Transcript Highlights:

• Um, premiums offered of any plan option.
• Uh, profile of that lower premium plan.
• the way that the plan is structured the way that the plan is structured means<00:04:59.280> that
• trade-off of paying lower premiums trade-off of paying lower premiums versus<00:07:24.000> having
• to offset that with a much lower premium to offset that with a much lower premium and<00:09:30.640

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:00:30 Personnel Cabinet 00:03:25 Department of Veterans Affairs 00:12:40 Auditor of Public Accounts 00:22:39 State Treasurer 00:42:24, 958, all

Summary: The committee first heard from Personnel Cabinet officials on House Bill 6, which required the Kentucky Employees Health Plan to offer a qualified high-deductible health plan by the 2026 plan year. Officials said the plan was already added for 2025, described it as the lowest-premium option with higher deductibles, and explained that federal rules prevent first-dollar coverage except for limited preventive services. They said 264 members had selected the plan out of about 142,000, and noted it also allows health savings accounts. Members asked about the plan’s benefits, what “catastrophic” meant, the deductible amounts, and whether employees were aware of the option; the cabinet said it would continue to highlight the plan in communications and that the deductible is above $8,000 for individuals and above $16,000 for families. The committee then received an update from the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs on the Bowling Green veterans center. Officials said the current target is to move into the building on October 28, with first admissions about two months later, pending final fixes and certification steps for Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA. They explained that about $7 million in FY25 appropriations lapsed because of construction delays, staffing ramp-up was postponed to avoid unnecessary spending, and the unspent funds should be considered in the next budget request. Members praised the project and asked about annual operating costs; officials said the current operating budget is about $15 million, though they do not expect to spend all of it this year. The commissioner also announced the fifth annual state commanders conference in Lexington, focused on veterans issues and featuring state, federal, and advocacy leaders. State Auditor Allison Ball then outlined her office’s budget priorities. She said the office is primarily a billing agency that charges audited entities for its work, and warned that some agencies are now signaling they may refuse to pay for audits related to kinship care and the medical cannabis application process. She said the office plans to continue requesting outlier credits for unusually burdensome county audit fees, funding for the ombudsman office’s transition and expanded in-office operations, and revenue replacement for local government audits and possibly state audits and special examinations. Ball also said the office conducts about 500 audits, reviews, and examinations a year and wants to restore performance audits with seed funding, as well as add investigators to the ombudsman office to focus more on child abuse and neglect cases. Members discussed the value of performance audits, the possibility of raising certain board thresholds to account for inflation, and the need for additional capacity to handle more audits.

Transcript Highlights:

• The premium effects... Oh, that's very important.
• There will be increases in premium.
• Their average premium for homeowners is about $1,700.
• They'll respond structurally.
• It's about a third of the cost in your total premium.

Bills: SB154, SB187, SB193, SM3

Keywords: insurance, wildfire, flood damage, natural disasters, property coverage, water projects, appropriation, New Mexico, finance authority, infrastructure, New Mexico Finance Authority, funding, SB193, acequia, community ditch, irrigation works construction fund, water infrastructure, ditch infrastructure, irrigation, New Mexico water law

Transcript Highlights:

• may not align with or accurately take into account their delivery system structures.
• billion in premium support for Covered California enrollees.
• If the enhanced premium tax credit is not extended by Congress, federal premium subsidy levels will drop
• will lose federal premium support entirely.
• Prior to these federal subsidies, California ran its own premium subsidy program.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It prevents assessment structure.
• increase in premium.
• So we're talking about dollar 25 premium So we're talking about dollar 25 premium increase<00:21
• Dollar 25 premium.
• It protects the plans that structures.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That's so holding company structure.
• Our rates premium deficiency reserve.
• <01:46:47.679> for paying premiums for paying premiums for claims.<01:46:49.440> If
• simply was not pricing the premiums simply was not pricing the premiums properly.<02:04:26.080><
• You're talking about the nuance between the impact for the people and the premium, the ultimate premium

