Too-big-to-fail status eyed for state-run CompSource

State-run CompSource was created as an insurer of last resort for those who can't otherwise get coverage (the “residual market”). Thanks in part to regulatory advantages, it now controls around 30 percent of the market. Privatization creating a level playing field is necessary. But that's not the goal of the House legislation.

Under House Bill 2201, CompSource's board of directors can set rates without Insurance Department review, a benefit no other private company enjoys. The bill also requires that political appointees comprise a majority of CompSource board members. The lieutenant governor and state auditor and inspector could both directly serve as board members; three members would be appointed by the governor and legislative leaders.

Furthermore, the legislation declares the supposedly privatized CompSource Mutual Insurance Company “shall not be permitted to dissolve.” Translation: This supposedly private company would be politically run and politically protected. There's clearly a tacit promise of a taxpayer bailout should the board run the company into the ground. As Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Arcadia, declared, “This is more like Chinese-style capitalism …” He's right.

If HB 2201 becomes law, CompSource will lose some regulatory advantages, but those it retains are significant. Unlike other companies, CompSource wouldn't have to base its rates on loss-cost modifiers issued by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. As a continued “insurer of last resort,” CompSource would get an exclusive federal tax break on its entire book of business, even though the residual market comprises no more than 14 percent of state policies (and possibly far fewer).