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John Morrison (Montana politician)

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John Morrison (born 1961) is an American attorney and politician who served as the elected Montana State Auditor and Insurance and Securities Commissioner from 2001 to 2009. Morrison has been a leader in health insurance policy and litigation and has handled prominent legal cases. He is the senior partner at Morrison Sherwood Wilson Deola, a public interest law firm based in Helena, Montana.[1] In 2006, he ran unsuccessfully against Jon Tester in the Montana Democratic primary for the United States Senate nomination.

John Morrison
Auditor of Montana
In office
January 1, 2001 – January 5, 2009
GovernorJudy Martz
Brian Schweitzer
Preceded byMark O'Keefe
Succeeded byMonica Lindeen
Personal details
Born1961 (age 62–63)
Political partyDemocratic
RelativesFrank B. Morrison (grandfather)
EducationWhitman College (BA)
University of Denver (JD)

Career

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Montana State Auditor

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Morrison served as Montana State Auditor and Insurance and Securities Commissioner from 2001 to 2008.[2] He promoted and implemented Insure Montana, a small business health insurance pool with discounted premiums paid for by an increase in the tobacco tax.[3] Morrison had been advocating the use of increased tobacco tax revenue to reduce health insurance premiums since 2002.[4] Insure Montana won national awards,[5] and became a model for the premium assistance provisions of the Affordable Care Act.[6] Morrison also drafted Montana's Initiative 155 (I-155) and led the campaign that created Healthy Montana Kids, which instituted a broad reform and massive expansion of children's health coverage.[7] In the first year of operation, it brought over $200 million in new federal matching dollars into Montana and covered 10,000 additional children.[8] Healthy Montana Kids now covers more than half of the children in Montana.[9]

As Insurance Commissioner, Morrison banned "discretionary clauses" in group health and disability insurance plans and successfully defended the ban at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Standard Ins. Co v. Morrison, 584 F. 3d 837 (2009).[10] Through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Morrison led passage of a similar model law that has been adopted in more than a dozen states, including New York, California, Michigan, Illinois, and Texas.[11] Morrison also led NAIC opposition to Association Health Plans[12] and fraudulent health insurance.[13]

Morrison chaired the Health Insurance and Managed Care Committee and the Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, as well as the NAIC's September 11 emergency task force.[14] As the NAIC's International Vice Chair for Asia, Morrison helped establish the relationship between U.S. and Chinese insurance regulators and, with the US Trade Representative, represented the U.S. in the US-China Insurance Dialogues, WTO Doha Round, in Hangzhou, PRC.[15][16]

After leaving office, Morrison was appointed by the Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner to replace former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop on the boards of the Senior Health Care Oversight Trust and the Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania (SHIP) and chaired both boards in 2011.[17] Morrison also serves on and has been vice-chair of the board of the Center for Health Policy Development, the parent organization of the National Academy of State Health Policy.[18]

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In the 1990s, Morrison was lead Montana counsel in the state's Tobacco litigation[19] and represented the New York Times, NBC and other national media in the Unabomber case.[20] Morrison also handled the Ridley case, which established Montana's unique requirement that insurers pay medical expenses in clear liability cases as they are incurred.[20] Morrison returned to the law practice in 2009 and became senior partner of Morrison, Motl and Sherwood law firm in 2010.[21] In 2015, he received the Appellate Advocacy Award from the Montana Trial Lawyers Association for a series of victories in the Montana Supreme Court, which included cases blocking legislative referendums to establish a "jungle primary" in Montana[22] and to rebate any state budget surplus,[23] as well as Gleason v. Central United Life, which established the notice-prejudice rule in Montana and made law in other areas as well.[24][25] Morrison was co-counsel for the Plaintiff in Tanya Gersh v. Andrew Anglin, a nationally publicized case involving anti-Semitic attacks against a Jewish Montana woman and her family.[26] The case resulted in the first legal ruling that the First Amendment does not protect troll storm perpetrators from civil liability and a $14 million award against the owner of the Neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer.[27][28][29] Morrison also represented the Plaintiff in Butler v. Unified Life et al, which exposed wrongful claims practices in the short term medical insurance industry[30] and led to a $9 million settlement for Butler and a national class of policyholders.[31] In 2019 and 2020, Morrison was co-counsel for the plaintiff in two successful cases on behalf of the Montana Health CO-OP against the United States regarding the handling of moneys under the Affordable Care Act.[32] Montana Health CO-OP v. United States was the first judicial decision nationally to hold that the Trump administration wrongly withheld "cost sharing reduction" (CSR) payments from insurance carriers that participated in the ACA created insurance exchanges.[33] Morrison said in the New York Times, "The Trump administration's decision on cost-sharing payments was the latest in a long line of political decisions made in Washington that fell hardest on new entrants to the insurance market."[34] Morrison's other CO-OP case, by the same name, challenged the federal government's underpayment of risk corridor payments under the ACA and resulted in a $56.7 million judgment for the CO-OP following the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Maine Community Health Options v. United States.[35][36] In 2019, Morrison and his co-counsel also obtained a $7 million settlement on behalf of 11,000 employees of five Montana hospitals for violations of ERISA in the handling of their health benefit plans.[37] In 2021, Morrison recovered $2 million for a man wounded in the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting.[38]

Health CO-OPs

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Morrison was the founding president of the National Alliance of State Health CO-OPs (NASHCO), which included all Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans authorized and funded under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[1] He was also co-founder and vice-chair of the Montana Health CO-OP, one of the first CO-OPs to be approved for funding by the United States Department of Health and Human Services,[2] and one of the last remaining.

