Comité Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight de la Cámara de Representantes, 24 de febrero de 2026

Transcripción

387 turnos. Seleccione un tiempo para reproducir ese momento del video.

1. 0:31:01

   I don't believe that's necessary because that was how it was previously before in state law, and we've n- there was never that issue previously in what I could find on researching the bill.

2. 0:31:10

   And on, and I apologize, why was it taken out of state law in the first place?

3. 0:31:13

   Um, there was certain individuals at the ti- I can't speak to the whims of state senators, unfortunately. If we could, we'd be in a better position.

4. 0:31:19

   Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I would be interested in reserving that to s- 'cause I, as much as I would love to dig into my school system's books, if they, if 90, if they're spending money that's related to the school system that they raised through local dollars, um, then-

5. 0:31:35

   Yes. We're just talking about state funding in this bill.

6. 0:31:38

   Okay.

7. 0:31:38

   I, I, I would assume we have, absolutely have no legal counsel. We have no, we have no say-so or authority over local spending. Is that not correct?

8. 0:31:49

   That, that's correct as far as I know of.

9. 0:31:51

   Yeah. Yeah, we, we're talking about state funding only. If they receive state funds, that's what this committee would have oversight over. And we put, uh, uh, uh, the reason we put the speaker in for, um, at his, at his discretion on certain things was because we don't have the ability to fund f- uh, pay for or fund audits, which can be, could be $100,000, $200,000 maybe on some bigger things. And, uh, we d- we can't do that. And then we couldn't, uh, we can't say we're gonna have 50 meetings and pay everybody mileage and ...

10. 0:32:25

    I'm being a little facetious, but we wanna put a limit so that w- w- you know, we didn't overstep our boundaries and spend money unnecessarily. Uh, I feel like th- this bill is, uh, as I've, as I've said before, it's important to this committee. I think we've lost our oversight over the departments. Uh, one of the reasons that the, the, the list there was so long is that it, it, we wanna make somebody that was appointed that was spending state money, or, uh, elected, uh, officials, anybody.

11. 0:32:58

    And, uh, w- we definitely don't wanna call the governor. He might not come. So we said the w- the speaker has to a- approve anybody we, that we call. Uh, I think this is important. Uh, as, as I've said before, I think I've been a, a, a man of my word to the, to the committee members. Uh, w- we're here to, to the departments to find out if we're doing something wrong to affect them. We can also change ourself. And we're in this, win this together, and we've, we've witnessed, uh, school systems that, uh, we have a school system that's, uh, at 2%, one to 2% reserves.

12. 0:33:37

    They just passed a budget that's 2 million, $2.5 million over ... They, they, they admitted when they did the budget they're gonna lose $2.5 million. W- I don't, we don't think that's good policy. We had school systems we just had to inject money into. And this is the kind of thing we need to be looking at, and all of a sudden you find out, and I know we're on recording here, but everybody says, "You got, y'all got $14 million." Well, 10 mill- 10 mill- billion dollars or whatever, I don't think we have. I think we have, uh, with, with one, with one downturn a- and one pandemic, we can last two to about a little over two months now.

13. 0:34:15

    And so, um, this, this is our job, and we haven't been doing it. And this is our, this is what we want. We don't wanna, we don't wanna look down on any, any department or cause anybody any trouble, but we want them to spend their money wisely, and we want to have oversight over that. Uh, number two.

14. 0:34:35

    Oh, that'd be me. I was just gonna tell you I got a text. Our sound was not working.

15. 0:34:39

    There you go.

16. 0:34:39

    So you gotta repeat everything you ... Our sound's not working. You're gonna have to repeat everything you just said.

17. 0:34:47

    There, there comes my governor.

18. 0:34:49

    Uh, no. It did not. It's working now, he said. Okay. We're good to go now.

19. 0:34:54

    I got his attention.

20. 0:34:55

    That's right.

21. 0:35:01

    Number 16.

22. 0:35:03

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

23. 0:35:06

    Close. S- are you on 16?

24. 0:35:09

    Yes, sir.

25. 0:35:10

    Let me cut it off, and then push it one more time.

26. 0:35:12

    Someone

27. 0:35:13

    ...

28. 0:35:14

    That's right. Oh, there we go. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for your bill. Certainly all about this and people being accountable for the money that we spend around this capital. Um, does this also include DFCS?

29. 0:35:26

    This includes anything the state-

30. 0:35:27

    And the $84 million they lost?

31. 0:35:29

    This includes anywhere state funding lists.

32. 0:35:31

    Very good. Thank you.

33. 0:35:37

    Any other questions?

