Transcript Highlights:

• The further into the note, there is some commentary from the Department of Commerce and Insurance, which
• Department of Health and Senior Services.
• Shannon Cooper, today on behalf of America's Health Insurance Plans, and maybe kind of better explain
• We do have some changes that we worked on with the department of, it was DSS, or not insurance, with
• We do have some changes that we worked with the department of, it was DSS, or not insurance, with DSS

Committee: House Health and Mental Health

Summary: The House Committee on Health and Mental Health met in executive session and advanced several bills. HB 1881 was voted do pass without discussion. HB 3010 was amended with a committee substitute that removed a subsection allowing payers to remove “gold carding” based on procedure volume changes, then passed 10-0. HB 2355, the “Food is Medicine” bill, received a committee amendment to align terminology with other partnerships and then passed 11-0. HB 1855, dealing with alpha-gal reporting, was substantially revised: the substitute narrowed the bill to alpha-gal, removed Lyme disease, changed a department duty from mandatory to discretionary in one section, and delayed reporting implementation; it then passed 14-0 after members discussed the need for better disease tracking and the department’s workload. The committee then heard testimony on HB 2034, which would require insurance coverage for activity-based prostheses, orthotics, and high-performance or mobility-supportive wheelchairs. Sponsor Representative Carolyn Caton said the bill is intended to cover devices that help people live, exercise, and avoid secondary health problems, while preserving prior authorization and medical-necessity review. Supporters included clinicians, parents, amputees, and athletes who described being denied running blades, water-safe prostheses, or durable wheelchairs and said the devices are essential for health, independence, mental well-being, and participation in school, work, and sports. Several witnesses said the bill would reduce long-term costs and reliance on charity. Opponents, including the Missouri Insurance Coalition and America’s Health Insurance Plans, argued the bill is an expansion of coverage with unclear definitions and potentially significant costs, especially for Medicaid and other state-regulated plans. They cited the fiscal note, warned about possible federal ACA rule changes that could shift costs to states, and questioned whether the bill’s language on Medicare supplemental coverage and “perceived disability” was workable or preempted. Committee members pressed both sides on cost savings, definitions of “normal” activity, and whether the bill could be narrowed or otherwise revised, and several said they were willing to keep working on the issue. The hearing on HB 2034 was left open and then recessed after testimony, with no vote taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services The Department of Insurance
• the Texas Department of Insurance, the Department of Information Resources, and other entities.
• Jamie Walker from the Texas Department of Insurance is a resource witness on the bill.
• of Insurance that if somebody wants to put a bunch of organizations together and form their own insurance
• This bill reflects the Department of Defense's stated goals of supporting military families.

Bills: HB111

Committee: Senate Business & Commerce

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of Insurance.
• for recoupment of health insurance claims...
• Health, Life and Annuity, with the Department of Insurance.
• And Matthew Stewart with the Department of Insurance, present, will provide information if requested.
• This is House Resolution No. 260 by Representative Carlson to urge and request the Department of Insurance

