Tennessee House of Representatives 112th House Insurance Committee, 9 Mar 2021

Previous Meeting Next Meeting

⏯

youtube image

►

From YouTube: House Insurance Committee- March 9, 2021

Description

House Insurance Committee- March 9, 2021

A

A

I just wanted to let you know that chairman smith or representative smith put the balance billing bill on notice for next.

B

C

You good morning, ladies and gentlemen, this is hong kong. Okay, today is march 9 2021. The time is 902. The insurance committee of the tennessee house of representatives of the 112th general assembly is now in session clerk. Please call the roll.

D

Representatives, carr supicky freeman, hawk hicks, hodges, johnson kumar.

E

D

Mitchell powers, rudd smith, terry thompson, wyatt vice chair, rudder, chairman kumar,.

C

D

Mr chairman, you have a quorum.

C

Thank you, mr clark. Members. Do we have any personal orders just as a reminder we did send by email the committee rules to you about two weeks ago. I hope you have received them and read them and if you need another copy, kindly let us know we have four items on the agenda.

C

The first one is house bill 0516 by leader gantt. We have a motion and a second leader, gantry are recognized.

B

Thank you, mr chairman and committee uh I'll, be quick here. uh Can this bill what this bill does? Is it allows it's all around legal service plans and consumers who join a legal service services plan, pay a fixed monthly fee and have access to an attorney who can answer legal questions and provide basic legal services like preparing a will? These plans are important resource for working families to obtain access to affordable quality legal plans. These plans are currently deemed legal insurance, even though they do not assume any risk like traditional insurance company policies.

B

The 1989 tennessee legal insurance act was broadly written and did not anticipate changing technology that allowed for certain affordable and consumer-friendly legal plans that are different from legal insurance plans, and all this bill is doing is it's just this bill will modify the definition of legal insurance in the tennessee legal insurance act to exclude non-insurance based legal service plans. With that, I submit it back to you I'll, be glad to answer any questions. Well,.

C

Thank you for the explanation uh chairman spiky you're recognized.

A

Thank you, mr chairman, uh just a quick example.

B

Well, you've got different and I think there is some examples here in my notes, but it's basically about legal services that are provided by non-insurance company and somehow that got caught up in the tennessee legal insurance act. So all we're doing is just modifying that definition to exclude that.

A

You recognize would that be like a legal zoom or something like that? um Yes, yes, thank you.

C

C

Seeing none there's no objection. We are voting on house bill 0516, all those in favor, please say: aye opposed eyes prevailed. The bill goes on to finance committee and next item house bill zero. Five, two three you're recognized thank.

B

You, chairman and committee.

C

We have a motion in a second.

B

This bill deals with assignment of benefits for property and casualty insurance policy. It keeps the status quo on existing insurance policies and claims handling. The general assembly established public policy on assignment of benefits for health insurance, but has never spoken on the issue for property and casualty insurance. This bill does not dictate that property and casualty benefits can or cannot be assigned.

B

It affirms that unless the general assembly establishes policy on assignment the insurance, contractual terms are valid, and, mr chairman, if I could, I need to read some legislative history into the record with your indulgence. If I could please you.

C

B

This bill is not intended to affect any rights. A party may have under existing law, to arrange for proceeds of property damage to be paid to a third party who has purchased the damaged property. For example, a commercial property owner may arrange for the buyer to obtain insurance proceeds for repair of the property. This bill is not intended to ar arbor gate or create the right of the seller to make such arrangement.

B

Additionally, this bill is not intended to affect any limited or specific assignments, or of claims proceeded made following emergency or immediate property repairs. Some insurers in this discretion allow these limited assignments, simon of proceeds during the emergency property repairs. This bill is not intended to arbitrate or create any rights to make such an assignment. Nor is it intended to change how companies currently handle existing claims.

C

Well, thank you for the explanation. So if the policy does not say that the benefits are assignable, then the policyholder cannot make an assignment if it is silent on it.

B

Yeah, that that is correct in tennessee and most insurance companies do not recognize assignment of benefits.

C

Can the consumers then be misled thinking they are, they would be able to assign it.

B

Yes and the purpose of this legislation.

C

Does there need to be education along those lines, or should the policy have to state that the benefits are assignable or.

B

Not assignable.

C

B

Chairman, that's a good question uh as insurance, I'm an insurance agent, that's my job to to make sure they understand the rights under their policy as their agent.

C

So it is up to the agent to educate the purchaser, but the policy itself will not state whether the benefits are assignable or not assignable. That.