34. 0:35:39

    I got a question. I was-

35. 0:35:40

    Go ahead

36. 0:35:40

    ... I was just gonna say the proper time I'd make a motion.

37. 0:35:43

    Oh, Mitchell's already said that.

38. 0:35:45

    Yeah, Mr. Clerk.

39. 0:35:45

    Who said that?

40. 0:35:45

    He did. He was here.

41. 0:35:47

    Oh. Say it again. Make a motion on your own bill. I'd done that a long time ago.

42. 0:35:54

    I, I want to ... I, absolutely this is important to this House. It's important to these members that we have here, and I want everybody to be happy with what the ... Not happy with what they heard, but I want everybody, although we've had a hearing before, I want you to be satisfied with what you're, what this bill does or doesn't do, and then you vote your conscience what you think's best for the state of Georgia.

43. 0:36:18

    Okay, Mr.-

44. 0:36:19

    Mr. Speaker, my motion would be do pass. We have a motion do pass.

45. 0:36:24

    Second.

46. 0:36:24

    Second.

47. 0:36:25

    We have a second. All in favor of passing say aye.

48. 0:36:29

    Aye.

49. 0:36:29

    Aye.

50. 0:36:30

    All opposed. And I believe that's unanimous. We thank y'all. Thank you, thank you for your hard work on this, and I know how hard you did work.

51. 0:36:40

    Thank you, Chairman.

52. 0:36:40

    Yes, sir. Now we're gonna hear from Miss Tanya with two As.

53. 0:36:47

    Yes, two As.

54. 0:36:47

    Miller, Representative.

55. 0:36:50

    Thank you.

56. 0:36:50

    I gotta go chair my committee meeting. Okay.

57. 0:36:52

    Oh, this chair is low.

58. 0:36:54

    Yeah.

59. 0:36:55

    So hello. Of course, I'm already short. Now I feel well under the table here. Um- Ready when you are, Mr. Chairman. I want you to, uh, we've, we've had a good hearing from you and- Sure ... vetted your bill thoroughly. If you, if you could, just go over the, uh, the what was changed in the sub, make sure everyone's happy with that. Yes, sir. Mm-hmm. So I'm working from LC521027S, which is the, uh, second sub. Uh, this sub came as a result of, um, input that I received from members of the committee, um, which I was, uh, happy to incorporate in this bill.

60. 0:37:34

    The changes from the last bill that we talked about, HB 733, in case anyone forgot, um, essentially deal with, one, um, making sure that the, um, consumer advocate and the commissioner report to the legislature. We, of course, in the, in the original bill as drafted, the advocate would be appointed by the governor, but there was some concern, Representative Horner, these... I will just call these the Horner amendments. Uh, Representative Horner wanted to see, uh, more transparency and accountability to this body, which I always agree with.

61. 0:38:12

    This is a, a branch of government, uh, full and, and of itself, and I'm happy, I was happy to incorporate that. So if you go to page four of the sub,

62. 0:38:25

    the new in- the new lines start at 82, end at 86, and essentially, um, allows for the chairperson's- L- let me, let me see. W- what line? I'm sorry. Line 82. See? On page four, line 82 through- Yeah ... 86. Okay. It starts at the end, "Such report shall be promptly updated when requested by any- Okay ... of the listed recipients." Mm-hmm. That was added.

63. 0:38:55

    Mm-hmm. And then, um, section D, "The commissioner or advocate or their designees shall advise the chairpersons of the House Committee on Insurance and the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee on insurance matters when requested." Um, that is the language the judge counsel, um, suggested and put in, which would allow, um, members of those committees to call in the advocate and/or the commissioner to address, um, questions about, uh, rate filings, rate increases, et cetera.

64. 0:39:31

    And then on page eight, um, Representative Horner, uh, suggested that we add in language that would take into account inflation. So the new language starts ar- at around, uh, line 181, "Provided, however, that the commissioner is authorized to adjust such increases for inflation as necessary."

65. 0:40:00

    And then

66. 0:40:06

    page 15, line 364, again, just reiterates that same statement. L- page 15, line 364,

67. 0:40:18

    allowing for inflation to be taken into account. So those are the changes. They were, they were pretty straightforward. Um, again, just to remind, the bill, uh, creates an insu- it's called the Insurance Consumer Protection Act, and it creates an insurance consumer advocate whose job it is to, whose job it is, essentially, is to advocate on behalf of an, of the consumer in rate filings. It's not a, it's not a rate cap. It's, it doesn't change anything in the process of how insurance rates are, um, decided substantially.