Committee: House Insurance

Summary: The House Insurance Committee met on May 19 and first took up Senate Bill 509 on bank-owned life insurance. The bill would clarify that banks retain an insurable interest in former employees for purposes of exchanging underperforming bank-owned life insurance policies for better-performing ones. Members adopted a revised amendment set after withdrawing a prior version. Testimony focused heavily on whether consent from the insured former employee is required for any transfer or exchange, with supporters saying the bill is needed to address underperforming policies and opponents warning about unclear consent standards, data-transfer concerns, litigation risk, and possible federal tax issues. After debate, the committee reported SB 509 as amended by a 7-4 vote. The committee then heard Senate Bill 295, which requires health insurance coverage for medically necessary treatment for persons with acquired brain injuries, including cognitive rehabilitation and related services. Supporters from the Brain Injury Association of Louisiana and NeuroRestorative described gaps in post-acute care, high rates of discharge to unsafe home settings or nursing homes, and improved return-to-work outcomes when patients receive appropriate rehabilitation. An amendment was adopted to clarify federal essential health benefit limits and remove certain language, reducing the fiscal note to zero. The bill was then reported as amended without objection. Next, the committee considered Senate Bill 155, which requires coverage for medically necessary dental procedures needed for cancer treatment clearance, such as exams, imaging, and extractions. Cancer advocates, oncologists, and dental representatives said untreated dental problems can delay chemotherapy or radiation and lead to worse outcomes and higher costs. Cleanup amendments were adopted, and the bill was reported as amended. The committee also advanced Senate Bill 465, which tightens prompt-payment deadlines for health insurers, adds pharmacy payment provisions, and creates a recoupment timeline for dental claims; after technical and substantive amendments, it was reported as amended. Finally, the committee approved Senate Bill 276, creating a pre-appointment affidavit process for bail bond producers to ensure prior premiums, shortages, and forfeitures are resolved before a new insurer appointment, and House Resolution 260, which urges the Department of Insurance to study how out-of-network medical billing affects auto insurance rates. Both measures were reported favorably or as amended, and the committee adjourned after a motion to do so.

Transcript Highlights:

• Further into the note, there is some commentary from the Department of Commerce and Insurance, which
• talks about Commentary from the Department of Commerce and Insurance, which talks about the bookmarking
• Department of Health and Human Services.
• We do have some changes that we worked with the Department of, it was DSS, or not insurance, with DSS
• We do have some changes that we worked with the Department of, it was DSS, or not insurance, with DSS

Committee: House Health and Mental Health

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• With that, I'm happy to welcome our first panelist, Melanie Griffin, Secretary of the Department of Business
• The first analysis we did, we had some information from the Department of Revenue.
• ' policies, commercial policies, only have to insure up to 85% of the value of a condo building?
• First $5 million are out of the pocket of all the owners before they touch the insurance dollar one,
• I, for last year, it's been a year now that I proposed to the Commissioner of the Office of Insurance

Committee: Senate Regulated Industries

Summary: The Committee on Regulated Industries met for a panel discussion on current issues affecting Florida condominiums. DBPR Secretary Melanie Griffin highlighted the department’s expanded condo education, complaint, and ombudsman services under HB 1021, including new online resources, board member certification, increased outreach, and broader complaint jurisdiction. She said the division has filled most of its new positions and that the new condo website is intended to improve transparency and access to records and information. Other panelists focused on insurance, inspections, and market impacts. Insurance agent Mike Clarkson said the condo insurance market remains difficult, especially for older buildings, and raised concerns about roof replacement demands, Citizens’ depopulation practices, and the mismatch between reserve studies and insurer timelines. Building officials representative Ron Laceca described challenges with phase one and phase two inspections, including incomplete databases, limited contractor capacity, and the need for local flexibility and better recordkeeping. University of Florida researcher Bill Hughes said his data show the condo market has not suffered a major overall decline from the new laws; he argued the rules have made costs more transparent and may strengthen the market over time. Community association manager Jamie Ballard said the biggest pressures on associations are rising insurance costs and early roof replacement requirements, and she supported board certification while opposing the continuing education exemption for long-tenured CAMs. In committee discussion, members pressed witnesses on whether recent condo laws caused insurance and roof-cost problems, and witnesses generally said those issues are driven more by the market than by the legislation. Senators also discussed possible reforms, including better data collection, clearer reporting duties for managers, and possible changes to insurance and reserve practices. No votes were taken, and the meeting ended with adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> one of you to vote in favor of this. one of you to vote in favor of this.
• a lot of of cases of civil actually a lot of of cases of civil liability<01:37:52.320><c> for</c><01
• They then purchased multiple versions of that data set that you can buy from the insurance companies.
• They cross-referenced all of these claims and they were looking for specific insurance billing codes.
• So, one of these things that these insurance companies are still requiring is at least one letter of

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So did you talk with any of the social work departments or the schools, or what the training actually
• So, not that we're trying to undermine the ability of the department from being able to do their job.
• We are also turning over a little more authority to the Department of Insurance, which I know might make
• And so we're just telling the Department of Insurance that they can receive a complaint from a provider
• Up next on the agenda is Senate Bill 1314, Department of Health and Welfare.

