Legislature(2025 - 2026)BARNES 124
03/26/2025 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB132 | |
| HB50 | |
| HB148 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 132 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 50 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 148 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 149 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 148-OMNIBUS INSURANCE BILL
4:07:49 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL announced that the final order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 148, "An Act relating to insurance; and
providing for an effective date."
4:08:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ZACK FIELDS, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, presented HB 148 to the committee.
4:08:48 PM
HEATHER CARPENTER, Deputy Director, Division of Insurance,
Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development
(DCCED), She reported that the last insurance bill was done
around 10 years ago. Further, she stated that the Division of
Insurance is always looking at modernization. Further, she
referenced a document titled "Common Insurance Terms related to
HB 148," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Adjuster - a person who investigates claims and
recommends settlement options based on estimates of
damage and insurance policies held.
Admitted Company - an insurance company licensed to do
business in a state(s), domiciled in an alternative
state or country.
Annuity - See AS 21.12.055
Sec. 21.12.055 Annuities and annuity contract defined.
Annuities means all agreements to make periodical
payments if the making or continuance of all or some
of a series of payments or the amount of a payment is
dependent upon the continuance of human life, except
payments made under AS 21.12.040. The business of
annuities is considered to include additional benefits
operating to safeguard the contract from lapse, or to
provide a special surrender value, or special benefit,
or annuity, in the event of the total and permanent
disability of the holder.
Authorized insurer - See AS 21.97.900(6)
(6) "authorized insurer" means an insurer authorized
by a certificate of authority issued by the director
to transact insurance in this state;
Benefit-level exception - means an exception to
medical care coverage where a health care insurer
applies network health care benefit levels to services
received from an out-of-network health care provider
or facility.
Casualty coverage - a form of insurance providing
coverage for loss, damage, and liability, including
but limited to workers compensation and employer's
liability, legal liability, burglary and theft, errors
and omissions, fidelity, crime, glass, boiler, various
malpractice coverages. See also AS 21.12.070 Casualty
insurance defined.
Copay - a cost sharing mechanism in group insurance
plans where the insured pays a specified dollar amount
of incurred medical expenses and the insurer pays the
remainder.
Covered person - means a policyholder, subscriber,
enrollee, or other individual participating in an
insurance policy.
Credit for reinsurance - refers to a statutory
accounting procedure that allows a ceding company
(insurer) to treat amounts due from reinsurers as
assets or reductions from liabilities.
Deductible - portion of the insured loss (in dollars)
paid by the policy holder before the insurer starts
covering costs.
Depreciation of labor - the reduction in the value of
labor costs, similar to how materials depreciate due
to age, wear, and tear.
Direct Written Premium - total premiums received by an
insurance company without any adjustments for the
ceding of any portion of these premiums to the
reinsurer.
Disability income - a policy designed to compensate
insured individuals for a portion of the income they
lose because of a disabling injury or illness.
MS. CARPENTER began with Section 1, stating that the intent was
to "take into account life insurance products as being
vulnerable to prosecution avoidance under the general time
limitation statute. The longevity of life products makes them
unique from other insurance products since they're not subject
to yearly renewal. Since life products can remain active for
decades, crimes like theft, forgery, and misapplication of funds
may remain undetected passed the statute of general time
limitation. She further explained that, upon investigation, the
Division of Insurance found that many individuals, often
elderly, did not discover crimes committed against them with
regards to life insurance products until 10 to 15 years after
the incident.
CO-CHAIR HALL, in response to a question from Representative
Coulombe, confirmed that they would be reviewing all sections of
the proposed legislation.
4:11:45 PM
MS. CARPENTER moved to Section 2, explaining that it would amend
the Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), aligning
requirements for access to out-of-network coverage. She stated
that Section 3 would add consumer protection to health insurance
by requiring insurers to provide details on prior authorization,
so as to ensure that consumers are paying in-network and not
out-of-network. She further noted that the Division of
Insurance had received complaints about a lack of clear
guidance. She moved to Section 4, stating that it worked in
conjunction with Section 5 to allow the director to grant filing
delays and exemptions to insurers for any requirement.
MS. CARPENTER moved to Section 6, which she explained would
change the premium base for how wet marine and transportation
are taxed.
MS. CARPENTER, in response to a questions from Representative
Saddler and Representative Coulombe, stated that Section 6 would
create increases to a currently existing tax.
4:14:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BURKE queried the reason wet marine and
transportation were originally exempted from tax.
MS. CARPENTER responded that a lot of laws & code were old and
modernization and "treating everybody the same" were part the
rationale.
4:15:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE COULOMBE shared concerns about raising taxes and
requested more background information.
MS. CARPENTER stated that she would provide more background
information later on the tax provisions.
4:15:51 PM
MS. CARPENTER stated that Section 7 concerned coordination with
the Department of Health (DOH). She explained that, due to a
change in federal law in 2022, insurers were required to respond
to DOH regarding healthcare claims within 60 days and "not to
deny claims solely because a consumer didn't receive a prior
authorization." She further explained that changes in Section 7
were requested by DOH.