68. 0:40:57

    All it does is require a more robust showing from insurance companies, uh, when they want to increase their rates. And, uh, that is essentially the bill in a nutshell. I'm happy to take any questions or go back and go over any of the specific provisions as the chairman or committee may desire. I appreciate it. And I, I do wanna say, uh, appreciate your work on this, and, um, it's a, you have a lot of bipartisan support, a- as is listed on the bill and in the House, and I appreciate you bringing the bill.

69. 0:41:32

    Thank you, sir. Um, Mr. Ridley. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you for this bill. Let me ask you this question. Um, I know h- how you've got it kind of written up in here. Any time that the commissioner does an increase, does he have to justify it in writing in some way that everybody can see why he's in, why he is agreeing to a rate increase by any insurance company? Um, thank you for that question. It's my understanding... I, I don't know exactly how- Yeah ... the commissioner documents his determination about rate increases.

70. 0:42:05

    Um, one of the reasons why we are putting this person into, uh, into this process of deciding rate increases is so that, uh, there is someone whose job it is to evaluate any request for an increase from the consumer's perspective and who can advocate. They don't get to overrule what the commissioner does. Uh, they do get to appeal if they think it's proper under the statute. Um, but the problem with our understanding of insurance in Georgia, and largely this has been a problem across the country, is that there has been a lack of transparency.

71. 0:42:41

    Insurance companies often use words like trade secrets or, um- play, I, I guess some games. Um, and I'm not saying that to be flippant, um, because this has been documented and, and found to be true in places like Florida, and we all heard about this, um, when it comes to providing sufficient information to justify the rate increase. So I, I don't know what the exact reporting is of the insurance commissioner, and cer- uh, certainly he has the obligation to, um, explain and be able to justify any approval of a rate increase, but I don't know if that comes by way of a report.

72. 0:43:19

    What this bill would do is require at, uh, this body, th- in this house, in the House of Representatives through our insurance committee chair, um, for the House of Representatives to bring in the commissioner or the insurance advocate to explain what's happening, if there are questions, if there have been reports about malfeasance in how rates are being set, or whether or not complete information is, is being filed.

73. 0:43:44

    Okay. Uh, Mr. Chairman, could I follow, one follow-up question? Um, whenever the governor vetoes a bill-

74. 0:43:50

    Mm-hmm

75. 0:43:50

    ... he has to write why he's vetoing the bill, right?

76. 0:43:52

    Mm-hmm.

77. 0:43:53

    Do you think it'd be a good practice if the insurance commissioner agrees, he, he's supposed to be the one that's going up on the rates, right? He agrees to them, that he has to put out a public announcement on the website, "This is the rate increase. This is why I did it." Do you think that would be a good consumer-

78. 0:44:07

    I would support that.

79. 0:44:09

    Would you like to make an amendment to that and go ahead and require that?

80. 0:44:11

    Do you have an amendment? I mean, I, you know, I'm, I'm, I don't, I don't have a problem with transparency.

81. 0:44:15

    I think that's great transparency.

82. 0:44:17

    I don't have a problem with transparency.

83. 0:44:17

    I wanna know why you were going up on my insurance, tell me what company is doing it and why, and I want you to write your, write down, just like the governor whenever he does, when he vetoes a bill, write why you're doing it.

84. 0:44:28

    I don't have a problem with that. I'll leave that to the chairman-

85. 0:44:30

    Okay

86. 0:44:30

    ... if he's inclined to take any amendments.

87. 0:44:33

    Representative Clark.

88. 0:44:37

    Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, um, representative, for this amazing bill. I think in this time where affordability is such an issue and healthcare costs are rising, and I serve on other committees where we are talking about some of the, um, abuses, I would, um, I would say, um, when it comes to insurance, um, it really does feel like the, um, the people need someone on their side speaking up for them.

89. 0:45:09

    I would second, um, the idea of there needing to be more transparency about why things are just going up. Because from what I understand, there are a lot of insurance companies that are making record profits, but they are still just are saying, "Hey, but I need to raise rates," and sometimes raise rates to what seems, um, uh, unreasonable. Um, and so Mr. Chairman, at the proper time.

90. 0:45:35

    Okay.

91. 0:45:38

    Mr. Gambill.

92. 0:45:39

    Chairman. Thank you, Chairman. Uh, Representative Miller, appreciate your bill.

93. 0:45:43

    Sure.

94. 0:45:43

    Just had a question. Can't the insurance commissioner already do this? Isn't he, uh, investigating already and fining insurance companies?

