For Immediate Release
July 9, 2018
Contact: Paul Penna
(732) 201-4133

NCOIL CONCLUDES THIRD ANNUAL DC FLY-IN TO EDUCATE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF STATE-BASED INSURANCE REGULATION

National cross section of State Legislators Met with Senators, Representatives, Committee Staff and
Member Staff to Further Education Process

Manasquan, NJ: – On June 26th, a bi-partisan group of NCOIL legislators from State Senates and State Houses of Representatives around the country met in Washington DC to educate Members of Congress and their staffs about the vital importance of state-based regulation of insurance and its success for more than 70 years.

Participating legislators including AR Senator Jason Rapert, NCOIL President; IN Rep. Matt Lehman, NCOIL Treasurer; KY Rep. Steve Riggs, NCOIL Immediate Past President; OH Sen. Bob Hackett, Chair of the NCOIL Financial Services Committee; FL Rep. David Santiago, Vice-Chair of the NCOIL Property & Casualty Insurance Committee; MN Rep. Joe Hoppe, Vice-Chair of the NCOIL Life Insurance & Financial Planning Committee; and AR Rep. Deborah Ferguson, Chair of the NCOIL Life Insurance & Financial Planning Committee. They, together with NCOIL CEO Commissioner Tom Considine and staff, participated in more than 50 meetings with Senators, Congressman, and committee and congressional staff, including significant numbers of both the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee, to highlight the need to protect the state-based
system of insurance regulation.

“In this critical time in our country, Members of Congress and their staff need to know the importance of state-based regulation of insurance to their states” said AR Sen. Jason Rapert, NCOIL President. “Any attempts to weaken this system have disastrous consequences for our mutual constituents, consumers, companies, and our superior state-based regulation of insurance.”

NCOIL Legislators met with and engaged in dialogue with House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Chair Rep. Sean Duffy. Rep Duffy is the prime sponsor of H.R. 4537, which aims to preserve the state-based system of insurance regulation by providing greater oversight
of and transparency on international insurance standards setting processes. Rep. Duffy is also the prime sponsor of: H.R. 3746, which would clarify that, subject to narrow exceptions, the business of insurance is not within the jurisdiction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB); and H.R. 3861, which seeks to overhaul the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) by moving it to the Office of International Affairs within the Treasury Department, limiting FIO’s role to largely international matters, and capping the number of FIO employees to five (5).

In 2016 and 2017, NCOIL hosted an Education Fly-In where more than a half dozen NCOIL legislators traveled to Washington DC and participated in more than 50 meetings to educate Members of Congress and their staff about the well-established state-based regulation of insurance in the United States.

“Education is a critical service that NCOIL provides to legislators and interested parties. State legislators have worked to affirm the state-based system of insurance legislation and regulation that promotes growth and solvency in the market while protecting consumers, and which has worked for nearly 75 years since the passage of McCarran-Ferguson Act” said Considine, former NJ Banking and Insurance Commissioner. “As we conclude our third DC Educational Fly-in over the past 21 months, there is increased knowledge about the need to protect the existing insurance regulatory
system.”

State-based insurance regulation has helped create the most competitive insurance markets in the world. In the past several years a number of federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve and the Treasury, have begun intruding into insurance regulatory issues in ways that Congress did not intend when it adopted the McCarran-Ferguson Act in 1945 and re-affirmed as recently as passage of the Dodd Frank Act.

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NCOIL is a legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state insurance and financial
institutions committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance and financial services, works
to both preserve the state jurisdiction over insurance as established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy
years ago and to serve as an educational forum for public policy makers and interested parties. Founded in
1969, NCOIL works to assert the prerogative of legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance
and educate state legislators on current and perennial insurance issues.