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The subcommittee continued work on Senate Bill 297 and a new amendment dealing with pooled risk management programs and whether they should be regulated under the insurance department. Lisa Duket, executive director of SchoolCare, testified at length that the draft language could allow co-mingling of public entity risk funds, could trigger producer-licensing requirements for staff who are not actually brokers, and may not fit public entity risk pools because they are not insurance companies. She also raised concerns about the March 1 reporting deadline, the proposed uniform accounting language, aggregate excess insurance, examination costs being charged to the program, and confidentiality provisions that she argued may conflict with right-to-know principles for public entities. She urged the committee to slow down and consider a study committee or more time for review, saying the regulated entities were not adequately involved in drafting the proposal. Chairman Hunt and the department responded that the bill is intended to create a licensure-based regulatory model, similar to other licensed industries, and that the pooled risk management program would be exempt from producer licensing while anyone else selling or negotiating such coverage would need a producer license. The department said failure to comply would be handled through an administrative licensing process, with denial or nonrenewal of a license and appeal through the department process. On the reporting deadline, the department said March 1 is a standard filing date used for financial analysis and that the filing can be the most recent annual report, regardless of fiscal year end. They also explained that the confidentiality language was taken from existing RSA 5B, that aggregate excess insurance was included as a solvency measure, and that the draft was intended to preserve familiar language while adapting it for pooled risk programs. The discussion did not include a final vote or formal action on the bill in the portion provided. The committee appeared to be compiling follow-up questions for the insurance department and considering whether additional revisions or a slower process would be needed before moving the bill forward.

Transcript Highlights:

• Specifically, how would you structure long-term incentives to ...
• as the structure of federal funding for public education.
• , premiums cover the cost of Active Care fully.
• They're written premiums.
• costs because they didn't see a premium increase that we paid.

Bills: SB1, SB 1

Keywords: appropriations, budget, state funding, education, healthcare, infrastructure, campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we're not saying that our premium is...
• , same concept as premiums, right?
• We as a community, we as taxpayers, we as premium payers...
• It's the billing structure.
• It could in the short term lower premiums. It could in the short term lower premiums.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is because federal premium tax credits reduce premiums to a percentage of income.
• calculated on gross premium costs. calculated on gross premium costs.
• Since premium tax credits are tied to the price of individual insurance premiums, when premiums rise
• from the premium some type of premium from the premium some type of premium premiums premiums premiums
• if rates go up and premiums increase, the premium tax credit will increase.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That's when premiums should stop. Health care costs stop growing. Right.
• That is structurally fixed. No, we balanced the budget. That is structurally fixed.
• Still structural issues, as you can see with the out years.
• So every year, if you structurally fix a little bit, it carries forward.
• But we're only going to fund $3 of that by a 3% premium increase.

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Notwithstanding the fact that some of their premiums didn't...
• Notwithstanding the fact that some of their premiums didn't...
• premium.
• premium.
• Is this program the cause of the movement in the premium, right?

