Mike Kreidler
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Myron Bradford Kreidler (born September 28, 1943) is an American physician and politician who previously served as the eighth Washington Insurance Commissioner. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served one term in the
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, representing Washington's 9th congressional district.


Education and early career

Kreidler holds a bachelor's degree and a doctor of optometry from
Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. Affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the school mainta ...
in
Forest Grove, Oregon Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland, Oregon, Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a commuter town in the Portland metro area . Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in ...
. After his US Army service as an optometry officer, he earned a master of public health degree in health administration from the UCLA School of Public Health. He was employed as an optometrist by Group Health Cooperative of the Puget Sound in the Olympia clinic for twenty years. In 1973, he won a seat on the North Thurston School Board. He also served in the Washington State Legislature for 16 years.


Political career

Kreidler served 16 years in the
Washington Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the State of Washington (state), Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower house, lower Washington House of Representatives, compose ...
. He was in the
Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...
from 1976 to 1984 and then the
Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Washington State Capitol, Legis ...
from 1984 to 1992. He was elected to the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
as a Representative from the of Washington in 1992. He was defeated by Republican Randy Tate in 1994. Following his re-election defeat to Congress in 1994, he was appointed to the Northwest Power Planning Council in 1995 by Washington Governor
Mike Lowry Michael Edward Lowry (March 8, 1939 – May 1, 2017) was an American politician who served as the 20th governor of Washington from 1993 to 1997. His political career ended when his deputy press secretary, Susanne Albright, made accusations of ...
and subsequently re-appointed by Governor
Gary Locke Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat from the State of Washington. Locke served as the 21st governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, where he was the first Chinese-American governor ...
. He served on the NWPPC until 1998 when he was appointed Regional Director for the
United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
's Region 10 office in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington, serving in that post until 2000, when he resigned in order to seek election to the office of Washington State Insurance Commissioner. Kreidler is Washington's eighth insurance commissioner. He was first elected as insurance commissioner in 2000. He was re-elected to a sixth term in 2020. He retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Army Reserves with 20 years of service.


Health care

Kreidler has focused on health reform most of his career and worked to implement the Affordable Care Act in Washington state. He was the first insurance commissioner to reject President Obama's proposal to give insurers another year to sell pre-Affordable Care Act plans and testified before Congress on the law's impact on Washington state. He has opposed efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, including coverage for pre-existing conditions and limiting the sale of short-term medical plans.


Surprise billing

In 2019, Kreidler proposed legislation banning the practice of surprise medical billing. After several extreme cases were highlighted in the news, support for his proposal increased and the bill was signed into law later that year.


Health care sharing ministries

Kreidler has taken action against fake health sharing ministries and in 2019, he fined one company and its affiliate more than $1 million for selling sham health sharing ministry memberships in Washington state to thousands of consumers.


Climate change

Since 2007, Kreidler has chaired the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Climate Change and Global Warming Work Group. He led a successful push for insurers to disclose if and how they are preparing for the potential risks associated with climate change.


Controversies

* The ''Seattle Times'' editorialized that Kreidler was "slow to stand up for the tens of thousands of families struggling to get necessary care for loved ones with mental illness. Astoundingly, his office has not taken a single enforcement action on the law, and a proposed rule to strengthen enforcement has languished in his office for two years." It took class-action attorneys to win a judgment at the Washington Supreme Court for those with autism being denied care by insurers, with no help from Kreidler. * Taxpayers paid a $450,000 settlement to whistleblower after State Auditor Troy Kelley refused to investigate her complaint against a Kreidler chief deputy—there was no discipline for the chief deputy. * Taxpayers paid $50,000 settlement, following a $20,000 investigation, after a Kreidler chief deputy allegedly harassed a worker who was forced to borrow sick leave from co-workers while the chief deputy enjoyed two months of paid leave before finally being dismissed. * Kreidler had a chief deputy quit following a 2013 hallway argument over a plant Kreidler wanted to accept as a gift from a special interest. Most executive staff followed. * In June 2017, Washington's health insurers announced that they were increasing rates for 2018 by an average of over 22 percent. Kreidler had, just days before his 2016 re-election, dismissed 2017 increases averaging 13.6% as "a one-time adjustment." A July 2017 ''Seattle Times'' article described Kreidler as "sympathetic to insurers" despite their huge surpluses.


Misconduct allegations

In April 2022, ''
The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...
'' reported that several former employees or interviewed candidates for positions in the Office of the Insurance Commissioner had described racist or derogatory terms used by Kreidler from 2017 to 2022. The report also alleged that he had asked for "unusual favors" from non-white employees and that Kreidler had been "demeaning or rude" in interactions. Governor Jay Inslee and the majority and minority leaders of both legislative chambers asked Kriedler to resign due to the allegations, his admittance of fault, and the firing of an aide who had been critical of Kriedler's behavior. Kriedler stated in June 2022 that he would not resign; on May 1, 2023, he announced that he would not run for a seventh term in the 2024 elections.


Personal life

Kreidler resides in
Lacey, Washington Lacey is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Olympia, Washington, Olympia with a population of 53,526 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Washington, 24th mos ...
with his wife, Lela. They have three grown children and three grandchildren. He is a member of several professional and fraternal organizations. He retired from the United States Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel, after serving on active duty as an optometrist during the
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and first
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
wars.


References


External links


Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kreidler, Mike 1943 births 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Washington State Legislature American optometrists Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators Living people Pacific University alumni People from Lacey, Washington School board members in Washington (state) UCLA Fielding School of Public Health alumni United States Army reservists United States Department of Health and Human Services officials Washington (state) insurance commissioners