In 2012, Morrison supported federal low interest loans to CO-OPs [39] and argued against Congressional plans to cut the loan funds from the federal budget.[40] Morrison said the 24 existing CO-OPs would increase competition and innovation in the health insurance marketplace.[41] In October 2013, he released a study showing that premiums were 8.4% lower in states that had a CO-OP than in states that did not.[42] In February 2014, Morrison estimated that 300,000 Americans had signed up for CO-OPs to date despite early technical problems.[43]

In 2015 Morrison testified[44] before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations about shutdowns of CO-OPs in various state healthcare exchanges; he said that the situation was the fault of both the Obama administration and Congress, but largely due to the decision of both to pay only 13 percent of the risk corridor payments required by the ACA. The Obama administration's decision to forbid CO-OPs from limiting the number of policies they sold while at the same time limiting their ability to raise money ruined their finances, and Congress' cutting loans available to them also harmed their financial viability.[45][46] It was Morrison's fourth Congressional testimony.[47][48][49]

2006 U.S. Senate election

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In 2006, Morrison was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in a contested Democratic primary with Jon Tester, the President of the Montana Senate at the time. Morrison initially polled ahead of incumbent Republican Conrad Burns,[50] and was leading in the primary race, but it narrowed to a "deadlock" a week prior to the election.[51] Morrison was beaten in the Democratic primary by Tester,[52] who then defeated Burns in November.[53]

During the Democratic Primary, Morrison confirmed that he had an affair in 1998.[54] Morrison and his wife have been married for more than thirty years. According to the Missoula Independent, the woman involved, years later, married the principal of companies investigated by the state auditors office while Morrison was there. Morrison authorized hiring an outside attorney (and later Montana Supreme Court Justice) Beth Baker who said Morrison told her "he wanted a completely independent review."[54]

https://helenair.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/john-morrison-montana-supreme-court-chief-justice/article_88d2c37e-7359-11ee-bb78-b3883b80a5b9.html https://helenair.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/veteran-journalist-mike-dennison-signs-off-after-decades-covering-mt-politics/article_16775a0e-b89d-5bb4-b906-e88440fb6e05.html https://billingsgazette.com/opinion/columnists/guest-opinion-setting-record-straight-on-john-morrison/article_ff845907-00b0-5816-8214-92829b3b6984.html

