Montana Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen was elected president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a national organization working for states’ rights in insurance regulation and sets national standards for insurance companies.

Lindeen has held various offices over the past four years, and was elected president for 2015.

Lindeen said the NAIC was specifically mentioned several times in the text of the Affordable Care Act.

"The NAIC is mentioned 27 times within that legislation," Lindeen said. "Once the law was passed, we actually had legal responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act. There have been a number of issues in which the NAIC has made recommendations to the HHS secretary, and then she can make the decision as to whether or not to accept those recommendations."

Lindeen said one strong recommendation came about just a few months ago, when it was revealed how the ACA's employer mandate may devastate Montana's Indian Tribes.

"As we began working with our reservations in Montana, it became increasingly clear that this employer mandate might eventually end up bankrupting Indian Country, and I know there are other states that feel the same way," she said. "We're still waiting for the federal government to do something about the situation. The answer is to exempt them from the mandate, but that hasn't been done yet."

Lindeen said her duties will begin on January 1, 2015 and continue throughout the year at meetings and conferences both in this country and abroad.

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