For Immediate Release
June 11, 2018
Contact: Paul Penna
(732) 201-4133

NCOIL 2018 SUMMER MEETING HEALTH GENERAL SESSION TO EXAMINE OPIOID
EPIDEMIC

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes Highlights Panel, Will Discuss Efforts of Utah Opioid Task Force

Manasquan, NJ – During the 2018 NCOIL Summer Meeting at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake
City from July 12th – 15th there will be Health General Session titled “Breaking Down Silos: Innovative Solutions to Address the Opioid Epidemic”

“NCOIL continues to provide timely health insurance general sessions as state legislatures and legislators look for policy solutions to this issue” said AR Sen. Jason Rapert, NCOIL President. “I am proud that we are actively searching for solutions to this vexing problem.”

Panelists scheduled to appear include:

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes – General Reyes will be discussing the efforts of the Utah Opioid Task Force that he serves as co-chair of and co-founded. Information about the Task Force can be found here – https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/media-center/uag-pressrelease/fighting-against-theopioid-epidemic.

Dr. Andrew Kolodny – Co-Director of Opioid Policy Research at the Brandeis University’s Heller
School for Social Policy and Management.

Dr. Howard Shaps, Sr. Medical Director, WellCare.

“We strive to educate policymakers and provide useful information, so a solution might present itself,” said Commissioner Tom Considine, NCOIL CEO. “We invite top-notch presenters, such as General Reyes, Dr. Kolodny, and Dr. Shaps, to share their experiences and recommendations so they can be taken back to the states for consideration.”

“In Utah, we have worked with stakeholders from a myriad of disciplines while including lawmakers at the state, federal and local levels, to drive policies addressing this scourge of death and addiction related to Opioids,” said Attorney General Sean Reyes. “We have learned valuable lessons from colleagues around the country and are happy to share our own successes with any members of NCOIL for the benefit of their states. I’m honored to be a part of this conference, the national discussion and, hopefully together, solutions.”

Biographies for all participants are below.

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NCOIL is a legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state insurance and financial institutions
committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance and financial services, works to both preserve the
state jurisdiction over insurance as established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy years ago and to serve as an
educational forum for public policy makers and interested parties. Founded in 1969, NCOIL works to assert the
prerogative of legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance and educate state legislators on current and
perennial insurance issues.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes

In 2013, at the age of 42, the Honorable Sean Reyes was appointed by Governor Gary Herbert as Utah’s 21st Attorney General. General Reyes took over an office racked with scandal and inefficiency in the midst of some of the most significant constitutional issues in state history. Within a year, he
reorganized and re-energized the office internally and recaptured the trust of the State with striking leadership, innovative programs and historic wins against drug dealers, human trackers, child predators and white collar criminals. After winning election in 2014 by one of the largest margins
nationwide, Reyes was selected in 2015 by the Republican National Committee as one of its four national rising stars.

Prior to taking office, Attorney General Reyes was a partner in a small venture fund, general counsel for a tech company and a litigation partner at Utah’s largest private law -rm. He has been honored nationally and locally with a long list of awards for his legal skills, leadership and unparalleled
commitment to public service and has founded and served multiple non-pro-t organizations. The son of a Spanish-Filipino immigrant father, who ed the Marcos regime and a Japanese-Hawaiian mother, AG Reyes is Utah’s first minority elected statewide. General Reyes and his wife, Saysha, are
the proud parents of 6 children. He is a former collegiate volleyball player and mixed martial arts fighter who enjoys speaking at Comic Cons, playing basketball, coaching his kids, dancing with Saysha, watching Sports Center, cooking, shooting guns and rapping on Bloomberg News.

Andrew Kolodny

Dr. Kolodny previously served as Chief Medical Officer for Phoenix House, a national non profit addiction treatment agency and Chair of Psychiatry at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City.  Dr. Kolodny has a long-standing interest in public health. He began his career working for the New
York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Office of the Executive Deputy Commissioner. For New York City, he helped develop and implement multiple programs to improve the health of New Yorkers and save lives, including city-wide buprenorphine programs, naloxone overdose prevention programs and emergency room-based screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) programs for drug and alcohol misuse.