Writing

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Morrison and his wife are co-authors of a Montana political history book: Mavericks: The Lives and Battles of Montana's Political Heroes,[5] which has been listed as one of "Twelve Important Works of Historical Non-Fiction About Montana."[55] Morrison also authored or co-authored other published works on topics ranging from health insurance[6] to climate change.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "John Morrison". Independent Record. Archived from the original on 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  2. ^ a b "The Innovator". Montana Living. October 3, 2007. Archived from the original on December 27, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  3. ^ Mike Dennison (December 20, 2005). "Health insurance program on tap". Billings Gazette. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  4. ^ John Morrison (April 5, 2002). "Hill misstates insurance, tax credit plan". Montana Forum. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Honor Roll for Coverage Award". Healthcare Leadership Council. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Democratic Leadership Council". Democratic Leadership Council. Archived from the original on 2010-07-10.
  7. ^ a b Mike Dennison (October 29, 2008). "Who's supporting the CHIP initiative … and why?". Independent Record. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  8. ^ "Gazette opinion: Healthy initiative provides kids safety net in recession". Billings Gazette. October 24, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  9. ^ "Success – Healthy Montana Kids". Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  10. ^ "STANDARD INSURANCE COMPANY v. MORRISON". United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. June 3, 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  11. ^ John Morrison and Jonathan McDonald (2011). "EXORCISING DISCRETION: THE DEATH OF CAPRICE IN ERISA CLAIMS HANDLING". South Dakota Law Review. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  12. ^ Priya Ganapati (April 26, 2005). "Associated Health Plans Still Up for Debate". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  13. ^ "Phony health insurance. (Scam Alert)". Consumer Reports. July 1, 2003. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  14. ^ "Montana Insurance Auditor Named Chair of NAIC Market Regulation Committee". Insurance Journal. March 11, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  15. ^ "The May 2008 US-China Insurance Dialogues". Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  16. ^ admin (2008-05-11). "Montana Auditor To Negotiate Insurance in China". Insurance Journal. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  17. ^ "About the Trust". Senior Health Insurance Company. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  18. ^ "Board of Directors". National Academy for State Health Policy. Archived from the original on November 2, 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  19. ^ Bureau, CHARLES S. JOHNSON of the Missoulian State (14 May 2006). "Morrison makes health care, insurance cornerstone of campaign". missoulian.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  20. ^ a b "FindLaw's Supreme Court of Montana case and opinions". Findlaw. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  21. ^ Record, ANGELA BRANDT Independent (2 January 2011). "Justice in transition". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  22. ^ Johnson, Charles S. (25 March 2014). "Montana Supreme Court blocks primary referendum from ballot". missoulian.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  23. ^ Bureau, CHARLES S. JOHNSON Missoulian State (11 August 2012). "Montana Supreme Court removes tax rebate referendum, allows corporate personhood". missoulian.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  24. ^ "Estate of Gleason v. Cent. United Life Ins. Co., 379 Mont. 219 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  25. ^ August 2015, Michael T. Sharkey. "MT Court: Companies Must Show Prejudice to Avoid Coverage Based on Late Notice". LawJournalNewsletters.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ Sidner, Mallory Simon,Sara (2017-07-10). "An avalanche of hate: How a Montana mom became the target of a neo-Nazi troll storm". CNN. Retrieved 2022-08-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ "Federal Judge Awards Jewish Woman $14 Million In Case Against Neo-Nazi Trolls". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  28. ^ "Founder of neo-Nazi site Daily Stormer should pay $14 million to victim of 'troll storm,' judge says". NBC News. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  29. ^ Zraick, Karen (2018-11-15). "Neo-Nazis Have No First Amendment Right to Harassment, Judge Rules". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  30. ^ Twitter (2019-04-02). "Skimpy health plans touted by Trump bring back familiar woes for consumers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-08-19. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  31. ^ "Montana Federal Court Gives Final Approval to $8 Million National Class Settlement in Short Term Medical Insurance Case". News.law. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  32. ^ "MONTANA HEALTH CO-OP v. USA, No. 1:2018cv00143 - Document 18 (Fed. Cl. 2018)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  33. ^ "Court Rules that Federal Government Must Make Cost Sharing Reduction Payments to Insurers". The National Law Review. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  34. ^ Pear, Robert (2018-09-22). "Ruling on Health Care Subsidies Could Prove Costly for Government". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  35. ^ https://affordablecareactlitigation.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/montana-hco-judgment.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  36. ^ Kendall, Brent (2020-04-27). "Supreme Court Rules Government Must Pay Insurers Under Affordable Care Act Program". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  37. ^ holly.michels@lee.net, HOLLY K. MICHELS (4 November 2019). "Hospitals reach proposed $7 million deal with employees". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  38. ^ "Alaska man recuperates after being shot 3 times in Las Vegas". AP NEWS. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  39. ^ "Feds loan $638M for health co-ops in 8 states". USA Today. Associated Press. February 21, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  40. ^ Brett Norman (April 30, 2012). "House GOP targets nonprofit health CO-OPs". Politico. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  41. ^ Brett Norman (April 25, 2013). "Health insurance CO-OPs gear up". Politico. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  42. ^ Brett Norman (October 7, 2013). "Lower premiums in CO-OP states". Politico. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  43. ^ REED ABELSON, KATIE THOMAS and JO CRAVEN McGINTY (February 27, 2014). "Health Law's Small Co-ops Have Mixed Success So Far". New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  44. ^ "John Morrison | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  45. ^ "Testimony of John Morrison, Co-founder and Former President of the National Alliance of State Health CO-OPs (NASHCO) Before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations" (PDF). November 5, 2015.
  46. ^ "CO-OP exec: 'The long knives came out' [With video]". Think Advisor. November 5, 2015.
  47. ^ Health Care Reform Hearing: John Morrison, retrieved 2022-08-19
  48. ^ "S.Hrg. 109-110 — SOLVING THE SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH CARE CRISIS: ALTERNATIVES FOR LOWERING COSTS AND COVERING THE UNINSURED". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  49. ^ United States (1991). Hearing on H.R. 1602 and H.R. 2782: bills relating to ERISA's preemption of certain state laws: hearing before the Subcommittee on Labor-Management Relations of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, first session, hearing held in Washington, DC, July 18, 1991. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the U.S. G.P.O., Supt. of Docs., Congressional Sales Office. ISBN 978-0-16-035637-7.
  50. ^ "Montana Senate Election". Archived from the original on 2008-06-04.
  51. ^ Charles Johnson (May 27, 2006). "Tester, Morrison deadlocked". Independent Record. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  52. ^ Charles Johnson (June 6, 2006). "Tester wins; Burns big winner for GOP in lopsided primary". Independent Record. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  53. ^ Martin Kaste (November 8, 2006). "Democrat Tester Wins Montana Senate Seat". NPR. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  54. ^ a b Mike Dennison and Charles Johnson (April 6, 2006). "Affair didn't alter fraud probe, state auditor says". Independent Record. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  55. ^ Missoulian, Brady Harrison for (8 January 2004). "Big Sky books". missoulian.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
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