Summary: The State Administration Budget Subcommittee heard presentations from the Department of Financial Services on the My Safe Florida Home program, the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot, and the Florida PALM financial system replacement project. For My Safe Florida Home, Stephen Fielder explained the wind-mitigation grant program, including its inspection-first process, two-to-one matching grants for most homeowners, low-income exemptions from the match, and eligible improvements such as roofs, clips/straps, water barriers, and opening protection. He reported roughly 109,000 initial inspections, nearly 59,000 grants approved, 31,000 final inspections, 25,000 reimbursements, and about $240 million paid out through the end of 2024. Members asked about premium savings, contractor pricing, fraud, owner-builder eligibility, reimbursement timing, and whether the program should have a dedicated funding source; Fielder said the program is currently closed, more than 40,000 people have signed up for updates, and the office has seen some price-gouging and impersonation issues but no major fraud trend. The committee also discussed the new prioritization rules that took effect July 1, 2024, which direct grant awards by age and income. Fielder said the program used a survey of existing applicants to implement the new priority groups and that the first group was over age 60 and low-income. Members raised questions about how premium reductions are measured, whether insurance company changes or rising insured values affect the data, and whether the program can track long-term outcomes after reimbursement. Fielder said the office reports raw premium changes based on declarations pages, knows the insurer for participants, and has validated results with multiple insurers, but does not track homeowners after they leave the program or enforce continued insurance coverage. For the My Safe Florida Condo Pilot, Fielder said the program is modeled on the home program but uses association-level applications, a maximum grant of $175,000 per association, and a similar two-to-one match. He said the application window opened briefly in November and was closed quickly because available funding could be exhausted and the department is prohibited from creating a waiting list. He identified several needed statutory changes, including better distinguishing condos from single-family homes, adjusting roof requirements for flat concrete roofs, and revisiting the unanimous unit-owner vote requirement, which he said has been a major obstacle. Chair Lopez noted the pilot is intended to be a learning process and thanked DFS staff for identifying implementation issues. The final presentation covered Florida PALM, the state’s effort to replace the 40-year-old FLAIR accounting system with a PeopleSoft-based financial management system. Fielder and PALM Director Jimmy Cox said the project began in 2014, the state contracted with Accenture in 2018, cash management went live in 2021, and the project was paused in 2022 for legislative review and remediation. They said the system is expected to go live in 2026, possibly in July rather than January, and that the project has spent about $225 million to date, with a current-year budget of about $60.9 million and a projected next-year request of about $64 million. Members asked about cybersecurity, cloud hosting, project scope, and whether the system is unique to Florida; staff said the system is not Florida-specific, access is credentialed through agency identity management, and the cloud host location is confidential. After the presentations, Chair Lopez assigned members to work with specific agencies on budget review meetings, asked them to discuss agency structure, priorities, staffing, waste reduction, and other budget issues, and set a deadline to report findings in the first week of regular session. The meeting then adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• premium changes.
• The premium for the MEHP was $210.
• um results in a premium of $199.94. um results in a premium of $199.94.
• shows the premium impact to the plans. shows the premium impact to the plans.
• required as a result of those premiums. required as a result of those premiums.

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00:35 Attendance Roll Call: 00:00:55 Approval of Minutes: 00:02:56 Deferred Compensation Authority Update: 00:03:12 Retiree Health Update - TRS: 00:15:58 Retiree Health Update - KPPA: 00:56:13 Adjournment: 01:20:33, 958, all

Summary: The Public Pension Oversight Board received updates from the Kentucky Public Employees Deferred Compensation Authority and the Teachers Retirement System. Chris Biddle reported that deferred compensation assets had grown to about $4.787 billion with roughly 88,000 participants, crediting auto-enrollment, targeted marketing around pay raises, and retiree-focused services. He said the board’s self-directed brokerage account, authorized by last year’s legislation, is being designed around a $40,000 account-balance threshold with up to 25% transferable into the brokerage window, tentatively for July 1 of the coming year. He also described the free financial planning program, which has been used by about 3,300 to 3,500 participants with an 87% return rate, and noted that the plan is currently in a fee holiday; members asked about the fee structure and whether the CFP service is provided through Nationwide, which Biddle confirmed. Board members praised the deferred compensation program’s growth and asked for the legislation referenced by Biddle. He said the plan’s annual fees are capped, with a $1 monthly fee plus other charges up to a $225 cap, for a maximum of $237 per year absent a managed account. He also said the program is seeking unified payroll access to expand participation, especially among teachers, and that prior lineup changes saved about $6 million annually in participant fees. Bo Barnes of TRS then addressed retired teachers’ health insurance, first clarifying a prior question about declining federal contributions to the retirement annuity trust. He explained that federally funded school positions generated contributions that rose from $72 million in 2019 to $109 million in 2022, then fell to $85 million this year, with a projection of $80 million over the next three years; if those dollars do not come from federal sources, they would have to be replaced through the SEEK formula. Barnes then reviewed TRS health coverage, explaining that the statutory contract guarantees access to group coverage but not fixed premium levels, and that TRS administers two retiree plans: KEHP for retirees under 65 or otherwise not Medicare-eligible, and MEHP for retirees 65 and older or Medicare-eligible. Barnes said TRS completed RFPs for the 2026 plan year, retaining Express Scripts for prescription drugs and switching the Medicare Advantage medical provider from UnitedHealthcare to Humana, while keeping plan design, provider access, out-of-pocket costs, and benefits materially unchanged. He noted a modest hearing-aid improvement of $500 per ear beginning in 2026. He also reported that the TRS Board approved the maximum state contribution for KEHP at $1,044.96, up from $930.76, an 18% increase that he said would require about $15 million to $16 million more annually, while the MEHP premium would drop from $210 to $200 per month because of the new contract. Using the 2024 valuation, he said the KEHP increase would slightly reduce the health trust funded ratio from 80.4% to 80.1% and raise unfunded liability from $4.036 billion to $4.051 billion. Barnes closed by reviewing the 2010 shared-responsibility reforms that shifted retiree health costs away from a pay-as-you-go model, including phased employee and district contributions and Commonwealth stabilization funding. No votes were taken beyond approval of the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, given the structure of Senate Bill 2, the answer to your latter question is no.
• And-and in well-structured high-dose tutoring generally runs you about $1,200 per kid.
• year to adopt. rates and premiums that will finance the program appropriately.
• We will still increase premiums on an annual basis, but by no more than on average 10 percent.
• So that was the basic structure of it. The problem that you have is that...