Howard Shaps, MD MBA Sr. Medical Director, Value Based Care

Dr. Howard Shaps has served as a medical director for WellCare since January 2014. In this role, he has been responsible for overseeing the clinical direction of medical services and quality functions in the Kentucky market where he served as medical director for four years. During his tenure, he
provided medical leadership for the effective care integration of pharmacy operations; utilization, care and disease management activities. Most recently, Howard joined WellCare’s corporate team, based out of WellCare’s headquarters in Tampa, Florida. In his current role, Howard is tasked with delivering quality care to all of WellCare’s members through policy development and the promotion of value-based care.

Prior to joining WellCare, Howard was the medical director for Health Care Excel, a nonprofit health care consulting company and served as a medical director for Express Scripts. Since 2007, he has also been an assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Earlier in his career, Howard served simultaneously as the medical director for the Department of Emergency Medicine for Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky and the medical director for CVS Minute Clinic. He remains on the emergency medicine staff for the Jewish Hospital. He serves on the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association Medical Directors Clinical Advisory Panel and most
recently serviced on National Quality Forum’s (NQF’s) Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Committee for the Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Project.

Howard earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan, his doctor of medicine from the Boston University School of Medicine and his MBA, with distinction, from the University of Louisville College of Business. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Emergency
Medicine and holds active medical licenses in Kentucky and Indiana.

For Immediate Release
May 29, 2018
Contact: Paul Penna
(732) 201-4133

NCOIL APPLAUDS PASSAGE & PRESIDENT’S SIGNING OF DODD-FRANK
REFORM BILL
Bipartisan Bill Provides Regulatory Relief to Community Banks, Increases Transparency in
International Insurance Standard-Setting Activities

Manasquan, NJ – The National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) applauded the passage and signing of S.2155, The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, by President Trump last week. The law garnered bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and contains several provisions on topics that NCOIL has been closely monitoring and discussing.

The provisions in the law garnering the most attention are those that aim to provide regulatory relief to community banks so that they can dedicate more resources towards serving the financial needs of consumers rather than compliance officers.

In July 2017, NCOIL adopted a Resolution “In Support of an Exemption for Community Banks from Onerous and Unnecessary Regulations” – sponsored by Indiana Senator Travis Holdman, NCOIL Immediate Past President.

“Community banks have been disappearing because of the cost of compliance with hundreds of regulations, most of which should never have been applicable to community banks in the first place,” said Senator Holdman. “It was the large banks that engaged in the risky behavior that contributed to the financial crisis of 2007-2008, and community banks unfairly ended up being viewed through the same regulatory lens of agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This law will help usher back in an era in which community banks thrive and benefit their local communities.”

The law also contains a section that requires increased transparency in international insurance discussions and requires Federal officials to achieve consensus positions with state insurance regulators when negotiating insurance issues on international forums.

“As someone who served formerly as both Banking & Insurance Commissioner in my state (NJ), I can speak to the important steps this legislation takes in both areas,” said NCOIL CEO Tom Considine. “Dodd-Frank should have contained a broad exemption for community banks at the
time it was drafted; and, as we saw from the recent negotiations surrounding the insurance Covered Agreement, the very officials who regulate insurance in this country were essentially locked out,” he continued. “While this legislation is far from perfect, it is a good first step,” Considine concluded.

“I am pleased to see that the President has signed this law,” stated Arkansas Senator Jason Rapert, NCOIL President. “The negotiation process surrounding the Covered Agreement was fundamentally flawed and it is good to see that Congress and the President have realized that and taken steps to improve the overall process of international insurance discussions. Work still needs to be done to ensure that state insurance legislators are part of international insurance discussions, but overall, this section of the law serves to preserve and protect the state-based system of insurance regulation – a cause that NCOIL will always support.”

