HARRISBURG – Gov. Edward G. Rendell accepted the resignation of Insurance Commissioner Diane Koken, effective Feb. 19, and appointed Randolph Rohrbaugh of Lancaster County to serve as acting Insurance Commissioner.
Koken, Pennsylvania’s longest-serving Insurance Commissioner, will serve as a senior advisor to Governor Rendell before returning to the private sector in mid-March. Rohrbaugh will serve as acting commissioner during the formal search for a permanent successor to Koken.
“Under Commissioner Koken’s strong leadership, the Insurance Department has made tremendous strides in protecting consumers and regulating the industry,” Rendell said. “Randy Rohrbaugh will continue and expand the important initiatives undertaken by Commissioner Koken.”
Koken has served as Insurance Commissioner since August 1997 and was first confirmed to the post by the Pennsylvania Senate in 1998. She has served in the administrations of three governors.
During Koken’s tenure, the Insurance Department conducted more than 7,000 field investigations and market-conduct examinations, which resulted in civil penalties and restitution totaling nearly $317 million. The department also recovered more than $69 million on behalf of consumers as a result of consumer complaints during this period.
Also, under Koken’s leadership and at the urging of Governor Rendell, the Children’s Health Insurance Program will expand to make coverage available to all uninsured children and teens up to age 19 that are not eligible for Medical Assistance. The expansion, known as Cover All Kids, is expected to begin in March.
Koken also oversaw implementation of the Mcare assessment abatement program, which has provided almost $1 billion since 2003 to defray health care providers’ malpractice insurance expenses and has been credited with helping to keep physicians practicing in Pennsylvania.
Since 2001, Rohrbaugh has served as deputy insurance commissioner for the department’s Office of Insurance Product Regulation and Market Enforcement, which is responsible for reviewing and regulating the insurance rates charged and the policy forms that are sold in Pennsylvania for accident and health, life, and property-casualty insurance. He joined the department in 1994 after working in the private sector.
Rohrbaugh, 56, holds a bachelor’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University. He lives in Lancaster, is married and has an adult son.