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But there GIS governance structure.
• It doesn't survive structure.
• basis for their monthly premiums. basis for their monthly premiums.
• . premium. premium.
• premiums, they are all covered. premiums, they are all covered. Got<02:59:40.200> it.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• THE COMPONENTS THAT MAKE UP THE HOUSE AND IT'S OVERALL STRUCTURAL SOUNDNESS.
• OUR STATUTE TALKS ABOUT INSURED VALUE OF THE STRUCTURE.
• YOU CAN SEE 12,000 REDUCTIONS AND SEVEN THEY HAD NO CHANGE IN PREMIUM.
• SO THERE ARE LOTS OF THINGS WE HAVE THAT CAN AFFECT THE PREMIUM THAT THEY ARE QUOTED.
• BUILDING CODE HEAD WIND DRIVEN STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• contribution and 19.6 million for risk premiums.
• If an entity is determined to comply, the entity will receive a premium credit.
• The premium credit will be reflected on an entity's FY27 risk invoice.
• So, the risk premium credit questionnaire has already been implemented.
• They'd also have to pay a premium I'm not sure what they're exactly paying right now in premium, but

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It is actually the ground-up skeletal structure.
• If you go look at Connecticut's average premium, it's $217 a month.
• um cost sharing structure um cost sharing structure uh<01:05:26.599> benefits<01:05:27.400
• correspondingly smaller monthly premium correspondingly smaller monthly premium these<01:38:47.320
• <01:45:09.520> Mr expect to have in their premiums Mr expect to have in their premiums Mr

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• insurance is very the mon L premiums insurance is very simple<00:04:02.519> premiums<00:04:03.079
• states only eight have higher premiums states only eight have higher premiums in<00:04:37.880>
• Senate file 565 will mitigate premium Senate file 565 will mitigate premium increases<00:13:12.560
• <00:21:01.440> in ends up paying a higher premium in ends up paying a higher premium in regard
• Minnesotans who are paying the premiums.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:22:07.520> subsidy of them will be on the premium subsidy of them will be on the premium
• And so, the the 20% premium subsidy.
• premium. Am I right? premium. Am I right? Um,<01:00:19.359> Mr.
• If you're going to have a premium<01:55:17.199> of premium of premium of $1,000<01:55:18.880><
• <01:55:33.280> that talking about the rate structure that talking about the rate structure

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:02:52.800> and<00:02:52.959> its um how it's structured and its um how it's structured
• underwriting policy servicing premium underwriting policy servicing premium billing<00:10:58.720
• Direct written premium is the amount of premium that HPIA collects for the policies written.
• and terms hopefully a favorable premium and terms hopefully a favorable premium but<00:43:31.760
• is incurred there's a minimum premium is incurred there's a minimum premium that<00:57:55.880>

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• came into being um how it's structured came into being um how it's structured and<00:13:30.600><
• underwriting policy servicing premium underwriting policy servicing premium billing<00:21:36.400
• Direct written premium is the amount of premium that HPIA collects for the policies written; that's the
• is the cost direct written premium is the amount<00:28:26.880> of<00:28:27.120> Premium
• high-rise and single family the premiums high-rise and single family the premiums went<01:09:26.080

Keywords: 910, house, all