Summary: The House Health and Welfare Committee heard several RS introductions and one Senate bill. RS 33412, the “Merit-based Health Care Act,” would apply merit-based standards to Medicaid-funded health care and was introduced after questions about whether it would affect existing contracts and how it would interact with Medicaid’s voluntary participation. RS 32997 C2 proposed changes to child abandonment investigations and social worker training, including autism and introversion training and new reporting limits; members raised concerns about penalties, the scope of the training, and whether the bill could create conflicts in reporting duties. After debate, the committee voted 9-6 to return RS 32997 C2 to the sponsor. RS 33561, a prompt-pay insurance bill, would redefine claims processing timelines, add good-faith standards, give the Department of Insurance more complaint-handling authority, and require transparency about AI use; it was introduced without objection. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1314, which would eliminate regional director positions, regional behavioral health boards, and the Board of Health and Welfare to reduce state spending by about $410,000. Supporters said the changes reflect the state’s move to a Behavioral Health Council and managed care structure and would remove an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. Opponents warned that the regional behavioral health boards provide important local input and coordination, especially for mental health services, and said they had not been consulted before the bill advanced. Despite those concerns, the committee voted to send SB 1314 to the floor with a due pass recommendation.

Transcript Highlights:

• This slide illustrates each of our divisions at the General Services Department and the uniqueness of
• Up next, we have the Office of Superintendent of Insurance. Assurance. Schools Insurance Authority.
• We are now moving on to the Office of Superintendent of Insurance.
• I've got Mallory Manzanaris, the ASD director of the Department of Transportation.
• One of the competitive grants to the Department of Transportation awarded at the end of the Biden administration

Committee: Senate Senate Finance

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Department of Retirement Systems, by way of background, provides services to about 560,000 state
• The next bill is House Bill 2125, as you say, also a request of the Department of Retirement Systems.
• Yeah, once again, Seth Miller, Department of Retirement Systems.
• Yeah, once again, Seth Miller, Department of Retirement System.
• And one of the reasons is they don't want to have to be moved off of PEBB retiree insurance, have their

Summary: The House Appropriations Committee heard staff briefings and testimony on four bills. House Bill 2124, a Department of Retirement Systems request, would raise the minimum monthly pension benefit that can be paid as a lump sum from $50 to $250, with future inflation adjustments by the director; staff said it would cost about $11,000 in administrative changes and have no actuarial impact on the pension funds. House Bill 2125 would remove a biennial restriction on using pension fund interest earnings for certain administrative and compliance expenses that protect the funds; DRS said it would have no fiscal impact and would continue existing practice. Seth Miller of DRS supported both bills as efforts to reduce complexity and improve consistency across retirement systems. House Bill 2179 would create a retroactive exemption from PERS membership for certain port district employees who are instead covered by federal railroad retirement or union-sponsored defined benefit plans. Staff said audits found a small number of affected employees, with a one-time administrative cost of about $18,000, and noted possible legal concerns because retroactive changes can implicate vested retirement rights. Testimony from the Washington Public Ports Association and the Port of Ponderay supported the bill as a narrow clarification needed to avoid dual coverage and large retroactive liabilities; the Port of Vancouver also supported it as a fix for building trades workers covered by union plans. House Bill 2160 would change SEBB eligibility rules for school employees, creating a presumption of coverage on day one for returning employees who previously worked 630 hours in prior years, effectively shortening the lookback period and extending it across SEBB employers. Supporters, including substitute teachers, WEA, SEIU, and other school workers, said the bill would reduce disruptive gaps in coverage, help workers and families maintain continuous insurance, and improve recruitment and retention. Opponents, including school administrators, business officials, and school directors, argued it would be an unfunded mandate that could significantly increase district costs and administrative complexity, especially because districts would have to track hours and rebut presumptive eligibility. The Health Care Authority explained that eligibility is determined by local benefits administrators using worksheets and appeals, that the current two-year presumption was built from earlier benefit rules, and that the bill could increase costs and create issues for retirees who currently manage hours to stay below the 630-hour threshold. The committee took no votes and adjourned after public hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll be in the courtyard, have a lot of equipment, a lot of departments here represented, but it's an
• The closure of the receivership represents the culmination of the efforts of the receiver, my department
• I knew Ed; we worked together at the Department of Energy.
• Department of Energy's laboratory complex. U.S. Department of Energy's laboratory complex.
• of Energy, and now we learn the Department of Energy's laboratory out in Idaho?

