Insurance & Commerce - Senate

It passed many of you are on revenue taxes well it was heard on the Senate floor in its past and its way not a governor signature so the chair would entertain a motion on house bill fourteen sixty eight to expunge the vote up okay so I got I got a motion to I have a second I have a second let's time for discussion Senator G. can you explain to me what would happen if we didn't do that. It's not the end yes I think we would crash and burn we you know we Leding without a I'll vote no then. Okay all in favor of accepting the motion as stated please say aye. Same sign opposed the motion carries we have a second thing that I need to cover with everybody here today Senator Dismang has asked to move his two bills to the Thursday schedule Senator Rapert could not levy is committee in his opinion so I've got three of the five bill scheduled or moved to Thursday but I think we have the ability to not have Thursday B. and eight or nine bill session because there are two bills house bill twelve forty and house bill twelve forty three that have both come off the house floor not that it matters but both of them came out of committee without dissension no known opposition and I have insurance and commerce in the room to help present that with me so with no objection heard I'm going to add those to your schedule that's what's in front of you now which maybe we put the cart before the horse there but hearing no no no objection consider that as an adjusted schedule are there any comments I don't need a motion to that fact just no known opposition all right so those two are done no opposition notified we are now going to move into the bills on your calendar and I need to get my ducks in a row do you Mr chairman we just put them on the current counter we didn't just pass of did we know we just come on a current calendar. If everything was that easy right. Okay we're going to start off. Senator Elliots not here. In center H. B. six fifteen sixty nine is moved to Thursday we're gonna start with house bill eighteen oh four representative Brian Evans is with us. Chairman I've been looking for shot at him I'm very happy to have him down here I'm sure he's happy first shot at you to supervise straight representative eleven please identify yourself and you may present your bill representive eleven from district forty three the permission the chair like to invite John Vinson with the farms association joint meeting table that would be appropriate thank you Sir. Mr Benson please identify yourself for the record and you may proceed. Thank you chairman Pitsch arm Jon Benson with the Arkansas pharmacists association membership organization twenty four hundred pharmacists and student pharmacists from around the state of Arkansas thank you for having me here today members of the committee okay. You're recognized Page every page members the the committee a house bill eighteen oh four this is an effort to Aberration between your local pharmacist and the Arkansas Insurance Department to synchronize the definition of health plans as defined as defined in ACT nine hundred of two thousand fifteen I think it's important to note that this legislation was challenged by the PBMs all the way up to the US Supreme Court it was unanimously upheld within eight zero vote in two thousand twenty the bill's been reviewed revised using information from legislative audit the Arkansas Insurance Department this bill also defines the community pharmacy network adequacy program just to be consistent with the standards set forth in the federal network we're doing this bill just codifying language of the federal industry standards to insure a statewide efficiency this will help lower costs for your constituents and be less burdens of your constituents when it comes to filling their much needed prescriptions believe the bills good for local businesses and especially for your constituents to depend a regular regular pharmacy fill medications one final thing the bill will move the enforcement of the pharmacy audit bill of rights back into the Arkansas insurance department they hold the licenses for the PBM so they should be the ones doing the audit on that and that should be moved away from the board of pharmacy will be happy to try to answer any questions are there any questions for representative eleven. Seeing none is there anybody in the audience to speak for or against this bill. We show someone Mr Benson you would like to speak for the bill you're recognized. Thank chairman Pitsch members of the committee I would like to speak for the bill and appreciate the good work the legislature has addressed in this space over the years there's actually four pieces of legislation over the last decade the audit bill from two thousand eleven ACT five seventeen ACT nine hundred of two thousand fifteen which was challenged up to the US Supreme Court the historic case that that. Attorney General Rutledge and her team were victorious with eight zero ruling back in the a two thousand and twenty with the decision coming down in December December tenth and then the licensure active twenty eighteen and the ACT nine ninety four twenty nineteen when the session started Senator Rapert representative eleven Senator I'm skews me representative Michelle gray and some other folks Senator Stubblefield that had worked on some this legislation in the past had met with legislative audit with some findings and some inconsistencies in the enforcement of those four sets of rules in this bill takes all of the current legislation that we previously pastor you have previously passed and sings them