B

C

Do we need to put a box on the policy.

B

Let me rephrase what you said in most insurance contracts. It does recognize there is not assignment of benefits portion in that.

C

Members have any questions chairman white. You recognize.

D

Thank you chairman. Just for the record, I think what you read into the record answered my question, but I know there were a couple of groups, legitimate groups that had that were questioning. This did y'all get that worked out.

B

Chairman thanks for reminding me about that, we have met and we have addressed their concerns and they seem to be in a good posture at this point.

D

Okay, thank you very much.

C

Any other questions members, uh seeing none and without objection we are voting on house bill, zero, five, two three, all those in favor, please say: aye aye opposed the eyes prevail. The bill.

B

Gates, commitment to.

C

Calendar and rules, thank you leader again,.

C

Our next item on the agenda is house bill: zero. Four six one by chairman, reedy.

F

Thank you, mr chairman and committee, uh mr chairman, there is an amendment. Do we need to put that on at this time? Yes, we should and, and that amendment number the drafting code is 3843.

C

Yes, it is you're, correct, zero, zero. Three, eight four: three: uh do you want to attach that amendment and then explain the bill as amended.

F

Yeah because it just totally makes the bill. Yes, sir,.

C

Without objection members, we are voting on amendments zero, zero, three, eight four three to be attached to hospital zero; four, six one, all those in favor, please say: aye opposed. The amendment goes on the bill. uh You're recognized on house bill zero, four, six, one as amended. Thank.

F

You, mr chairman, and for clarity, I will read this into the record amendment three.

F

Eight four three makes the bill and changes two dates within code to extend the ground ambulance assessment to june 30th of 2022 the ground ambulance assessment was created several years ago to help fill the gap between the expenses incurred by ambulance services to perform a transport and what medicaid reimbursements for this transport without using any state dollars the ground ambulance service pay to fund that draws down over 20 million in federal funds that is then paid back out to these services based on their medicaid transports.

F

Let's see house bill 461, as amended, will extend the ground ambulance assessment for another year, and so each year I bring it back just to extend it for one more year. Mr chairman and committee.

C

Thank you, members. Any questions.

C

Representative mitchell, you're recognized yeah.

A

Thank you, mr so so I can get this right so we're just trying to draw down more federal dollars for ground ambulance.

F

It's yes, sir, a good example of that it's many times the federal funds that the state of tennessee gets is in in matching funds. So the federal government will say uh representative mitchell, we're going to give tennessee for infrastructures for roads and we've got this 20 billion dollars, but if, if tennessee will match in these arbitrary numbers, if, if you'll send us 10 million, we'll give you the full fund back so over the years, what has happened with the ground ambulance assessment each run that the ground ambulance service provides? It's like.

F

Ten dollars goes into a fund, and over the years it's been building up enough, so they can match it at the federal level and bring that money back. So they get full reimbursement.

A

So it's kind of like medicaid expansion for grand ambulance service.

A

G

A

F

I still appreciate you, but let's move on well.

C

That that is a stretcher for the record. I would also like to once again once again emphasize that these are not federal dollars coming to us. They are dollars that the state of tennessee has paid to the federal government and our part of our share is being returned. This is for the hard-working tennesseans money uh chairman speaking german speaker, you recognized.

A

That thank you, mr chairman, uh representative reed. Thank you for bringing this bill. It's very important to us, um and I want to say thank you to my colleague from davidson county, confirming my suspicions and his questioning about where he was going with this and understanding that leopards just can't change their spots.

C

Members, any more venting required we're good all right without objection. We are voting on house bill 0461, all those in favor, please say aye opposed the eyes was on to finance committee. Thank you, chairman reedy,.

C

The last item on our agenda is house bill 0992 by representative love.

C

We have a motion and a second uh representative love. You recognized.

E

Thank you, mr chairman members, house of which will be known as terrence's law it passes, is a bill to require the bureau of tenncare to conduct an annual review of all medications and forms of treatment for sickle cell disease and services for enrollees, with the diagnosis of sickle cell disease that are eligible for coverage under the program of medical assistance program and requires the bureau to solicit and consider input from the public when conducting the annual review.

E

Also, mr chairman, if I may uh last uh time in the committee and subcommittee, I got a chance to talk a little bit about what sickle cell is, and I'd like to do that also on.

