Chad Gallagher: Against HB 1204

Currently, the legislature is considering HB 1204, which purports to correct an issue with medical bills when there’s been an accident or other harm inflicted on you at no fault of your own. In reality, the bill upends the intent of a vital legal doctrine (collateral source rule) that holds wrongdoers fully accountable for the harm they cause.

At the heart of this debate is fairness, personal responsibility, and the protection of hardworking families. As a populist conservative, I believe in putting people over special interests, rewarding personal responsibility, and ensuring accountability for wrongdoers. HB 1204 uses the political system to create a law designed solely to further enrich insurance companies at the expense of the policyholder victim. That is why the Arkansas legislature must reject it.

This legislation takes away from victims’ families what they have worked hard to secure through their insurance premiums. Imagine being injured by a drunk driver, only to find that the driver’s insurance company wants to reduce what they owe you by the amount your insurance has already covered. That’s an insult to every hardworking Arkansan who plays by the rules. It’s why people feel like the whole system is rigged against them and frankly, it’s why President Trump has been so appealing to so many. He’s been willing to put people ahead of big special interests, no matter how much money they gave to establishment politicians in the past.

This change would also create multiple classes of plaintiffs. If you have insurance, it will be used against you to reduce the wrongdoer’s liability and your settlement. If you are irresponsible and don’t have insurance, you will be able to settle for more money. Our veterans, who have Tri-care coverage will be among those most negatively affected if this bill passes. This bill will also hurt victims with medical bills in every type of civil case–including victims of assault, human trafficking, rape, and other horrendous crimes where they file a civil suit against the perpetrator for their damages.

Polling consistently shows that people mistrust insurance companies—and for good reason. Policyholders pay premiums for years, only to see their claims denied, their rates hiked, or their policies canceled when they need coverage most. The problems with insurance aren’t the fault of your local insurance agents. They spend as much of their time fighting with their own big, out-of-state carriers as they do anything else.

Make no mistake: the push for this legislation isn’t from ordinary Arkansans. It’s being driven by insurance companies, whose primary goal is to increase their already staggering profits. In 2023, Arkansas insurance companies profited over $1 billion, and nationally the property and casualty insurance industry earned a record-breaking $88 billion in profits. By mid-2024, they were on track to shatter those records.

I became involved in Republican politics as a teenager to fight for the values and principles I find sacred – the party shares my view on smaller government, lower taxes, innovative private markets, and more. As a front-row witness to the emergence of the modern-day Arkansas GOP, it was clear that we were ahead of our time. Arkansas is a populist state and the Republicans who built our party and a true farm team that we now enjoy were conservatives and populists, who understood the struggles of real families, putting people ahead of the powerful, and principles ahead of politics.

President Trump has moved the entire party away from special interests and swamp politics to a strong populist theme of putting people first. He’s not alone. Missouri’s Republican Senator Josh Hawley has led the charge in the Senate, calling out insurance companies and how they treat Americans. He’s challenged our party as recently as last week saying, “The Republican party has too often spoken up for corporate interests, rather than the interests of families. The Republican party has too often cooperated with a corporate agenda, rather than an agenda to empower workers. We need a change in this town. You can measure the strength of a nation in the strength of its families.”

Republican Governor Jeff Landry of Louisiana said when vetoing a similar bill in his state, “This legislation was little more than insurance companies looking to reduce their responsibility and increase their profits. The collateral source rule is about fairness. Someone who injured you should not benefit from your health insurance or any other insurance for which you paid. It’s just common sense. When it’s a fight between doing what’s best for working families or special interests, I’ll pick families every time.”

Governor Landry’s words resonate deeply because they reflect a fundamental truth: our laws should prioritize fairness, justice, and the well-being of ordinary people. Families should get what they pay for.

It’s refreshing to see national Republican leaders understand what our excellent statewide leaders in Arkansas have long known–that standing for the people as their voice makes the best leaders. I understand that good people can disagree on bills such as this one and I think many who might be inclined to support this bill do want to do what is right. They want to help with insurance costs, medical bills, and our economy. However, this bill does none of that. It’s not brought rates down anywhere else and it does nothing more than enrich insurance companies while hurting struggling Arkansans who are already spending too much of their hard-earned dollars on insurance.

Let’s not rig the system against the people of Arkansas. Let’s stand up for fairness, accountability, and the hardworking families who make this state great. Urge your legislator to stand with people, not insurance companies, and reject HB 1204.

Editor’s note: Chad Gallagher is a longtime Republican strategist and the principal of Legacy Consulting, an Arkansas public relations and government relations firm. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Related