Transcript Highlights:

• The goal is to reduce liability exposure and help make FFAs more insurable and lower the cost of insurance
• While the insurance commissioner called on admitted insurers to step in, no state-admitted insurer has
• I am only speaking to closures related to insurance.
• the root causes of the insurance crisis.
• that the insurance people use—that isn't coming to me, like the specialty insurance line.

Committee: House Human Services

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• What is the percentage of total PBMs that are owned by insurance or insurance owns them?
• This whole PBM issue is an insurance lie. That guy back there... PBM issue is an insurance lie.
• It's the insurance company.
• Shannon Cooper today representing the Missouri Insurance Coalition as well as America's Health Insurance
• And as an employer, I went to my insurance broker and I said, okay, I own I went to my insurance broker

Committee: House Health and Mental Health

Summary: The committee first took testimony on House Bill 1681, which would require health carriers and pharmacy benefit managers to count amounts paid by or on behalf of an enrollee for certain medications toward out-of-pocket maximums when no generic substitute is available. The sponsor described the bill as helping patients with serious illnesses afford needed drugs. The committee then adopted a substitute that rolled HB 1681 together with House Bills 1941 and 2279, including an ERISA-related labor exemption, and passed the combined committee substitute by a vote of 15-2. The committee next heard House Bill 2365, which was also combined with related bills through a substitute that changed terminology to “delivery systems.” That substitute was adopted by voice vote, and the House Committee substitute for House Bills 2365, 2490, and 2249 was then approved unanimously, 18-0. After that, the committee heard House Bill 2149, the dementia care coordinator bill. The sponsor and supporters from the Alzheimer’s Association and family caregivers argued the state needs a central point person to coordinate resources, improve early detection, support caregivers, and connect rural residents to services. Members raised concerns about the fiscal note, whether the work duplicates existing Area Agencies on Aging and Alzheimer’s Association services, and whether two FTEs would be effective statewide. No vote was taken on HB 2149 during the portion provided. The committee also heard House Bill 2309, which would prohibit Missouri insurance coverage for organ transplants or related services involving organs taken from prisoners of conscience in China. The sponsor and supporters framed the bill as a human-rights measure aimed at condemning organ harvesting and abuse of Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience. Members asked whether there was documentation of such transplants in Missouri and whether federal oversight exists; the sponsor said there is no reporting mechanism and no known opposition. No action was taken on the bill in the excerpt. Finally, the committee began testimony on House Bills 1975 and 1850, pharmacy benefit manager reform bills. The sponsors said the measures are intended to protect local pharmacies, improve transparency, limit harmful audit practices, and create a critical access pharmacy program. Supporters, including a pharmacy business group, argued PBM practices drive up drug costs and close pharmacies. Opponents, including a carpenters’ health plan representative, warned the bills could increase costs for self-funded plans, limit network and mail-order arrangements, and shift more administrative burden onto plan sponsors. The hearing continued with questions and testimony, but no final vote is shown in the provided transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• If you're insured by a private company, you're paying as much as 2500 bucks a month for insurance.
• </c> state's paying your insurance. state's paying your insurance. uh<00:13:17.120><c> if</c><00:13:17.360
• ><c> a</c><00:13:19.200><c> private</c> uh if you're uh insured by a private uh if you're uh insured
• c> cover</c><00:13:37.519><c> the</c> So your insurance won't cover the So your insurance won't cover
• Uh, insurance premium tax is up.

Bills: HB44 , HB400 , HB444 , HB487 , SB249 , SB252 , SB58 , HB44 , HB400 , HB444 , HB487 , SB249 , SB252 , SB58

Committee: House Ways and Means General Fund

Keywords: teachers retirement, credit purchase, St. Clair County, DAY Program, pension reform, dental insurance, benefit rollover, healthcare, insurance policy, annual maximum, HB444, vaccines, vaccine exemption, religious exemption, religious liberty, private school, church school, faith-based school, parochial school, school immunization

Transcript Highlights:

• Sold by an insurance producer who is licensed to sell or solicit accident and health insurance in the
• the Department of Insurance no later than March 1st.
• insurance department. it's not under the insurance department, it's not regulated as that, that you
• This is a self-funded plan and the Alabama Department of Insurance does not regulate self-insured plans
• Self-funded and our Alabama Department of Insurance does not regulate self-funded insurance plans.