with common definitions and enforcement across all plans in our state just to give you some perspective of what it does so it does bring in some additional plans like to the employer plans and and university or state funded plans into those enforcement mechanisms for consistency across this loss. Okay are there any questions for Mr Benson. Seeing none thank you for your testimony thank you Mr president is there anybody else to speak for against this bill. Okay. I got a motion are you closed representative eleven. Close for the bill okay representative eleven indicates he's close for the bill Senator Teague as a motion do pass I have a second from Senator Ingram all in favor of of passing house bill eighteen oh four please say aye same sign opposed. Your bill has passed thank you Committee yes. We will move on Senator Irvin is presenting other bills we're going to give the chair to Senator Teague and if the insurance company department would join me at the end of the table we will be prepared to present the two bills in question. Yeah. Senator Pitsch you're recognized. Full house bill. House Bill. If you look at house bill twelve forty and house bill twelve forty three both of those two bills were in the original five bill package from the insurance department we passed three of them when they gave them to us from the house all five started in the House these two have been lingering out there on the list and since we had some movement today we felt like since they were unopposed as far as we knew we would go ahead run both of them today one of the time no right right let's do house bill twelve forty first. And introduce your other guy yes please introduce yourself for the record. Mel Anderson Arkansas insurance department. Welcome bill basically what you've got on house bill twelve forty it's an act modify the Arkansas credit for reinsurance law declares an emergency and for other purposes this modifies the Arkansas credit for reinsurance and it's a blank the bill which was one of the concerns that we may have been trying to added to the schedule but it has been out there literally since the beginning of session so would you like to speak to the bill please. Thank you chairman Pitsch the house bill twelve forty purpose is to update Arkansas statute changes in the credit for reinsurance regulatory standards in June twenty nineteen the any I see adopted revisions for the credit for reinsurance model law based on incorporating bilateral agreement items from the U. S. in the U. regarding prudential measures that were agreed upon in September of twenty seventeen. The update to the law provides for a new method can be used for credit for reinsurance placed Allison standards for reciprocal jurisdictions the new standard levels the playing field for U. S. reinsurers operating in the E. U. and nine U. S. C. U. reinsurers operating in the U. US for example you reinsurers would receive relief from reinsurance collateral requirements a local presence requirements if they meet certain financial standards likewise US reinsurers would be. Receive relief from collateral requirements and local presence requirements if they maintain certain standards including a three hundred percent minimum RBC ratio under Arkansas law yes stated the updated financial standards provide a framework that is necessary and important for the US reinsurance market in the U. insurance market to to coordinate activities it provides opportunities for the U. S. reinsurance market and US reinsurers to avail themselves of of opportunity to reinsure with you European reinsurers as you know US insurers reinsurers a considerable amount of risk with European and reinsurers from around the world by reducing collateral in the local presence requirements for non US me insurers costs associated with providing the reinsurance coverage to Arkansas insurers will also be favorably impacted. Any I. see accreditation standards are required to include this requirement beginning in September of twenty twenty two with that that includes a summary and I'd be happy to answer any questions. Other questions. By. You by the eyes will speak for against. I have a motion. You pass a second. Discussion on the motion all those in favor I. Opposed seven thank you Mr chairman I believe we have an amendment but it's a it's a correction of of a typo on twelve three forty three so if you're ready we can do that one first. Remove adoption of the amendment I move adoption of the amendment what will a first for a house bill twelve forty three members right second bill of the package beer house bill twelve forty three Senator Pitsch has its own amendment he moves adoption of the amendment there I have it basically that amendment puts me as the sponsor leave Senator Hendren on the bill that allows me to be the lead sponsor type of. Ataxic I don't think so. I don't see your name on the amendment. Which Amendment are you on. That is already been engrossed okay I got it yeah hello the name one there what I bought on but I don't see this on page Page eleven line. We need to make sure we get that in front of the folks all the giants. Representative Lowery announced that we would fix the typo down there not the name change already been done name change was done in his committee this while you will be presented at. As you are ready. Yes so playing Amendment we adopted the amendment I don't remember what we know we need to do the amendment I meant is amendment is a typo on page eleven line thirty one. There should be a C. instead of a B. and that's what you're amendment questions on that. I have a motion and a second any discussion