Summary: The subcommittee heard presentations from the Department of Financial Services and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, then returned to its ongoing budget workshop with the Department of Management Services. DFS’s Division of Risk Management described its role as the state self-insurance fund, covering about 200,000 employees and 27,000 vehicles, paying roughly $150 million in claims last year, and managing a pilot ETS treatment program for veterans and first responders that had 49 patients and 804 treatments as of the latest report. The Division of State Fire Marshal outlined its fire prevention, training, emergency response, and grant programs, including hurricane deployments, the Florida State Fire College, and several capital and grant requests for roof, courtyard, memorial, and equipment needs. The Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation explained how it handles insolvent insurers under Chapter 631, currently administering 14 estates with $1.2 billion in assets and $3.7 billion in liabilities, and said no new receiverships had been opened since February 2023. Members asked about grant backlogs, fire truck procurement delays, memorial repairs, and whether affiliate transfers were occurring in insurer liquidations. Secretary Griffin then updated the committee on DBPR’s implementation of House Bill 1021 on community associations. He said the department had used the new authority to expand education, complaint handling, and ombudsman services, including 10 free standardized courses, a new condo website, and a four-hour board certification course that had already drawn more than 12,000 attendees. He reported that outreach to condominium communities had increased by more than 60%, that complaint filings were up 39% while jurisdictional dismissals dropped to 11%, and that about 81% to 82% of the 65 new positions had been filled. Members pressed him on whether the department had enough authority and funding, how condominium counts are determined, how self-reported structural integrity reserve study data is verified, and whether more public-facing complaint tracking and better reporting from local governments or developers would improve the system. The committee then resumed questioning Secretary Allende of DMS about outstanding budget and operations issues. Members focused on the delayed People First contract extension required by statute, with the secretary saying the delay involved technical and contractual complexity in moving a legacy hard-coded system to the cloud. They also revisited the state data team and data catalog project, asking why a statutory 2022 deadline had not been met, how the four-person team and broader data staff were organized, how many applicants were considered for key positions, and what each role was doing. The secretary said the catalog work was being simplified into six metadata fields and supported by a broader community of practice, but no firm completion date was given during the exchange.

Transcript Highlights:

• the type of insurance they have.
• If you take the example of car insurance, we only pay 3.5% of our income in car insurance, whereas we
• If you take the example of car insurance, we only pay 3.5% of our income in car insurance, whereas we
• We pay 3.5% of our income in car insurance, whereas we pay 35% of our income in health insurance.
• of their insurance type.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Financial Services

