April 29, 2025

Bill to Limit Auto Accident Damages for ‘Unauthorized Aliens’ in LA

‘Unauthorized Alien’ Limits Among Trio of Auto Insurance Proposals Under Consideration in LA House Three auto insurance bills cleared the Louisiana House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure last month. One of them ( HB 436 ) would prohibit “unauthorized aliens” from receiving general damages, including compensation for pain and suffering, in auto accident cases, although they could still receive...

April 29, 2025

Social Media Bill Override Attempt in CO, Social Media Warning Label Bill on Move in CA & More

Social Media Bill Dodges Veto Override in CO Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ (D) veto of a social media bill ( SB 86 ) survived an override attempt. The state’s Democrat-controlled Senate voted 29-6 in favor of overriding the measure, which would have required large social media companies to remove accounts involved with the selling of guns or drugs or with sex trafficking or the sexual exploitation of minors...

April 29, 2025

Medical Debt Legislation in WA, VT & Psilocybin Legalization Bill in IA

WA Enacts Law Keeping Medical Debt Off Credit Reports Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) signed a bill ( SB 5480 ) prohibiting collection agencies from reporting unpaid medical debt to credit agencies. The measure, which takes effect on July 27, is similar to a federal rule approved by the Biden administration but placed on hold by the Trump administration. ( WASHINGTON STATE STANDARD ) VT Passes Medical Debt Bill ...

April 29, 2025

States Turn to Tech to Help Address High Maternal Mortality

In 2022, there were about 22 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in the United States. That’s the highest rate of maternal deaths among high-income nations worldwide. That sobering statistic seems to have caught the attention of policymakers across the country as several states have turned in recent months to technology to improve maternal health. In February Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R...

April 22, 2025

Implications for Insurance Industry in FL’s Own DOGE Effort

DOGE-Like Effort in FL Could Impact Insurance Industry The wave of housecleaning that’s swept through the federal government courtesy of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency appears to have reached the state government of Florida. A bill ( HB 1461 ) advanced by a Florida House Budget Committee subcommittee last week would do away with at least 22 state boards responsible for overseeing licensing...

April 22, 2025

OH Social Media Access Law Permanently Blocked

Judge Permanently Blocks OH Social Media Access Law A federal judge issued an injunction permanently blocking an Ohio law that requires parental consent for those under the age of 16 to have a social media account. Although U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley praised the state for seeking to protect minors from harm, he said the Ohio law, enacted in 2023, violated the First Amendment. He compared it to a law passed...

April 22, 2025

State Lawmakers Pivot from PBMs to PSAOs in Ongoing Effort to Control Drug Prices

State Lawmakers Target PSAOs After targeting pharmacy benefit managers for years for contributing to the high cost of prescription drugs, state lawmakers have begun setting their sights on pharmacy services administrative organizations, or PSAOs, which help independent pharmacies negotiate with drug wholesalers. Virginia enacted a bill ( HB 2375 ) last month that requires PSAOs to report their reimbursement rates. Arkansas...

April 22, 2025

Consumer Data Deletion Movement Brewing in Statehouses?

Two years ago, California enacted first-of-its-kind legislation allowing residents to demand that data brokers delete the personal information the brokers have collected about them. Known as the California Delete Act, SB 362 , by Sen. Josh Becker (D), provided for the data equivalent of the do-not-call registry . The bill called for the creation of a website where Californians could submit a single request to have their...

April 15, 2025

MN’s Proposed Social Media App Tax, AR’s Social Media Private Right of Action Bill & More

MN Considering Taxing Social Media Apps Minnesota’s Senate Taxes Committee heard a bill ( SB 3197 ) last week that would make the state the first in the nation to tax social media apps. The measure would require social media platforms with between 100,000 and 500,000 Minnesota-based users to pay 10 cents per user per month; platforms with between 500,000 and 1 million Minnesota users to pay $40,000 per month plus...

April 15, 2025

AR Ban on PBM Operation of Pharmacies Goes to Gov, Legal Challenge to SD Drug Discount Law & More

AR Lawmakers Pass Bill Banning PBMs from Running Pharmacies The Arkansas legislature passed a bill ( HB 1150 ) that would make the state the first in the nation to prohibit pharmacy benefit managers from operating retail pharmacies. A spokesman for Gov. Sarah Sanders (R) declined to say whether she would sign the measure. ( TALK BUSINESS & POLITICS , STAT ) AbbVie Challenges New SD Drug Discount Law AbbVie Inc...

April 15, 2025

State Lawmakers Wrestle with Predictive Pricing

The days of simply setting a price for goods or services and waiting for customers to accept it are gone. Thanks to predictive pricing , businesses of all sorts can now use data analytics, machine learning and algorithms to anticipate market demand and adjust prices in real time, a la the airline industry. The technology is a boon to businesses, as it allows them to optimize their prices and maximize profits. Recent...

March 25, 2025

‘Predictive Pricing’ Big Concern in CA & More

‘Predictive Pricing’ Top Priority for CA Lawmakers Predictive pricing, a practice involving the use of artificial intelligence to set prices for customers based on factors like the websites they visit or the places they live instead of supply and demand, has emerged as one of the top technology-related issues in California’s Legislature this session. Lawmakers in the state have introduced five bills...

March 25, 2025

More State Paid Leave Laws Ahead & More

Patchwork of Paid Leave Laws Set to Continue There’s currently no federal law requiring paid leave. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 only requires employers to provide unpaid time off. But 19 states have laws requiring paid sick leave, as well as 17 cities and four counties, according to the non-profit National Partnership for Women and Families. In addition, 13 states require some type of paid...