all those in favor I. Follows right you're recognized to explain. The Bill. House bill twelve forty three is amended basically house bill twelve forty three as a the fifth and final of the state insurance departments package. And we can and it basically as an actor modify the Division definition of policy cancellations As used in the business of insurance to clarify the minimum notice requirements for cancellation of certain property and casualty policies and for other purposes I am I've got my bowl of items here to present this bill but I'll let him introduce himself and speak to it first you're recognized for us. Thank you Mr chairman my name is Ross Galbraith I'm the chief deputy insurance commissioner. A house bill twelve forty three is thirteen pages but the the real meat of the bill is starts on page eleven and the bill provides clarity to notice requirements for policies in force for sixty days or less there's a little bit of ambiguity right now with a notice requirements when a policy is in force for sixty days or less right now if it's in force more than that a company has to give twenty days if they're going to cancel the policy ten days if it's non payment again that was a little bit ambiguous for policies that were of shorter duration and so this is basically clarifies that and says twenty days for cancellation and then ten days for non payment. The questions. Yes. Basically as he said I'm without the direction I got isn't the statue needs to be correct clearly written so that it can be promulgated through the regulated committee so they know what they're looking at their. Okay. And with that I'm open for questions any questions. I don't see any you by Nigel speak for against that a motion do pass as amended do pass as amended second. And the second one the. Okay use question all those in favor I. Opposed. He does have a We got one more bill so good to present. Not another one. Thank you. yeah. You have that. Thank you. Job rather. We say case pocket of. It's clear down there but I'll get it it's fun. Members are going to move to Senate bill six oh two Senator Irvin. And members yet I want to pass out the amendment and just have Mister Andrews Frank over the amendment and talk about the bill although I'm not going to run the bill today if that's okay with you because we're working with the person who you are working with a lot of different entities and I want to be fair to that process so we can you know talk about it today we can pass over it it's just I want to be able to utilize our time as best we can and so Your is really whatever the. What the committee wanted to do but we do have an amendment that I really would like to get on the bill do we have the amendment in staff is it not here. Okay we're gonna look at each other because I don't think we have okay well what we'll do it on members own and then we'll just come back to the Committee on Thursday one would you like to speak to the amendment so members know what you're amending about the bill and that would thank you for that sure three and with the Arkansas insurance department okay what this proposed bill amendments pertain to our families and persons with craniofacial abnormalities typically cleft palate disease or traumas and what the proposed amendments and bill are are are trying to address and improve we're having a slow pace slow pay issues with craniofacial families having to wait for insurance companies to get their claims paid yeah we want to make sure that families are getting claims paid quicker than they're being they're being turned around right now making them turned around or reviewed within two working days for non urgent cases in twenty four hours for urgent cases in addition of the amendments and propose bill allow families to go outside the state to see cranio facial services and not just be relegated and state services rest in general what we're doing here and then we also had in the I think Original Bill about dental and vision and so obviously dental and vision plans are not going to be pertaining to the right this will only apply to health insurance policies not dental and vision so we want to make that clarification as well so some of this is is clean up our corrections and in addition to what I've previously explained C. but we have to have some approval before we go forward and then we're just trying to work with our insurance companies and they entities that are wanting to help improve this ability for these families that have these very difficult health care related cases they're very specific surgeries we don't have a lot of people that can really. The address the needs in state I mean we do have some but. It's important to be able to have that so well that's the explanation the amendment so hopefully we'll come back to you on Thursday all right we'll move it to Thursday yes Act all right members on your cheat sheet that I hand out of what's coming on Thursday wanted to wing and Wardlaw are still there. Three and four both of Senator Dismang Sir still there were moving H. B. fifteen sixty nine Senator Rapert to their and we're moving Senator Irvin six oh two to their sold those another reason why we passed the two bills that were insurance and commerce so it looks to me like and staff correct me if I'm wrong but we're still staring at six bills on Thursday so we'll get in here and go to work and see what we can do proper it okay and any of you that are on their Senators Lang Senator Irvin if you need to move some out let us know if you can before the eighteen hours and with that anything else for the good of the call staff we have