Insurance commissioner faces inquiry

By Randy Ellis

Published: July 4, 2002

The state Ethics Commission is investigating whether Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher improperly politicized his office by inviting chiropractors to affix "friend of Carroll Fisher" stickers to insurance forms to obtain faster claims processing service.

Shocked members of the state Board of Chiropractic Examiners learned of Fisher's offer at their June board meeting and immediately turned the information over to an assistant attorney general.

The attorney general's office forwarded the information to the Ethics Commission.

While the chiropractic board did not distribute the stickers it received, similar stickers have been distributed to doctors through the Osteopathic Association of Oklahoma. Some members of the Oklahoma State Medical Association reportedly have received them as well.

"Oh dear," Lynette McLain, executive director of the Osteopathic Association said when informed of the Ethics Commission inquiry.

McLain said her association distributed the stickers to members in April at a convention where Fisher spoke.

"We did it as a service," McLain said, adding she was unsure exactly how the stickers were supposed to speed up claims processing.

"I guess if I was in an insurance claim office - I would think it might help to draw attention to a claim they might be having difficulty with," she said.

Members of the Board of Chiropractic Examiners were more wary when informed of Fisher's offer.

Board President Ron Tripp asked "if the insurance commissioner's office was selling this and how much they would make off it," board minutes reveal.

Tripp said he was later told there was no charge for the stickers.

He said Fisher called Monday, saying it was an "innocent deal" and he had not meant to offend anyone.

Tripp said Fisher told him he had received a letter from Marilyn Hughes, executive director of the Ethics Commission, informing him a complaint had been filed by the Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

Tripp said Fisher told him sheets of the stickers had been given to the state medical and osteopathic associations for distribution to doctors and that he had intended for the chiropractic association to receive the stickers rather than the Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

The State Medical Association apparently distributed the stickers, because an association employee Wednesday recalled receiving a reorder request from a member doctor. Brian Foy, executive director of the association, could not be reached for comment.

Tripp said his chiropractic board had not intended to file a complaint. Board members turned the material over to the assistant attorney general, who provides legal advice to the board, because they didn't know what to do with it.

"We just felt uncomfortable addressing it," Tripp said. "The meeting minutes tape has us laughing because we didn't know how to deal with it."

The red, white and blue 2-inch by 1-inch stickers state, "I'm a Friend of Carroll Fisher, Insurance Commissioner." They bear a striking resemblance to his campaign signs that can be seen throughout town.

The stickers were accompanied by a reorder form containing the Insurance Commissioner's seal that stated, "Please use the 'I'm a Friend of Carroll Fisher, Insurance Commissioner' stickers by affixing them to your Insurance Company claim submissions or problem claim correspondence."

Tripp said some might view the stickers as "a strong-arm tactic.... You'd better pay this because I'm a friend of Carroll Fisher."

Still, board members found the stickers more bemusing than threatening and gave them to the assistant attorney general because they didn't know what else to do, he said.

"It was funny to us," he said. "We're not going to get ourselves in a position where we get egg on our face."

Tripp said he didn't know whether the stickers were paid for with state funds or campaign funds and didn't know whether they were delivered by state employees or campaign workers.

Fisher did not return calls from The Oklahoman seeking comment.

However, he told a KWTV NEWS9 reporter Wednesday that his campaign fund paid for the stickers and the intent was "to try and get more prompt response from the industry to take care of the people of Oklahoma and get our doctors reimbursed after providing services."

"No way is it designed as a political ploy," he told NEWS9. "That's not what it's for."

The Oklahoman submitted an open records request to Fisher's office requesting copies of "all letters, e-mails, memos or other documents describing or pertaining to the sticker program."

In a written response, George P. Phillips, the commissioner's general counsel, stated there were none.

"There are no records maintained by the Oklahoma Insurance Department that would be responsive to your request," Phillips wrote.

He also refused to say whether state employees or Fisher campaign workers had distributed the stickers to the chiropractic board.

"Please identify these individuals so that we may determine if they are state employees," he wrote.