The text of S.2155 can be viewed here – https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senatebill/2155/text?loclr=cga-bill#toc-id0E7DF00F49224D25B2F39A07700D0F8A – and the Resolution can be viewed here – https://ncoil.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/community-bankresolution-d2-2-6-17-1-4-7-15-17.pdf

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NCOIL is a national legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state
insurance and financial institutions committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in
insurance and financial services, works to both preserve the state jurisdiction over insurance as
established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy years ago and to serve as an educational forum for
public policy makers and interested parties. Founded in 1969, NCOIL works to assert the prerogative of
legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance and educate state legislators on current and
perennial insurance issues.

For Immediate Release
May 25, 2018
Contact: Paul Penna
(732) 201-4133

NCOIL CEO STATEMENT ON ALI ‘RESTATEMENT’ OF LIABILITY INSURANCE LAW
Passage Infringes on Legislative Prerogatives

Manasquan, NJ – Commissioner Tom Considine, NCOIL CEO issued the following statement regarding passage of the American Law Institute (ALI) Restatement of Liability Insurance Law:

“For more than a year we have been working with the ALI to ensure that legislative prerogatives were respected. This vote makes clear that the ALI has indeed departed from the path that has caused it to amass such respect with its earlier restatements in the areas of Contracts, Torts etc.. Previously, I called it a ‘NEWstatement’ and while we have had positive dialogue with the ALI leadership, and there have been some positive changes made to it along the way, the final version passed by the ALI does not alter that general view.”

NCOIL President Sen. Jason Rapert of Arkansas stated “NCOIL will not allow the constitutionally protected legislative prerogatives in each state to be infringed upon by an unelected body. Legislative action includes both the passage as well as the consideration and non-passage of bill language. We will examine all necessary steps to rectify this overreach, including the necessity for a model law that accurately states what the law is on certain liability insurance law topics”.

Rapert continued, “in the meantime, judges around the country should recognize this Restatement is as much a drafters’ wish list as an authoritative reference regarding established rules and principles of liability insurance law.”

NCOIL has devoted considerable time to discussing this issue, including most recently on an interim Executive Committee call earlier this month, at the 2018 Spring Meeting in Atlanta and the 2017 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, where a Resolution was introduced, and later adopted, urging the ALI to
significantly change the Restatement. Past relevant releases can be viewed below:

https://ncoil.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ALI-Res-FINAL.pdf
https://ncoil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ALI-Res-Exec-Cmte-release-FINAL.pdf

This issue will be discussed at the 2018 NCOIL Summer Meeting in Salt Lake City from July 12 – 15.

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NCOIL is a legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state insurance and financial institutions
committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance and financial services, works to both preserve the
state jurisdiction over insurance as established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy years ago and to serve as an
educational forum for public policy makers and interested parties. Founded in 1969, NCOIL works to assert the
prerogative of legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance and educate state legislators on current and
perennial insurance issues.

For Immediate Release
April 11, 2018
Contact: Paul Penna
(732) 201-4133

NCOIL PRESIDENT STATEMENT APPLAUDS NATIONAL RETIREMENT PLANNING WEEK
Urges All Americans to Save for Their Retirement Every Payday

Manasquan, NJ – AR Senator Jason Rapert, NCOIL President, applauded the recognition of this week as National Retirement Planning Week:

“Sound retirement planning is vital to the quality of life for Americans in later years and for our economy. As NCOIL President as well as a licensed Financial Advisor for 20 years, I applaud the National Retirement Planning Week and encourage all Americans to plan and save appropriately so their golden years are just that.”

Rapert concluded “When it comes to retirement planning, no one ever plans to fail, but some simply fail to plan properly. Make retirement planning a priority so that the future you always envisioned for your family is possible.”

More information can be found here – https://www.retireonyourterms.org/NRPW and facts about retirement planning can be found here – https://www.retireonyourterms.org/docs/default-source/actioncenter-resources/nnlrtrmntplanweek_toolkit.