Bills: HB441

Committee: House Health

Keywords: speech-language pathology, licensure, clinical supervision, educational qualifications, healthcare assistant, sessions, 2025-R, 1, 219

Transcript Highlights:

• Fix through the insurance policies in our state.
• There's no insurance for me.
• Have any of the insurance companies said to you, have you met with any insurance company that provides
• this insurance?
• And we don't know whether the insurance part or...

Committee: House Courts, Corrections & Justice Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Assembly Bill 493 seeks to protect homeowners by eliminating an exemption on post-loss insurance.
• Payouts, making sure that homeowners receive interest on their insurance payouts which can help them
• , benefits for the insured, and cost savings.
• Thank you. under the leadership of Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.
• A stable and solvent fare plan is the state insurer of last resort.

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I've been in consultation with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner and the carriers.
• Even if patients have insurance or Medicaid, clinics must subsidize care.
• With state ...have insurance or Medicaid, clinics must subsidize care.
• Affordable, quality health insurance.
• For the record, Nico Jansen with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

Bills: SB6258 , SB6182 , SB5947 , SJR8206 , SB5823 , SB6292

Committee: Senate Health & Long-Term Care

Keywords: Washington Medical Commission, medical license, license relinquishment, voluntary surrender, nondisciplinary pathway, physician regulation, health professional licensing, disciplinary database, National Practitioner Data Bank, license renewal, license reinstatement, medical board, professional discipline, credential surrender, healthcare regulation, abortion, reproductive health, pregnancy termination, clinic access, abortion access fund

Transcript Highlights:

• OUR MISSION IS REALLY TO PROMOTE A STABLE AND COMPETITIVE INSURANCE TARGET FOR CONSUMERS AND WE DO THIS
• WE DO MARKET REGULATION WHERE WE CHECK TO SEE ON THE ACTIONS OF THE INSURERS AND HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE
• SMALL GROUP REFERS TO INSURANCE SOLD TO ABOUT, SORRY, 2 TO 50 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES.
• PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD THEIR INSURANCE, THEY ARE GOING TO GO OFF OF INSURANCE.
• IT'S PRETTY MUCH LIKE THE BRITISH NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE SYSTEM THAT FRANKLY DOESN'T WORK.

Transcript Highlights:

• and not the insurance company.
• and not the insurance company.
• , our insurers.
• , our insurers.
• Adam Plain, P-L-A-I-N, with the Nevada Division of Insurance.

Bills: AB93 , AB204 , AB414 , AB504 , AB598

Committee: Assembly Commerce and Labor

Keywords: public employees, police officers, benefits, appropriation, law enforcement, medical debt, collection agency, healthcare, consumer protection, financial assistance, occupational safety, air quality, greenhouse gases, employee monitoring, safety program, hemp, hemp products, cannabidiol, CBD, cannabis

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, Members, House Bill 2433 requires insurers to offer Medicare supplement insurance to individuals
• So what this bill would do, simply put, is require insurance plans.
• Most of the individual insurers do, though.
• Consumers in Arizona deserve to know how insurance companies behave.
• At any given time, DIFI can do a data call and insurers have to respond.