March 25, 2025

States Passing Laws to Prevent AI Discrimination in Workplace

While artificial intelligence has been lauded the world over for its potentially transformative impact on, well, just about everything , state legislators across the country have been concerned about its potential for harm , especially in the workplace . New State Workplace Discrimination Laws In May 2024, Colorado lawmakers approved SB 205 , which proposed the nation’s first comprehensive law to broadly regulate...

March 19, 2025

$12B in LA Wildfire Insurer Payouts & State Farm’s 22% Emergency Rate Hike in CA

Insurer Payouts for LA Wildfires Top $12B California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara (D) announced that insurers have now paid out over $12 billion in claims from the largest of the Los Angeles wildfires. That sum is almost twice the $6.9 billion that insurers had paid out as of February. ( INSURANCE JOURNAL ) CA Insurance Commissioner Set to Approve State Farm Emergency Rate Hike California Insurance Commissioner...

March 19, 2025

Google’s Response to App Store Age-Verification Legislation, States Following CA’s Lead on Data Deletion & More

Google Weighs in on Social Media Age Verification Days after Utah passed a first-in-the-nation law ( SB 142 ) requiring app stores to verify the age of users, Google finally weighed in publicly on the subject of minors’ access to social media. In a blog post, the company’s director of public policy, Kareem Ghanem, said the Utah bill and other “fast-moving legislative proposals being pushed by Meta...

March 19, 2025

States Consider Requiring Insurers to Cover Weight-Loss Drugs

On January 1, North Dakota became the first state in the U.S. to cover weight-loss drugs through the Affordable Care Act. The expanded coverage is part of the state’s first update to its essential health benefit benchmark plan since the ACA was implemented in 2015. The change was made through a regulatory action by the state’s insurance department, which had been authorized to do so by state lawmakers in...

March 11, 2025

Bill to Provide Unemployment Benefits to Striking Workers in OR & Wage Theft Protection Bill in NY

OR Looks to Allow Striking Workers to Collect Unemployment A hotly debated bill ( SB 916 ) passed out of committee in Oregon’s Senate last week would allow striking workers in both the public and private sector to collect unemployment benefits. Although New Jersey and New York allow striking workers to collect unemployment, both states also prohibit public employees from going on strike. Oregon does not. And a...

March 11, 2025

MT’s AI in Insurance Bill

MT Targets Insurers’ Use of AI Montana’s House Committee on Business and Labor held a public hearing last week on a bill ( HB 556 ) that would regulate the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare utilization review and management. Among other things, the measure would require insurers to make their AI software available for review by regulators. BlueCross BlueShield Montana strongly opposed the measure...

March 11, 2025

UT Becomes First State to Pass App Store Age-Verification Bill, Fast-Moving Deepfake Bill in MT & More

UT Passes App Store Age-Verification Bill Utah became the first state to pass legislation requiring app stores to verify the age of users and obtain parental consent for minors to download apps. The bill ( SB 142 ), which now awaits the approval of Gov. Spencer Cox (R), is a big win for social media companies like Facebook and Instagram parent Meta. State lawmakers have sought to make social media platforms responsible...

March 11, 2025

State Lawmakers Scrutinize Private Equity’s Healthcare Acquisitions

State-level politicians across the country appear to be growing concerned about private equity investing in healthcare. Over the past two years, legislators in Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico and New York have passed laws to bring greater transparency to healthcare acquisitions within their respective states. In January, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy (D) signed into law HB 5159 to give move power to state entities...

February 25, 2025

Lawmakers Targeting Crypto Kiosks and Private Equity-Owned Child Care Centers

State Lawmakers Take Aim at Crypto Kiosks Lawmakers in at least 15 states have introduced bills to regulate cryptocurrency kiosks, which are often found at convenience stores and gas stations. The bills would limit transactions, generally to $1,000 per day, and limit fees to $5 or 3% to 15% per transaction. The bills, aimed at reducing crypto scams that frequently impact the elderly, are supported by AARP. ( PLURIBUS...

February 25, 2025

Potential Battle Over Social Media Age Gating in SD, 1-Hour Social Media Limit for Minors in VA & More

Battle of Social Media Titans Shaping Up in SD Meta, Snap and X are lobbying in favor of a bill in South Dakota ( SB 180 ) that would require app stores to verify the age of users instead of social media platforms. The development sets up a potential battle with Apple and Google, the former of which helped kill similar legislation in Louisiana last year. ( PLURIBUS NEWS , LEXISNEXIS STATE NET) VA Legislature Passes...

February 25, 2025

CA Lawmakers Turn Attention to Mental Health of LA Wildfire Victims

CA Bill Focuses on Mental Health of Wildfire Victims A bill ( AB 1032 ) introduced in the California Assembly would require healthcare service plans and insurers to reimburse enrollees or insureds who live in a county where a state or local emergency has been declared due to wildfires for up to 12 visits with a licensed behavioral health provider. The measure’s author, Assemblymember John Harabedian (D), said...

February 25, 2025

Top Compliance Issues for Insurance Industry in 2025

Expect a lot of activity at the state level on insurance issues in 2025, so says attorney Karen C. Yotis , content manager for insurance on the Practical Guidance team for LexisNexis®. We asked Yotis, a frequent contributor to State Net® Capitol Journal™ articles, to outline for us what she believes will be the top compliance issues for the insurance industry this year. Much of the industry’s attention...