4:16:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE COULOMBE asked if the proposed legislation would
remove prior authorization for only Medicaid plans or all health
insurance services in the state.
MS. CARPENTER answered that the proposed legislation would
change how prior authorization it performed.
4:17:05 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS said that the committee would soon hear a bill
with regard to prior authorization.
4:17:20 PM
MS. CARPENTER moved to Section 8, noting that it was a technical
amendment changing the word "shall" to "may."
REPRESENTATIVE COULOMBE asked about the difference in language
between "shall" and "may."
MS. CARPENTER confirmed that the change was from "shall" to
"may" and stated that the change was made to align with model
laws in order to be accredited. She further explained that DOI
goes through financial accreditation every five years.
4:19:07 PM
MS. CARPENTER quickly detailed sections 9, 10, and 11 of the
sectional analysis to HB 148.
4:20:23 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS asked how HB 148 would affect the ability of
insurance companies to surveil Alaskans.
MS. CARPENTER spoke to existing consumer protection laws and
offered Ms. Wingheier to answer the question.
4:23:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked Ms. Carpenter to detail section 17
of the Sectional analysis for HB 148.
MS. CARPENTER explained that section 17 would adopt updates to
the independent adjuster guidelines.
4:25:01 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS said that the intent of the hearing before the
committee was to get an initial idea of what it was trying to
accomplish.
4:25:27 PM
MS. CARPENTER continued reading the sectional analysis for HB
148 on Section 18.
4:26:18 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS asked what factors might lead an adjuster to
designate Alaska as a person's home state.
4:26:36 PM
MS. CARPENTER said that insurance was currently regulated at the
state level, which created a loophole for insurance companies
that the proposed legislation was aiming to solve.
4:28:04 PM
MS. CARPENTER continued reading the sectional analysis for HB
148 on sections 20-22 and detailed sections 25-34.
4:36:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked what the definition of
"depreciation of labor" was.
4:36:58 PM
MS. CARPENTER noted that herself and Lori Wingheier would make
themselves available to committee members following the
committee meeting to answer questions. She continued reading
the sectional analysis for HB 148 on section 35.
4:37:31 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS asked for any context of national best practices
with regard to notices.
MS. CARPENTER explained that the coming sections of HB 148 would
concern notice for property and casualty insurance claims.
4:39:18 PM
MS. CARPENTER resumed her presentation of the sectional analysis
to HB 148 on section 36. She read from sections 39-41 and read
section 43 and 44 of the document.
4:44:34 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS shared his understanding that section 44 would
result in small businesses paying less money.
4:44:55 PM
MS. CARPENTER confirmed Representative Fields understanding was
correct and continued to read the sectional analysis for HB 148
on sections 45-46.
4:45:23 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS asked if the DCBPL had reviewed best practices
from around the country regarding cancer screening.
MS. CARPENTER said that the DCBPL was constantly tracking the
information that Representative Fields had requested and
continued reading the sectional analysis on sections 47-51. She
read through sections 56-58 of the document and noted that
section 62 concerned consumer complaint filings regarding
aircraft companies.
4:53:40 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS shared his appreciation for the discussion
surrounding controlled insurance programs in the state and asked
about the variables to consider "now."
MS. CARPENTER answered that there was discussion concerning the
reduction of the current statutory spending limit and said that
she was unsure of any uniform spending limit.
4:55:54 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL thanked the invited testifier and delivered
committee announcements.
[HB 148 was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 50 Sponsor Statement 3.19.2025.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 50 |
| HB 50 Sectional Analysis, Version A 3.19.2025.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 50 |
| HB 50, version A.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 50 |
| HB 50 Haines Huts and Trailes Letter of Support 3.10.25.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM SCRA 4/22/2025 1:30:00 PM SCRA 5/6/2025 1:30:00 PM SL&C 3/2/2026 1:30:00 PM |
HB 50 |
| HB 50 Juneau Nordic Ski Club Letter of Support 2.12.25.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM SCRA 5/6/2025 1:30:00 PM |
HB 50 |
| HB 50 Supporting Document-Alaska DOR Tax Division 2023 Charitable Gaming Annual Report 3.19.2025.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM SL&C 3/2/2026 1:30:00 PM |
HB 50 |
| HB0148A.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM HL&C 4/23/2025 9:00:00 AM |
HB 148 |
| HB148 - Insurance Terms Reference.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM HL&C 4/23/2025 9:00:00 AM |
HB 148 |
| HB 132 Amendment N.2.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 132 |
| HB 132 Amendment N.3.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 132 |
| HB 148 - Sponsor Statement Ver A.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 148 |
| HB 148 - Sectional Analysis Ver A.pdf |
HL&C 3/26/2025 3:15:00 PM HL&C 4/23/2025 9:00:00 AM |
HB 148 |