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 2433, which would require insurers offering Medicare supplement policies to also offer them to people under 65 who qualify for Medicare because of ALS or end-stage renal disease, with enrollment periods and premium protections. Supporters, including patient advocates and an ALS patient, said the bill would improve access to needed coverage and transplant-related care and could have only a small premium impact. Opponents, including Blue Cross Blue Shield/AHIP, argued it would shift significant costs onto older seniors and shrink the Medigap risk pool. The bill was ultimately given a do-pass recommendation on a 12-0 vote. House Bill 2593 would appropriate $1.5 million to the University of Arizona for the Arizona Perinatal Psychiatry Access Line. The sponsor and physicians testified that the line helps providers quickly treat pregnant and postpartum patients with depression, psychosis, OCD, and suicide risk, and also supports pediatric mental health care. Supporters said it improves outcomes and reduces emergency and referral costs. The committee approved the bill with a do-pass recommendation by a 10-1 vote, with one member present. The committee also passed House Concurrent Resolution 2013, proclaiming June 2026 as Celebrate Life Month, after emotional testimony from a woman born with spina bifida and another supporter. Several members objected that the state should focus on concrete supports such as health care and family leave, but the resolution still received a 7-5 do-pass recommendation. House Bill 4010, creating a licensing and regulatory board for genetic counselors, also advanced 11-1 after testimony from genetic counselors and a cancer survivor who said licensure would protect patients and improve access. House Bill 2196, addressing pharmacy benefit manager reimbursement and dispensing fees, passed 11-1 despite opposition from PBMs and employers who warned of higher costs; independent pharmacies argued the bill would help them cover costs and stay open. The committee then adopted a strike-everything amendment to House Bill 2182 requiring insurers and health plans to report claims denial and prior authorization data to DIFI, which would publish aggregated information and hold a later stakeholder review. Supporters said Arizona needs state-specific transparency data, while opponents called it redundant to federal CMS reporting; the amended bill passed 12-0. House Bill 2189, directing the Board of Nursing to update rules for licensed health aides and collect annual data, also passed unanimously after the board said it was already working on curriculum and implementation. The committee held House Bill 2813 and 2725, and began discussion of House Bill 2404, as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:07:37.280><c> premiums</c> already paying high insurance premiums already paying high insurance
• You get them and they come, and the insurance won't pay.
• How much does it insurance companies.
• And remember, our largest insurer is for this.
• </c> ment of the insurer and the provider. ment of the insurer and the provider.

Bills: SB9 , HB400 , SB9 , HB400

Committee: House Health

Keywords: Alabama Athletic Commission, Attorney General, criminal penalties, unarmed combat, regulation, boxing, mixed martial arts, civil fines, dental insurance, benefit rollover, healthcare, insurance policy, annual maximum, smoking ban, vaping, public health, indoor air quality, clean air, ambulance services, health insurance

Transcript Highlights:

• So, you insurance director from DE.
• Um, we've unemployment insurance.
• </c> structure for unemployment insurance. structure for unemployment insurance.
• Uh we also get audited insurance.
• </c> insurance. Thank you so much. insurance. Thank you so much.

Committee: Senate Jobs and Economic Development

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have lots of members who want to and offered some insurance. and offered some insurance.
• It's just after health insurance, right?
• </c><00:21:13.679><c> right</c> afford to offer health insurance right afford to offer health insurance
• ,</c> insurance plan.
• If you offer insurance, insurance plan.

Committee: Senate Ways and Means

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But no, they think it's better to have health insurance, so they go and buy a health insurance product
• But no, they think it's better to have health insurance, so they go and buy a health insurance product
• </c> to just the health insurance providers. to just the health insurance providers.
• Um, currently the insurance plans are working on health insurance premiums for 2026, and they have a
• </c> Insurance should not cover that cost. Insurance should not cover that cost.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we are through our unemployment insurance system, We are through our unemployment insurance system
• And that's just what our unemployment insurance system is designed to do.
• insurance.
• And we know that unemployment insurance is an economic stabilizer.
• So for those new to UI in the federal-state unemployment insurance system, the U.S.

Summary: The Commission on Unemployment Compensation met, established a quorum, and elected Delegate Destiny LeVere Bolling as chair and Senator Mike Jones as vice chair. The commission also adopted its electronic meeting policy and heard introductions from new members, staff, and officials from the Secretary of Labor’s office and the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). Secretary Jessica Lumen outlined the administration’s workforce and labor priorities, including supporting workers, employers, and program transparency, while members raised concerns about business climate, job losses, labor participation, and the implementation of paid family and medical leave. Staff provided legislative updates on recent unemployment-related bills. These included increases to the weekly unemployment benefit amount enacted in 2025 and 2026, a bill on labor dispute disqualification that changed how lockouts are treated for benefit eligibility, and a budget item providing $75,000 for actuarial support to the commission. The commission also discussed the 2025 work group on annual adjustments to weekly benefit amounts; staff reported that the work group did not complete its charge, and members agreed to revisit whether to reconstitute it at a future meeting. Delegate Martinez expressed support for continuing the work, and the chair said the issue would be taken up at the next meeting. Deputy Commissioner Joanna Darkus gave a detailed presentation on Virginia’s unemployment insurance system, including current claims data, eligibility rules, employer tax structure, benefit levels, trust fund solvency, fraud prevention, and customer service operations. She reported that Virginia’s unemployment rate remains low, weekly claims are modest, the current weekly benefit range is $160 to $478, and the trust fund balance factor is projected at 50.9 percent, near the threshold for additional employer charges. Members asked about the taxable wage base, trust fund solvency, the effect of benefit increases, fraud controls, and the planned paid family and medical leave program. VEC said it is implementing that program through regulations, staffing, IT procurement, public listening sessions, and consultation with other states. A public commenter from the Virginia Poverty Law Center urged the commission to strengthen state investment in unemployment insurance and warned that federal support is uncertain. The commission then adjourned without taking further action.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are required to have malpractice insurance, and clients have clear avenues for recourse when harm
• People with chronic conditions badly need comprehensive health insurance.
• But when insurers flood the market with endless choices, everyone loses something.
• NAIFA is a professional association representing licensed insurance producers across Washington.
• of Benefit Insurance Professionals.