95. 0:45:51

    Sure. The ins- what the insurance commiss- right now, the w- the way that rates are decided is the insurance industry or the insurer will come and say-

96. 0:46:00

    30 a year

97. 0:46:01

    ... "We need to increase our insurance rates." Um, the insurance commissioner goes through a process, gets some information. Not all the information that he gets is available to the public. Um, he can decide that, and... I mean, he can entertain that and then decide whether or not a rate increase is appropriate. All this does-

98. 0:46:20

    Sure

99. 0:46:20

    ... is insert an advocate on behalf of the consumer to weigh in on that. So the commissioner is the one that ultimately still gets to decide whether a rate increase is proper or not proper. It ch- this just adds a layer of a consumer advocate to say, "Hey, I understand this insurance company is saying that they need this rate increase and it's justified, but here are the questions that we have. We have also reviewed this information. We see the profits are skyrocketing.

100. 0:46:50

     We don't see where in the data that has been supplied that a rate increase is justified, so we would re- respectfully request that you deny it at this time." And the insurance commissioner can, almost putting him in the position of being the judge and deciding it, so as the commissioner, he or she, the commissioner, is evaluating questions about rate increases, right now they hear from one side. That side largely goes unchallenged. The insurance, uh, consumer advocate would be able to bring a perspective from the consumer and also request information and data as laid out in the statute in order to get to the bottom of whether or not the rate increase is justified or not.

101. 0:47:37

     Um, I saw where Commissioner King posted, um, that he wanted to see some changes done and that he needed some help in terms of making sure that we are appropriately s- you know, supervising and making the right decisions when insurance companies come and ask for rate increases. All this bill does is put in someone with the level of expertise, 'cause this is a very regulated industry. It's not something that people can easily understand.

102. 0:48:08

     We know that our constituents are required to have insurance, so the relationship is already unbalanced. Um, ask m- most folks what they've signed when they sign up for insurance. They, they probably couldn't tell you. The only thing this does is give an extra voice for the consumer in that process. It doesn't require caps. It doesn't say you can't raise them. All it says is that if you do raise premiums, you have to justify it, and you have to do it in a way that is transparent.

103. 0:48:40

     Isn't the consumer process already available? Can a consumer already do this to some degree? It i- they can to some degree, but it's limited. Okay. What this bill does that's different from the way that the statute is, is kind of drawn now, um, is it sets forth exactly the kind of information that the advocate is entitled to to evaluate whether or not the rate increase is proper or improper. Right now, if I'm a consumer and I say, "Wait a minute, you know, my premiums have quadrupled over this year and I didn't file a claim.

104. 0:49:12

     I would like someone to do something about it," that complaint goes to the commissioner's office, and I couldn't tell you what happens to it after that. Mm-hmm. I mean, the problem is that most people are ill-equipped to really advocate for themselves when it comes to, to all of the calculations and all of the data and all of the information that goes into rate increases. The hope is that when the consumer advocate is in place before those increases, you know, are passed or agreed on, um, there is a meaningful dialogue, uh, with the insurance commissioner, with the insurance companies, by someone advocating for the consumer before the rate increase happens.

105. 0:49:57

     Because see, right now, rate increase happens, you get notice of it, it's all over but the shout. Now you're trying to undo something, as opposed to saying, "Hey, wait a minute. You filed a, a request. You've s- you've submitted a rate filing request. You wanna raise premiums. Let's take a look at why." And, and it can't just be, "We've made 90 billion. We'd like to make 180 billion." I mean, it really has to be justified. And so the problem that we are seeing and why constituents are so upset about insurance rates is that you can be doing everything right.

106. 0:50:36

     You could have had no claims, and your rates will keep climbing, and you won't be able to, to understand why. And if you try calling the insurance commissioner's office right now and asking them to explain to you why your particular rate r- went up, good luck getting to the bottom of that. Mm-hmm. And so, and that's not a dig on anybody. Sure. It's just a, I think, a, um, a hole in the process, right? And because it is so complex and because insurance companies have lawyers and actuaries and advocates and lobbyists and, um, all kinds of things to let- to advocate for themselves when they wanna raise their premiums, consumers don't, and they're largely not in the rooms when that happens, and their voice is not heard when that happened.

107. 0:51:26

     And so this doesn't change the power of the insu- insurance commissioner. It just allows the advocate to be represented when these rate increase requests happen on the front end. Thank you. I appreciate that. I mean, Chairman, for the record, I, I, I hear the concern with the advocate part. Uh, I, I was on the other side of the equation last year when my carrier paid a massive roof claim from a tree that fell on the back of our house. And then unfortunately, my 16-year-old daughter had a minor fender bender, and, um, we were sued for personal injury, and, uh, the insurance company had to settle.

108. 0:52:03

     And I know based on the premiums that we were paying, there would be no way they could recuperate over a long period of time, uh, what they had to pay out in claims on us. But, uh, I do understand what you're saying, and, and, um, I guess that's what a good conversation we're having today. So thank you. Thank you. And I, and I'll just say on that, I think it's, I think there's a common misperception about how insurance companies make their money and how they make their profits, and there is not necessarily a premium p- uh, paid, claims outpaid, um, parallel to that.