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee held a public hearing with testimony on several health care bills, with most of the discussion focused on primary care access, community health center reimbursement, midwifery and birth centers, telehealth, hospital-at-home, direct primary care, and trans-inclusive health care access. Chair Feeney and Chair Murphy opened by noting the large number of signups and asking testifiers to keep remarks brief because of time constraints. Legislators and witnesses repeatedly emphasized that Massachusetts’ primary care system is under strain and that federal policy changes and reimbursement gaps are worsening financial pressure on providers. On community health centers, Representative Blay, Senator Lovely, Michael Curry, Bethany Keeley, Jag Deep Trevetti, Sean Cahill, and Christina Severin all supported H. 1096/S. 711, which would require commercial insurers to pay federally qualified health centers at least the MassHealth prospective payment system rate. They argued that commercial plans currently reimburse health centers below Medicaid rates, threatening sustainability, staffing, and access, especially as federal cuts and coverage losses could increase uncompensated care. Testifiers said the bill would stabilize health centers, protect primary care access, and not cost the state money. A second major topic was H. 1117/S. 784 on sustaining birth centers and the midwifery workforce. Senator Lovely, Senator Miranda, Emily Anesta, Rebecca Orden, Catherine Rushworth, Nishira Burrill, Joel Sutherland, Rachel Blessington, Joelle Ward, and others described the 2024 maternal health omnibus as an important first step, but said birth centers and midwives still face low reimbursement, workforce shortages, and financial instability. They urged reimbursement parity, a workforce development fund, and support for freestanding birth centers, citing improved outcomes, lower C-section rates, better patient experience, and racial equity in maternal health. Several speakers shared personal birth stories and said the bill would help preserve and expand birth options in communities like Roxbury, Worcester, and the North Shore. The committee also heard support for H. 1343 on direct primary care from Dr. Garofalo, Dr. Altman, Dr. Nair, Stephanie Cameron, Dr. Haley Moke-Blessed, and others, who said current insurance rules force patients to use a separate in-network primary care doctor for referrals and sometimes prevent physicians from dispensing medications. They argued the bill would reduce delays, administrative burden, and costs while improving continuity of care. In addition, Dr. Miklides and Sue Stempeck supported H. 1141 on hospital-at-home parity, saying the model has strong outcomes and should be reimbursed at the same rate as brick-and-mortar hospital care. Heather Myers and Katrina Cook testified on telehealth and digital health equity, urging broader coverage for asynchronous care, remote monitoring, interpreter services, and digital literacy supports. SEIU Local 509 supported H. 1188/S. 681 on trans-inclusive health care access, saying it would remove arbitrary insurance barriers to gender-affirming care. No votes or committee actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 616 will create an independent Community Hardening Commission within the Department of Insurance.
• I'm Deputy Commissioner and Legislative Director for the Department of Insurance under the leadership
• The bill creates an independent commission within the Department of Insurance with a single goal to align
• With us Today to testify in support is Josephine Figueroa on behalf of the Department of Insurance.
• Legislative Director for the Department of Insurance, under the leadership of Insurance Commissioner

Committee: House Emergency Management

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• California has continued enforcing these regulations through the Department of Insurance and the Department
• California has continued enforcing these regulations through the Department of Insurance and the Department
• The Department of Insurance estimates it will have zero fiscal cost to the state.
• of Insurance and Department of Managed Health Care, but the state's authority to do so could be revoked
• The California Department of Insurance is here under the leadership of Insurance Commissioner Ricardo

Committee: House Health

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm the director of the City of Santa Rosa's water department.
• of Insurance is now authorized to issue.
• So moving to insurance, which is always sort of at the center of what we’re about, we have always helped
• There’s a lot of innovation in, if people have insurance gaps, which a very, very large number of people
• That's sort of been a third rail for insurers.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• On page 58, we do transfer programs of the plan of safe care from **CYFD** to the **Department of Health
• The **Department of Health**, **Office of Insurance**, **Healthcare Authority**, and **CYFD** are all
• The navigator actually works for the Department of Health.
• be at the Department of Health.
• of Health and Department of Public Care.

Committee: House House Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• So, sort of what we asked the department to do was to determine that on our behalf and give us some of
• We have some contracts at the department that are costing hundreds of millions of dollars that we have
• And the only way we find that out is to take some of our employees that are within the department and
• Somebody brought up the cost of state insurance for employees.
• Somebody brought up the cost of state insurance for employees.

