Meet Our Candidates Julia Pillsbury for Insurance Commissioner

Hi my name is Jane Brady and I'm chair of the Delaware Republican Party and today I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Julia Pillsbury. Julia is a pediatrician in Dover and is running for the office of insurance commissioner as a Republican candidate. We're excited to have her on the ballot. Hello to you today Julia. Hi Jane. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Well I started out nursing and I advanced to being a pediatrician and I served in the Army as a pediatrician and in the Air Force. When we separated, when I separated from the military, I decided to open a pediatric practice in Dover, Delaware. It was a very medically underserved community at the time and I cared for many children that had complex medical needs. I thoroughly enjoyed my practice but one of the things my mother had emphasized to me was the importance of knowing how to bill correctly and so I learned about CPP coding. The codes were changed, the billing codes changed when I started my practice and the American Academy of Pediatrics trained me to be the Delaware coding trainer. I then was asked to serve on an AMA committee that addresses practice expense. From there I advanced and I ended up on the CPP editorial panel which is the highest panel that the AMA has. I have been very involved in insurance from that perspective. I've learned a lot about medical insurance and about how the fees are determined and I feel that I've been a strong advocate for my parents in my practice. And what caused you, what motivated you to leave the practice of medicine and enter into a race for the insurance commissioner's office in Dover? What personal experiences have you had? Well, since Obamacare has come in, I've seen deductibles go up, co-pays go up and many parents can't afford to bring their children for care and I feel that there should be a better way to administer insurance and I truly believe healthcare reform will happen during this next administration. And I feel that I'm in a good position as a physician and as someone who's well aware of the coding guidelines and having had a private practice where I paid for insurance for my employees as well as advocating for my patients, I feel strongly that this experience will help any healthcare reform that takes place. Well, that's great. What's your vision for the office of insurance commissioner should you be elected? I would really like to learn more about the small business insurance because small businesses, I feel, seem to be taxed or billed at a higher rate than many other businesses. And when I, my experience dealing with the insurance commissioner's office was often, well, that employer is risk exempt. It doesn't apply to them. The rules don't apply to them. I'd like to get a better handle on all of the rules and make recommendations that will help small businesses. Great. Tell me, you're going to be speaking not only on social media, this will be posted not only on social media, but also be sent to all the delegates and alternates to the Republican state convention coming up soon. What would you like to say to the delegates directly? I feel that I have a strong background in insurance as a business owner, as a physician, and I feel that I can strongly lead the Republican party with the position of insurance commissioner. I feel that I have strong support from my patients and families that I've cared for over the past 30 years. Great. Well, Julia, we're very excited to have you as our insurance commissioner candidate. You think you bring an exceptional background and experience to the race that our current insurance commissioner just does not have. And I'm looking forward to the exciting changes you're going to make there to make the office more responsive to patients and to small business. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you.