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NCOIL is a legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state insurance and financial institutions
committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance and financial services, works to both preserve the
state jurisdiction over insurance as established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy years ago and to serve as an
educational forum for public policy makers and interested parties. Founded in 1969, NCOIL works to assert the
prerogative of legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance and educate state legislators on current and
perennial insurance issues.

For Immediate Release
March 28, 2018
Contact: Paul Penna
(732) 201-4133

NCOIL CEO ADDRESSES “INSURANCE IRELAND”
Delivered Keynote About Efficacy of United States Insurance Regulatory System

Manasquan, NJ – Commissioner Tom Considine, NCOIL CEO recently delivered the keynote address to the capacity crowd at Insurance Ireland’s INED Council’s Flagship Annual Seminar. Insurance Ireland is that nation’s largest business insurance organization, with the INED Council representing the non-executive directors of its member companies.

Considine spoke about the efficacy of state-based regulation of insurance and the process where state legislators make public policy decisions through legislation and state regulators ensure that policy is carried out through the authority given them by the state legislature. Sylvia Cronin, the Director of
Insurance Supervision for the Central Bank of Ireland, also spoke at the event, presenting a contrast of regulatory approaches

“While other countries have different systems of insurance regulation, the United States system has thrived for nearly three quarters of a century” said Considine. “State legislatures work to ensure companies are solvent and consumers are protected. If, that it slightly different among the 50 states, we find that those differences ultimately inure to the improvement of the entire system.” NCOIL has long made protection of the state-based system of insurance regulation against federal and international regulatory creep a top priority having expressed this view in multiple education days to Congress on Capitol Hill.

“We are fond of saying in America that the states are 50 laboratories of democracy,” Considine told the assembled Irish directors, CEOs and others present, “however, nobody wants them passing laws in 50 different directions when it comes to insurance regulatory policy. That’s where NCOIL comes in.”

The seminar took place in The National Concert Hall, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin.

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NCOIL is a legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state insurance and financial institutions
committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance and financial services, works to both preserve the
state jurisdiction over insurance as established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy years ago and to serve as an
educational forum for public policy makers and interested parties. Founded in 1969, NCOIL works to assert the
prerogative of legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance and educate state legislators on current and
perennial insurance issues.

For Immediate Release
March 23, 2018
Contact: Paul Penna
(732) 201-4133

NCOIL CEO EXPRESSES DISAPPOINTMENT IN SHORT-TERM NFIP EXTENSION
Omnibus Bill Only Extends Program Through July

Manasquan, NJ – Commissioner Tom Considine, NCOIL CEO, issued the following statement about the news that the Omnibus Bill passed by Congress includes yet another short-term reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through July:

“It is vital that the NFIP has a long-term reauthorization. It is impossible for states to plan accordingly and protect consumers. It is beyond disappointing that Congress cannot make a long-term commitment to this program before it expires, yet again, in July.”

-30-

NCOIL is a legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state insurance and financial institutions
committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance and financial services, works to both preserve the
state jurisdiction over insurance as established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy years ago and to serve as an
educational forum for public policy makers and interested parties. Founded in 1969, NCOIL works to assert the
prerogative of legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance and educate state legislators on current and
perennial insurance issues.

For Immediate Release
March 16, 2018
Contact: Paul Penna
(732) 201-4133

NCOIL PRESIDENT APPLAUDS 5TH CIRCUIT DECISION TO REVERSE US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FIDUCIARY RULE
Court Rules That DOL Exceeded Authority

Manasquan, NJ – AR Sen. Jason Rapert, NCOIL President issued the following statement regarding the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in US Chamber of Commerce et. Al. v. Acosta that the US Department of Labor had exceeded its regulatory authority in creating the regulation that held advisors to a higher standard:

“As legislators, we take our responsibility to create law seriously. This was a clear overreach of legislative intent and I applaud the court for this ruling. NCOIL has been at the forefront of protecting state-based regulation of insurance and will weigh in when the federal government or international regulatory bodies subvert legislative prerogatives. I am especially pleased that the court chose not to tinker with the rule, but rather saw it for what it was and struck it down completely.”