Committee: House Health and Welfare

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Seth Miller from the Department of Retirement Systems.
• And this would also be increased annually at the discretion of the Department of Retirement Systems.
• Seth Miller from the Department of Retirement Systems.
• Substitute Senate Bill 5203 requires the Department of Transportation and Department of Fish and Wildlife
• bill of 5203 requires the Department of Transportation and Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met on January 20, 2026, hearing several bills related to retirement systems, school employee health coverage, port district pensions, environmental fee accounts, developmental disability services, legislative budget transparency, and a new Apple Health employer assessment. Early in the meeting, the committee heard SB 5834, which would make permanent a temporary expansion allowing certain retirement trust fund earnings to pay broader administrative expenses, and SB 5835, which would raise the lump-sum retirement allowance threshold for Plan 2 members from $50 to $250. Both bills were presented by Department of Retirement Systems staff and supported by the department, with questions focused on the scope of the administrative-expense language in SB 5834 and the technical nature of SB 5835. The committee then entered executive session and moved three bills without recommendation to the Rules Committee: Substitute SB 5249, allowing kit homes as emergency housing; Substitute SB 5053, allowing certain counties to include school district boundaries when forming a public facilities district; and Substitute SB 5203, directing state agencies to develop a wildlife habitat connectivity strategy and creating related accounts. After returning to public hearing, members heard SB 5883 on SEBB eligibility for school employees in their second school year of employment. Supporters, including labor representatives and individual school workers, said the bill would reduce coverage gaps and improve recruitment and retention, while school district officials and administrators argued it would create an unfunded mandate, increase costs, and add administrative burden. No action was taken on the bill. The committee also heard SB 5905, which would exclude certain port district employees from PERS if they are covered by the federal Railroad Retirement Plan or a collectively bargained defined benefit pension plan. Port representatives, labor stakeholders, and the Department of Retirement Systems described it as a narrow technical fix to avoid duplicate pension coverage and retroactive liabilities, and the bill drew support. SB 6151 would create dedicated accounts for Ecology fee revenue tied to laboratory accreditation and landfill methane work; Ecology and county representatives supported the measure as a way to reinvest fees in the programs that generate them. SB 6163 would require the Individual and Family Services waiver for developmental disability services to be budgeted at maintenance level; advocates said it would stabilize services and prevent waitlists, and no opposition was heard. The final two bills were SB 6177, which would require LEAP’s budget website to display additional budget detail such as carry-forward data, program and subprogram expenditures, and balance sheets for all public accounts, and SB 6173, which would create an Apple Health employer assessment on larger private employers with workers enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage. SB 6177 was framed as a transparency measure, while SB 6173 drew extensive testimony both in support and opposition: supporters said it would help offset expected Medicaid losses after federal work requirements take effect and stabilize the health safety net, while opponents argued it would be an unfunded tax, create administrative and legal complications, and could discourage hiring or reduce hours. The committee heard no final votes on the public hearing bills, and staff reminded members that signature sheets would be held for 24 hours under Senate rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• Those documents and those plans were approved by the Department of Insurance, but then those insurance
• The Department of Insurance issued a bulletin telling them that they were acting in bad faith.
• Our Department of Insurance has been very proactive in this to protect our insurance market.
• This joint memorial was created in partnership with the Department of Insurance.
• to CMS, that they need to clarify the roles that are played by departments of insurance, as well as

Committee: House Health and Welfare

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:14:24.399><c> of</c> According to the Minnesota Department of According to the Minnesota Department
• concerned about the viability of not only some insurance companies but the viability of some of the
• concerned about the viability of not only some insurance companies but the viability of some of the
• concerned about the viability of not only some insurance companies but the viability of some of the
• concerned about the viability of not only some insurance companies but the viability of some of the

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We're going to have to refile all of our policies with the Office of the Insurance...
• of the Insurance ...does impose new costs.
• We're going to have to refile all of our policies with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
• That peace of mind and financial resilience is exactly what the purpose of insurance should be.
• And there's probably dozens of pet insurance providers.

Bills: HB1269 , HB2624

Committee: Senate Business, Trade & Economic Development

Keywords: pawnbroker, fees, interest rates, consumer protection, financial regulation, real estate transactions, nonprofit, land conservancies, unsolicited offers, property rights, 904, all