109. 0:52:41

     When you pay your premium, uh, the insurance company essentially takes that premium and invests it, and then they put it in the market, and then they make market-based income off of it. Um, there are folks who, who pay premiums forever and never file a claim. There are folks who just start and then immediately have a claim. So the way that their profits are calculated is kinda complex, and it's not just premiums paid in, claims paid out.

110. 0:53:13

     It is also the amount of money that they are able to invest, um, in the market. Uh, insurance companies also routinely have reinsurance so that they themselves are insured against, um, large-scale catastrophes like hurricanes and things like that. Um, so, uh, the, the, the problem is this. There are times when insurance companies are extraordinarily profitable and they are not losing money on claims, okay?

111. 0:53:46

     And they are still raising premiums. And that is the thing that we are trying to get at. We would just like to have a moment, a pause, a beat in this process of raising rates on citizens where someone who's advocating for the citizen on the front end, um, can meaningfully do that. And so we have not seen this, uh, g- go awry in other jurisdictions. We aren't talking about caps in this bill. We're not talking about freezing rates in this bill.

112. 0:54:17

     We're not talking about things that might weaken solvency for insurance companies. All it does really is modernize oversight by adding an advocate to participate in the process.

113. 0:54:31

     Thank you. Thank you. Y- you're next. Thank you, Chairman. Okay. And thank you, Representative Miller. Uh, thank you for working with us on, on these amendments and making sure that the oversight is in the legislature and not the executive. Um, first, I w- I have a question. What other states do this? Well, um, I had my list the last time we were here.

114. 0:54:51

     You did.

115. 0:54:51

     I don't have it in front of me. I'm gonna go on memory. Of course, Florida has, um, a consumer advocate office. Um, I believe that, uh, Rhode Island has one. There are about six states. If you give me a minute, I can pull those up-

116. 0:55:05

     You're perfectly fine

117. 0:55:05

     ... on my phone and tell you. I rattled them off last time, but I don't have them this time.

118. 0:55:09

     You're perfectly fine. And then lastly, this is just a review process as well after an inflation adjustment and 10%.

119. 0:55:17

     Absolutely.

120. 0:55:17

     So no one's income is going up 14, 15% to where they can adjust for these massive premiums.

121. 0:55:22

     I mean, I-

122. 0:55:25

     Thank you

123. 0:55:26

     ... we'll see. We'll see. We'll see.

124. 0:55:30

     Mr. Ridley.

125. 0:55:30

     Thank you for the question.

126. 0:55:31

     All right. Thank you. Um, and I hadn't got to read the bill, and I have forgot since last time. Who appoints the, the advocate?

127. 0:55:38

     The governor.

128. 0:55:38

     Okay. All right. And is there anything in there that says that advocate can't have any ties to any insurance companies?

129. 0:55:45

     No, that's not in there actually. Um, the only requirement that, um, is in the bill is that the advocate essentially have the expertise and qualifications to, to do the job, right? This is a, a pretty well-regulated industry, so we want someone who understands how this stuff goes. Um, we put in there that the person would be an attorney because there are, uh, proceedings and we'd like the advocate not to have to go get an attorney, but to be one, so two for one in that.

130. 0:56:16

     Okay.

131. 0:56:17

     Um, but no, we, we don't. I mean, the... It's the only job they can have. So-

132. 0:56:22

     Oh, so they can't still practice?

133. 0:56:24

     No.

134. 0:56:24

     Oh, okay. Okay.

135. 0:56:25

     No.

136. 0:56:25

     All right.

137. 0:56:25

     They cannot.

138. 0:56:26

     So let me throw this at you. What about if we did an amendment that said something to this, and you... I'm just throwing out here something for you.

139. 0:56:33

     Okay.

140. 0:56:33

     It says, "The Insurance Commissioner must public report on the, on the front page of the website any rate increase and explain the amount of the increase and why he agreed to the increase in detail."

141. 0:56:45

     Where would you put that?

142. 0:56:47

     I don't know. That would be legislative council.

143. 0:56:51

     In this bill.

144. 0:56:51

     Yeah, in this bill.

145. 0:56:52

     In here somewhere. Um, I don't, I don't-

146. 0:56:54

     Do you have a pro- I mean, if you-

147. 0:56:55

     I do not have a problem with. That would be a friendly amendment.