NCOIL first raised concerns about this issue with a resolution opposing the Fiduciary Rule and calling for its repeal that passed the Life Insurance & Financial Planning Committee at the 2016 Summer Meeting. NCOIL communicated that opposition was conveyed to the Department of Labor. Having not received satisfactory resolution from the DOL, the NCOIL Executive Committee approved the resolution at the 2016 Annual Meeting. A copy of that resolution is below. NCOIL weighed in again approving of the Trump Administrations 18-month delay in 2017.

National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) Resolution in Opposition to the United
States Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule

Sponsored by Sen. Jason Rapert (AR)

WHEREAS, the DOL has recently promulgated its final “Fiduciary Rule” (Rule), published at 81 Fed. Reg. 20946 on April 8, 2016; and

WHEREAS, the Rule redefines the circumstances under which providing “investment advice” could give rise to “fiduciary” status under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (Code); and

WHEREAS, NCOIL strongly supports the States’ rights to regulate their own insurance markets and products, including retirement related financial products; and

WHEREAS, Congress has affirmed the primary role of State regulators over the business of insurance through various legislative acts, including the McCarran-Ferguson Act and most recently the Dodd-Frank Act; and

WHEREAS, the state-based regulatory structure governing the manufacture, distribution, and sale of retirement related financial products is effective and proven; and

WHEREAS, state insurance regulation has in place on-going substantive procedures, processes and protocols to license, regulate and supervise insurance agents of retirement related financial products; and

WHEREAS, under the proven State-based legislative and regulatory structure, tens of millions of Americans have been able to receive sound retirement assistance, products and services from financial professionals who have consistently served the best interests of customers; and

WHEREAS, the Rule promulgated by the DOL would threaten the proven State-based legislative and regulatory structure by imposing a vague and burdensome fiduciary standard on non-fiduciary sales relationships, thereby upending the retirement savings marketplace; and

WHEREAS, the Rule will prevent consumer access to crucial retirement education and services, ultimately harming the very people it seeks to aid; and

WHEREAS, NCOIL believes in protecting the interests of consumers against excessive government regulation that will only hurt average working Americans trying to save for retirement; and

WHEREAS, Congress has opposed the Rule by passing a Joint Resolution of Disapproval (H.J. Res. 88); and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that NCOIL urges the DOL to repeal its Rule; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCOIL urges state legislators and other interested stakeholders to join in opposition to the Rule;

AND, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution will be distributed to state legislative leadership, committee chairs and members, state regulators, and other interested parties.

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NCOIL is a legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state insurance and financial institutions
committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance and financial services, works to both preserve the
state jurisdiction over insurance as established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy years ago and to serve as an
educational forum for public policy makers and interested parties. Founded in 1969, NCOIL works to assert the
prerogative of legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance and educate state legislators on current and
perennial insurance issues.

For Immediate Release
March 12, 2018
Contact: Paul Penna
(732) 201-4133

NCOIL COMMITTEE DISCUSSES LIKELY REGULATION OF PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGERS (PBMs)

Need to Protect Consumers, Ensure Fair Business Practices

Manasquan, NJ – The NCOIL Health, Long Term Care and Health Retirement Issues Committee met at the 2018 NCOIL Spring Meeting in Atlanta, GA and heard from a variety of interested parties about Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and the potential need for a model law that would give authority for regulation to state insurance commissioners.

This issue was raised by AR Sen. Jason Rapert where it has been an issue in his state of Arkansas, where PBMs are currently unregulated and there is a special session to examine potential solutions.

“Up until now, the PBMs have been playing streetball and it is time for a referee” said Rapert. “Insurance companies are overseen by insurance departments, pharmacists are overseen by pharmacy boards, and doctors are overseen by medical boards. This is to ensure consumers and patients are protected and companies are sound and solvent. I believe PBMs need to be regulated to ensure customers are protected and costs are contained.”