Bills: HB2564 , HB2599 , HB1809 , HB2242 , HB2261 , HB2384 , HB2505

Committee: House Health Care & Wellness

Keywords: healthcare, insurance, certification, state regulation, health plan, therapy, psychotherapy, mental health, regulation, professional standards, behavioral health, mental health crisis, crisis response, co-response, co-responder, first responder, EMS, emergency medical services, paramedic, EMT

Transcript Highlights:

• It is nothing more than best practices to help stabilize the insurance market, reduce insurance fraud
• And so every insurer requires consumer choice.
• That's the responsibility of the homeowner's insurance.
• With private insurers refusing to renew a record number of home insurance plans, With private insurers
• I won't presume to speak for the insurance industry.

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I know they can do insurance, and insurance is a little different because the only time we use insurance
• So the insurance is a little different.
• He then said that, already with insurance, officers have proof of insurance on a phone.
• And also, I think the registration of stay with a vehicle, with regard to insurance, insurance is more
• And if I have to print out, that’s how I get my insurance, proof of insurance as well.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 629 from Representative Joe Palmer, which would let vehicle owners choose not to receive a paper registration card from ITD and instead keep an electronic copy on a phone or print one themselves. Palmer said the change was intended to give drivers flexibility and save ITD about $800,000, with the savings redirected to highway-related funds. He also said the bill would not require electronic registration, only allow it as an option, and noted that commercial vehicles already have a similar option. Chief Deputy Zach Hesing of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office testified in opposition on behalf of the Idaho Sheriffs Association. He said officers need a paper registration during traffic stops because phones, computers, or DMV systems can fail, especially in rural areas, and because handling a driver’s phone raises practical and officer-safety concerns. Several senators questioned how the bill would work if a phone was unavailable or if officers had to take a phone back to a patrol car; Palmer responded that drivers could still print a copy and that officers could radio in information if needed. During debate, supporters argued the bill was a modern convenience and a cost-saving measure that did not change the underlying requirement to provide proof of registration. Opponents raised privacy, Fourth Amendment, and officer-safety concerns, and some said registration should remain with the vehicle rather than be stored on a personal phone. A motion by Senator Kaiser to send HB 629 to the floor with a due pass recommendation failed on a voice vote, and the bill remained in committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• Wildfire insurance costs are increasing, while insurance coverage options are decreasing.
• Without insurance and without affordable insurance, that is going to continue to be a cost that rural
• The insurers have no ability to actually judge the risk that they are insuring.
• The guy that doesn't have any insurance, any insurance, deserves to be as safe as he can.
• That is totally done by the insurance people that sell insurance in this state.