148. 0:56:58

     I mean, I just think... And here's the reason I'm saying that. You can appoint an advocate and it's appointed by the governor, and we know how all that goes no matter who the governor is. Um, and they're gonna get swayed one way or another. But I think if the commissioner has to publicly put down, "This is the insurance company that's doing it, this is the rate increase they're doing, and I'm explaining why I'm agreeing to it," then I think that is more than any consumer advocate can do. And he's got to post it on the front page where everybody can see it on their website.

149. 0:57:27

     There is a section in the bill, and I'm trying to find it-

150. 0:57:31

     Section 3

151. 0:57:31

     ... that deals with-

152. 0:57:37

     323 to 320, or 331. 323 to 331 talks about the report. If you're gonna adjust anything, I would adjust it there.

153. 0:57:47

     So if you-

154. 0:57:48

     Okay.

155. 0:57:49

     He's, he's right.

156. 0:57:49

     Mr. Chairman.

157. 0:57:51

     Where is legal counsel? What... Does he have, got a microphone?

158. 0:57:54

     I do not have a microphone over here.

159. 0:57:57

     Could you speak to the...?

160. 0:57:59

     Yes, I can. Um,

161. 0:58:04

     um, I would refer the committee to Section 11 that begins on line 365.

162. 0:58:15

     My recommended language here, um, to the extent the committee, um, wants to entertain, uh, this concept, is that after the word is on line 370, insert the following, "Documented in a report published on the department's website demonstrating that such increase is," colon, end quote.

163. 0:58:47

     We have discussion.

164. 0:58:48

     Um-

165. 0:58:49

     Who?

166. 0:58:49

     We have discussion.

167. 0:58:50

     I, yeah. So can we... Where'd, where'd you sign, representative?

168. 0:58:55

     I'm looking for my pen.

169. 0:58:57

     I don't... Trust me, I'm not an attorney, but I know how this stuff works. I've been here long enough. If you don't put it in plain English, then they're gonna work, do a workaround on it. So I'd like it to have that they must or they shall publish any rate increases on the front page of, of the website clearly and, and justify why they agreed to the increase-

170. 0:59:21

     O-

171. 0:59:21

     ... in detail.

172. 0:59:22

     Okay.

173. 0:59:23

     Can we do-

174. 0:59:23

     We, can I... W- we got about five more questions, so let's get through that.

175. 0:59:27

     Okay.

176. 0:59:27

     And then we- then we'll, we got... Then we'll have to have a motion, and then we can talk-

177. 0:59:31

     Okay

178. 0:59:31

     ... see if they take amendment. Uh,

179. 0:59:36

     14.

180. 0:59:37

     Yeah. Th- thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, if you could, if legislative town council can look at line 323, uh, that, that's where we talk about the report. You may wanna consider, um, on line 325 where it says, "Shall submit to the commissioner, advocate," uh, "the commissioner, the advocate, and post on the website-"

181. 0:59:58

     Mm-hmm

182. 0:59:59

     ... "a detailed actual report," because that's where we talk about if there's a rate increase. I would probably consider putting it there since we already talked about reporting requirements.

183. 1:00:07

     If that's in the report.

184. 1:00:09

     But that's the a- whenever you do a rate increase, you have to give this report to them. And so what I'm saying is i- i- that's the way I read it, that if you're gonna do a r- rate increase-

185. 1:00:17

     I want the public to see it, though.

186. 1:00:19

     What?

187. 1:00:19

     I want the public to see it.

188. 1:00:20

     But that's what I'm saying. You would have to post on the website as well.

189. 1:00:22

     Yeah.

190. 1:00:22

     Okay.

191. 1:00:23

     So I would just beef up the reporting requirements-

192. 1:00:26

     Okay

193. 1:00:26

     ... um, versus there versus putting it somewhere else, because you want them to have that detailed report that explains why you gave an increase. But just take a look at that real quick. I just read it real quick, so.

194. 1:00:40

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

195. 1:00:42

     It starts at, yeah, line 322, 323. I think you could, you could pretty much do it both. It may make more sense, because what I think- Representative Ridley is saying is that when the commissioner agrees to a rate hike, that should be put on the website.

196. 1:01:05

     And I mean any. I don't mean just 10% and the price, not any.

197. 1:01:09

     Ah, okay. So I don't have a problem with that.

198. 1:01:14

     Don't twist, y'all have to twist my arm. So it may make more sense to put it here, because I think, um, what Representative Wilkerson is talking about is what the insurance, uh, companies submit by way of justification for a rate hike. So it's the process of asking for the rate hike and what you have to submit, and then we go through that process, and eventually you might get to a point where the insurance commissioner says, "Yes, I agree, the rate hike is justified." What R- Representative Ridley is saying, if he gets to that point, or she gets to that point, then that ought to be published to the public on the website.