There was a large cross section of interested parties that offered testimony during the committee meeting including Scott Brunner, National Community Pharmacists Association; Scott Pace, Arkansas Pharmacists Association; Leanne Gassaway, AHIP; Lauren Rowley, PCMA, and Russ Galbraith, Chief Deputy Commissioner at the Arkansas Department of Insurance.

“NCOIL began a robust discussion that will continue through stages as a model law is developed over the course of the year. All interested parties will have an opportunity to be heard” said Commissioner Tom Considine, NCOIL CEO. “As the model is developed and debated, it will reflect the need to
protect consumers and patients.”

“I understand that PBMs may bring value to the process, but left unregulated, it seems clear that their conduct has in many instances become excessive and needs to be reined in,” concluded Rapert, who is also NCOIL President and committed to a fully inclusive process of deliberations and negotiations.

The discussion will continue during the Summer Meeting in Salt Lake City from July 12 – 15 at the Little America Hotel. Registration will open in April.

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NCOIL is a legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state insurance and financial institutions
committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance and financial services, works to both preserve the
state jurisdiction over insurance as established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy years ago and to serve as an
educational forum for public policy makers and interested parties. Founded in 1969, NCOIL works to assert the
prerogative of legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance and educate state legislators on current and
perennial insurance issues.

For Immediate Release
March 6, 2018
Contact: Paul Penna
(732) 201-4133

NCOIL CONCLUDES SUCCESSFUL 2018 SPRING MEETING IN ATLANTA
High-Level Speakers and Panelists; Several Timely Issues Discussed

Manasquan, NJ – The National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) has concluded a successful 2018 Spring Meeting at the Whitley in Buckhead, GA. There were 267 registrants, 51 legislators from 32 states, including 11 first time legislators, 5 Commissioners and 12 Insurance Departments were represented, and all policy committees met to discuss timely insurance and financial services related issues.

“We had a productive meeting with good discussion on a variety of subjects” said AR Sen. Jason Rapert, NCOIL President. “We began a dialogue of a model law to regulate PBMs, heard about the impact of federal tax reform on the insurance industry and states, discussed the status of the NFIP and State flood insurance markets, continued a discussion of physician dispensing and drug compounding, and had a good discussion with our regulatory
counterparts that sets the table for a productive year.”

There was a lively discussion about Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), the role they play, and the potential need for regulatory oversight during the Health, Long-Term Care and Health Retirement Issues Committee. Sen. Rapert discussed the need for an NCOIL model. Discussion of this issue will continue at the NCOIL Summer Meeting.

“We continue to invite speakers that will educate legislators on emerging insurance issues and that goal is leading to continued growth year-over-year in both legislator and general attendance” said Commissioner Tom Considine, NCOIL CEO. “We are proud that our recruiting efforts have led to both North Carolina and Florida becoming contributing states. With these 2 large states upgrading their participation level, NCOIL’s Contributing States
now, for the first time ever, include the ten largest states in the country and states representing over 81% of the population of the United States.”

The speakers included Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, who delivered the keynote at the Welcome Breakfast; Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis, who delivered the luncheon keynote address on Saturday; CCIIO Director and CMS Deputy Director Randy Pate participated in the Health General Session “Health Insurance Exchanges in the Trump Administration- Are Waivers the Solution?”; and FEMA Assistant Administrator for Federal Insurance David  Maurstad participated in the Joint State-Federal Relations and International Issues Committee “Discussion on the Status of the NFIP and State Flood Insurance Markets.”

The 2018 NCOIL Summer Meeting will be in Salt Lake City, UT from July 12th – 15th. Registration will open in April.

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NCOIL is a legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state insurance and financial institutions
committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance and financial services, works to both preserve the
state jurisdiction over insurance as established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy years ago and to serve as an
educational forum for public policy makers and interested parties. Founded in 1969, NCOIL works to assert the
prerogative of legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance and educate state legislators on current and
perennial insurance issues