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 55, which would expand New Mexico’s solar market development income tax credit from 10% to 30% after the federal solar credit expired, raise the per-credit cap from $6,000 to $15,000, and keep the existing overall $30 million cap with a sunset in 2032. The sponsor and industry witnesses said the bill would help stabilize the residential solar sector, protect jobs, and support consumers, small businesses, small agriculture, and tribal communities. Public testimony was overwhelmingly supportive, though some members raised questions about fiscal capacity and the bill’s impact. The committee passed SB 55 on a 7-4 vote. The committee then took up House Bill 267, the Wildfire Mitigation and Liability Act, on a committee substitute. The bill would require utilities to file and maintain wildfire mitigation plans, obtain PRC approval, and receive a rebuttable presumption in civil actions if they substantially comply; it also includes access provisions for mitigation work on private and public property, cost recovery, damage limits, and a one-year statute of limitations. Utilities and co-op representatives supported the bill as a way to reduce wildfire risk and address rising insurance costs, while insurers, OSI, and wildfire-victim advocates opposed it, arguing it overly limits liability, shifts losses to homeowners and insurers, and does not fully compensate victims. Several committee members expressed concern about the liability standards, deemed approval, access to property, and the short limitations period, but the bill ultimately passed on an 8-3 vote after the chair corrected the motion and revote. Next, House Bill 320, the Industrial Carbon Reduction Act, was presented. It would create production incentives and capital grants for industrial materials made at least 40% cleaner than the industry average, with clawbacks for underperformance and competitive review by EDD and Environment. Supporters from the gas company and chambers of commerce said it uses performance-based incentives to encourage cleaner manufacturing, attract investment, and create jobs. One member raised an anti-donation clause concern, but the sponsor said the bill’s performance requirements and clawbacks address that issue. The committee passed HB 320 on a 10-1 vote. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 104, a follow-up to last year’s wildlife agency reform bill. It would replace vetoed language by creating a process for a governor’s removal of a wildlife commissioner that includes notice, a hearing, and direct review by the New Mexico Supreme Court, while keeping the governor’s removal authority for cause. Ranching, angling, outfitter, and conservation groups supported the bill as a bipartisan fix that adds accountability and avoids political retaliation. Members asked about the removal process and direct Supreme Court review, and some who had initially been skeptical said the testimony changed their view. The bill was moving forward with support at the end of the discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• My understanding is that is a typical insurance limit that those providers carry.
• Due to the nature of the contractual agreements with insurance providers, the cost of co-payments, co-insurance
• And with insurance, we know that insurers claim to us that premiums will spike and that negative outcomes
• you know, when we look at the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, when they're looking at insurance
• We look at the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, when they're looking at insurance premiums,

Summary: The committee first took up HB 195, as amended by committee substitute, which would protect the personal assets of individual medical providers from medical malpractice judgments when they carry appropriate insurance or participate in the Patient Compensation Fund. The sponsor said the bill was intended to address providers’ fear of losing homes and other personal property, while opponents argued it could exempt a class of people from civil justice. Supporters said it was a reasonable compromise that preserved patient access to justice while helping recruit and retain providers. The committee adopted the substitute and advanced it on a do pass vote. The committee then heard HB 295, a revised version of the Accessibility Act, which would create a centralized office for accessibility reporting, technical assistance, and annual reporting on barriers in state buildings and websites. Supporters said the bill would improve coordination, data collection, and compliance with existing ADA requirements; opponents argued it duplicated existing law and would create another government office without enforcement power. Members debated whether the Governor’s Commission on Disability should handle the work instead, but the sponsors said the commission lacked capacity and the Department of Health was a better fit. The committee adopted the substitute and advanced it 8-1. Next, HB 296 proposed doubling the working families tax credit. The sponsor and supporters described it as an anti-poverty measure that would benefit more than 200,000 families and strengthen work incentives, while committee members asked about the fiscal impact, administration, and interaction with other tax credits. The bill was quickly advanced on a do pass vote. The committee then heard HB 338, which would extend the gross receipts tax deduction for health care providers through 2031 and add co-insurance payments. Health care advocates supported it, but city and municipal representatives warned it would reduce local revenue unless a full hold harmless was added. After extended discussion, the committee rejected a motion to table and instead advanced the bill 9-0 with no recommendation, with several members saying they would not support it on the floor unless local governments were made whole. Finally, the committee heard HB 259, which would create an optional actuarial review process for proposed health insurance legislation through the Legislative Finance Committee. Supporters said it would give lawmakers better data on premium, utilization, and spending impacts before voting on coverage mandates; opponents and some members raised concerns about cost, staffing, data access, and whether the process would be too limited to be useful. After discussion, the committee advanced the bill on a do pass vote. HB 279 was rolled at the sponsor’s request, and the committee adjourned after reminding members about the evening dinner.