199. 1:01:51

     Yes, that

200. 1:01:54

     would be both.

201. 1:01:55

     Right? I could... I mean, I don't have a problem with doing it, but I may need some help drafting it if that... I don't have a problem with that. Whatever... I would, I would take that as a friendly amendment.

202. 1:02:04

     Okay. Are there any other questions?

203. 1:02:08

     I would, uh, entertain a motion.

204. 1:02:13

     Jasmine.

205. 1:02:20

     Um, I, I would like to make a motion to pass.

206. 1:02:23

     Second.

207. 1:02:24

     We have a motion to pass and a second.

208. 1:02:27

     Do we need to make a motion?

209. 1:02:28

     All right.

210. 1:02:34

     Reilly.

211. 1:02:35

     We're going to have to put her here.

212. 1:02:36

     You want, you want the-

213. 1:02:37

     Any amendments.

214. 1:02:38

     No, I'm going to make a motion, make a motion to amend then.

215. 1:02:41

     Yeah.

216. 1:02:45

     All right. You ready? All right, I make a motion to amend on whatever line she said that I need to do it on.

217. 1:02:56

     Can you, can you say what-

218. 1:02:57

     Do you want me to read it again?

219. 1:02:58

     Read it one more time.

220. 1:02:58

     And I got some le- I got some legal jargon here for you to jot down now.

221. 1:03:02

     Oh, Lord. Um-

222. 1:03:03

     I phoned a damn friend.

223. 1:03:04

     You did?

224. 1:03:04

     So I phoned a friend.

225. 1:03:06

     Who's the friend?

226. 1:03:07

     You, you let the Reilly- ... do it.

227. 1:03:11

     Meeting come to order, please.

228. 1:03:12

     Meeting come to order.

229. 1:03:14

     Was it the line that Representative Wilkerson identified, or the line-

230. 1:03:18

     The, the first, the first one that you, um, suggested. That was in section 11.

231. 1:03:24

     Yes, that was at line 370.

232. 1:03:27

     Okay, so... And you would put that as a subs- as, like, a one, to add it to the one, two, three, or just within that first sentence?

233. 1:03:36

     My, my suggestion was just to continue on with that sentence, subsection A.

234. 1:03:43

     Okay.

235. 1:03:44

     Where it says, "The commissioner shall only approve a proposed rating, proposed rate, rating plan, rating system, or underwriting rule that results in an increase if such increase is..." And then I proposed some language, um, but I'm, I'm at Representative-

236. 1:04:01

     Okay. Here, here's what, here's what I've got. Provided that any approved rate increase shall be clearly posted on the homepage of the website of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner in a font no smaller than 12 point font, along with the insurance company's name and detailed explanation of why the rate increase is necessary.

237. 1:04:21

     It was-

238. 1:04:21

     I'm, I'm, I'm going to need that a tad bit slower, or-

239. 1:04:23

     That's-

240. 1:04:24

     ... um, it can be emailed.

241. 1:04:24

     Oh, I can give it to you.

242. 1:04:25

     Yeah.

243. 1:04:25

     You want me to send it to you?

244. 1:04:26

     Got a copy there, right in front of him.

245. 1:04:27

     Yeah.

246. 1:04:27

     Would you-

247. 1:04:27

     You can read it one more time.

248. 1:04:27

     Yeah. Can you just read it one more time slower?

249. 1:04:30

     Yes. Provided that any approved rate increase shall be cl- clearly posted on... Okay.

250. 1:04:39

     Any approved rate increase.

251. 1:04:43

     Hang on. Let me get my South Georgia accent going a little bit slower then.

252. 1:04:47

     Shall.

253. 1:04:48

     Shall be clearly posted on the homepage

254. 1:04:57

     of the website of the Office of Insurance Commissioner

255. 1:05:10

     in a font no smaller than 12 point font. Hmm.

256. 1:05:17

     I don't think we need the font part.

257. 1:05:19

     We can take the font part.

258. 1:05:20

     Times New Roman. We gonna put Times New Roman?

259. 1:05:22

     Right.

260. 1:05:22

     Well, I want it big enough where they can read it.

261. 1:05:24

     Underlined.

262. 1:05:25

     Along with the insurance company's name

263. 1:05:30

     and detailed explanation of why the increase is necessary.

264. 1:05:40

     12 point, or at least 12.

265. 1:05:42

     At least 12 point, I guess. I don't know.

266. 1:05:44

     I think-

267. 1:05:44

     12 point or larger. How about that?

268. 1:05:49

     It's a website. It's not just paper.

269. 1:05:53

     Yeah, you just-

270. 1:05:53

     Yeah, but you don't want... She's saying he doesn't want it in, like, super fine print.