E

If I can sickle cell disease is a it's a disease uh where there's a group of inherited red blood cell disorders, a normal uh blood cells are healthy and donut shaped and flow through the blood vessels very easily sickle cell uh blood cells are just like that in the shape of a sickle and the problem with them is that their lifespan is not as long because they don't carry as much oxygen to the organs as healthy blood cells. Do.

E

The other problem is sickled cells, oftentimes are described as very sticky in the bloodstream and they oftentimes will clog up that bloodstream and don't allow the healthy blood cells to then flow to the organs. Now the the sickle cell disease uh also affects the lifespan of a person, uh because they're oftentimes, wrecked with pain and currently the only cure for sickle cell disease, is a bone marrow transplant or a stem cell transplant, which can be very tricky because you have to find bone marrow that matches the one you have.

E

There are also some some drugs that are used to mitigate the pain and last time in subcommittee. We did talk about the fact that you know when persons put themselves to the doctor's office, they're wrapped with pain and oftentimes people, mistake them for being very addicted to the drugs, but it's because of the pain that they're that they're enduring, and so this particular legislation again will require tenncare to review all of the current treatments and also solicit input from the general public. And mr chairman, I apologize last time you asked a question.

E

I didn't fully explain you did ask about where I thought this particular bill would would go uh what kind of results it would yield, and my hope is that if tenncare is able to receive input from the public and from experts about what new treatments may be out there, then we can indeed reduce the number of deaths from persons out there. We also may be able to reduce the pain that the person experienced and also their families, and I'm open for questions.

C

Thank you, representative love, just a minor clarification that I did not do it in finance. I had planned on sending you an email not to publicly uh do this, but uh we're friends, and you will not mind the red blood cells and are donut shape, but without the donut hole they are disks basically, rather than the margins are thicker, but they're not truly do not share correct.

E

I'm sorry about that.

C

There are tremendo in treatment of this disease and I think it will be um even gene therapy and other things that are coming down the pipeline. I think that is genuine hope for uh treating this condition. You have named it terence's law, who is terence.

E

He is a cousin uh that died in 2016 from sickle cell disease.

C

Well, that's touching and you're doing it he's your cousin, yes, okay! Well, thank you for doing this members. Do we have any other questions uh chairman white, you're, recognized.

D

Thank you very much chairman, and my only question is, and so many of our population do suffer this, and I appreciate you bringing attention to this is terrible disease. uh What we're talking about here? What is their position on whenever we pass legislation, I always want to make sure that it does what is intended and what is is tenncare have a positionality to do this and to be effective, moving forward.

E

They have not expressed to me any opposition to the legislation.

D

Okay, so, but all right, so no no opposition, but as we'll make sure that they can do what you want them to do is my question.

E

Yes, sir, I I'll yield to chairman hawk okay.

C

Chairman hack, you're, recognized.

H

Thank you, chairman kumar and chairman white. Thank you that uh representative love, thank you for bringing this legislation and not not to speak for tenncare, but I will uh just for for prior positions on on committees.

H

This will be, I believe, the 21st different study that, including in some of their work, they were able to absorb it in their in what they're doing now. In terms of uh in terms of study capacity in the future, uh we may get to a a bending point to where there there will be a substantial cost to these studies.

H

But this critically important issue to the state of tennessee and to representative love will be able to fit within the parameters of what tenncare is doing at this time and I'll look out to get a head nod from from an individual just to ensure that I've mentioned what's right. But but again this this study works within the conference of what uh tenncare cannon will do. Thank you, mr chairman.

C

Thank you for that clarification, jimin hawk chairman smith, you're recognized. Thank you.

G

Chairman and I want to thank the sponsor one of the things that I know in working another bill, that's near and dear to my heart, about a consistent definition of medical necessity as we're seeing healthcare innovations that really come down to the cellular level and as dr kumar mentioned, this is going to be responsive most likely to gene therapy because of the fact that this is personalized medicine and it's going to vary from person to person to person.

G

It's going to be more important that our tennessee code reflect the advances in medicine to match the therapies and not have a third party administrator denying our citizens to have access to these types of therapies. So I want to thank the bill sponsor and thank you, mr chairman, for pointing out the gene therapy is a wave of the future. But thank you, sir. Thank.

E

G

C

You members any other questions, seeing none and without objections.

C

Bill 992, all those in favor, please say: aye opposed the eyes prevailed. The bill goes on to calendar and rules. Thank.

E

You, mr chairman of committee members, thank.

C

You members that completes an agenda, any announcements or business, seeing none. We stand adjourned. Thank you for your.

D

D