks*
Claire McAndrew: Private Insurance Program Director, Families USA*
Stephanie Mohl: Government Relations Manager, American Heart Association
Christina Postolowski: Senior Policy Analyst, Young Invincibles
Lynn Quincy: Senior Policy Analyst, Consumers Union
Alyssa Vangeli: Senior Health Policy Manager, Health Care for All

Source: NAIC