The National Council of State Legislators (NCOIL) convened for the Spring 2024 meeting in Nashville, Tennessee from April 11 to April 15. With 367 attendees from every corner of the insurance industry, the meeting was the largest NCOIL Spring Meeting to date. 73 legislators from 31 states attended the meeting alongside eight insurance commissioners and regulatory staff from 16 different insurance departments.
NCOIL’s different policy committees convened to hear testimony from industry experts, consider amendments to model legislation, and coordinate with insurance commissioners from around the country.
The common thread in all committee sessions was the rising tension between federal rules and state autonomy. Current NCOIL President, Representative Tom Oliverson, M.D. (R-TX), cemented this theme by asking to work with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to pen a joint letter to various federal agencies reaffirming their respective organizations' commitment to state-regulated insurance marketplaces.
Key moments during the meeting:
- Re-adoption of the Model Health Care Price Transparency Act: NCOIL’s drug price transparency legislation was first approved in 2014. This readopted version explicitly carves out workers' compensation, auto, and PIP insurers from the requirements.
- Temporary re-adoption of Life Settlements Model Act: The Life Settlements Model Act was re-adopted to the next meeting in July 2024, rather than for the traditional five years, to allow for discussion on proposed amendments that would allow for electronic signatures and electronic verification coverage.
- Spotlight on weight loss drugs: A general session was dedicated to discussing implications for providing insurance coverage for weight loss drugs, alongside behavioral modifications.
Looking forward, the NCOIL has slated a number of topics for discussion at meetings later this year.
- Transparency in Third Party Litigation Financing Model Act: This legislation, first discussed in 2011, establishes that third-party litigation funding transactions must be subject to state regulation and sets forth requirements regarding disclosure, registration, funding company and attorney responsibilities and limitations, violations, and other items.
- Earned Wage Access Model Act: New York Assembly member and Banks Chair Pamela Hunter is expected to lead a full discussion on this issue in July, at which time a full draft of the proposed model legislation will be released.
- Value-Based Purchasing Model Act: This legislation was introduced to grant states the authority to enter cost agreements with manufacturers based on the value the treatment provides to the patient. A full discussion on the legislation will occur in July.
Stateside staff were on the ground at NCOIL’s Spring Meeting, monitoring and participating in conversations that will help drive state legislative trends in the coming months and years. For more information about what was discussed or to receive meeting materials, contact Ethan Wilson at elw@stateside.com.