271. 1:05:56

     Let's, let's, let's... Please. Please. Please, let's, let's, let's listen just a minute so, so we can read this, what we're gonna be voting on.

272. 1:06:09

     Okay. You want me to read it back?

273. 1:06:10

     No, I want him to have it in the-

274. 1:06:12

     Okay

275. 1:06:12

     ... verbiage.

276. 1:06:12

     Oh, I'm sorry.

277. 1:06:13

     Well, I'm... Just to be clear, I'm, I'm not sure where we, where exactly we're inserting this language. Where does it begin?

278. 1:06:21

     Well, I mean, heck, if all else fails, can we not just make a new section at the end?

279. 1:06:28

     I think it, I think like we said, 3... Huh?

280. 1:06:32

     I think it makes most sense under 369, because that's talking about the commissioner.

281. 1:06:36

     Mm-hmm.

282. 1:06:36

     But that's in the report, though. That's what's going, they're gonna use to say-

283. 1:06:39

     The commissioner shall only approve.

284. 1:06:41

     Mm-hmm.

285. 1:06:41

     So if he approves the rate, then he's got to post it.

286. 1:06:43

     That's right. That's true, yes.

287. 1:06:45

     That's in 369.

288. 1:06:46

     Okay. Okay. So 369.

289. 1:06:51

     The commissioner shall only approve a proposed rate, da, da, da, da, da.

290. 1:06:54

     No, it would be under 1374.

291. 1:06:56

     Yeah, that's what I thought.

292. 1:06:57

     Yeah, that's what I thought.

293. 1:06:59

     But-

294. 1:06:59

     As a subsection?

295. 1:07:00

     Okay, so yeah.

296. 1:07:01

     Four?

297. 1:07:01

     On 370

298. 1:07:04

     What? Like it's a number- Wait, wait just a minute.

299. 1:07:10

     I want somebody that wants to make an amendment to get an amendment and somebody read it so I can understand what y'all are talking about, and not six or seven people out of due respect talking at the same time. Okay. If I can be quiet long enough, everybody else can too. All right, so if we do it on line 370 after is, that's where you were gonna put the other, correct? Yes, sir. All right. Can we not put that right there?

300. 1:07:38

     Could you, could you read the- Yeah, provided. W- well, starting- Starting- ... where exactly? That's- I'm talking about after is. When... So it, it, she'll... It'll read like this, "The commissioner shall only approve a proposed rate, rating plan, rate system, or underwriting rule that results in an increase if such increase..." Well, I guess we'll go back to...

301. 1:08:04

     All right.

302. 1:08:10

     All right, what about this, uh, "That results in an increase," and then end it there, and then start with my amendment.

303. 1:08:46

     Where are we on this now? I'm waiting for somebody to read the amendment to me. We're on line 370. You got the amendment? I, I believe so. Could I read what I have? Sure. You tell me if this is correct. Um, so beginning at line 369, and this is inclusive of language that's already in the bill, but for clarity, uh, "The commissioner shall only approve a proposed rate, rating plan, rating system, or underwriting rule that results in an increase if such increase is clearly posted on the homepage of the department's website, comma, along with the insurance company's name and detailed explanation of why the increase is," colon.

304. 1:09:29

     Uh- That doesn't get there? No, you're giving them too way... You're giving them too big of a way out. All right. Um- I think it maybe makes sense, Representative Ridley, as a number four, uh, because A essentially defines what it means to impr- approve a rate increase. And what you are saying is that you can only approve it if you publish it, right? Or you have to publish it if you- Yes ... approve it. That's right.

305. 1:10:00

     So you could either do, Mr. Chairman, you could either do the Ridley amendment as a four or as a, um- B ... a, a new, a new B. Or- So A- Or do a D ... or do a D. I mean, it just makes sense though to k- Just to keep it logical. Make it B and then move everything else down one. Yeah, that's what I think. I think that'd work.

306. 1:10:30

     I think that's the easiest thing to do. Make it B? Okay. So the Ridley amendment would come in, we'll, we'll finalize the language, at B. Line 74. After line 74. You're saying at D? B. B. B. So Ridley amendment would be B. There's no B. Yeah. And then what is now B would be C, and then now what is C would become D. That's true. What is C?

307. 1:11:01

     Yeah, it'd all get pushed down. It'd all get pushed down.

308. 1:11:21

     Yes. Got it? Do you think we need to put it in your, in that other section about the- We don't have to. Okay. I think we're just trying to get his ... We're good. We're good. We're good. We're good. We're just gonna get this... It's a good amendment. It's a good amendment. I mean, I kind of turned to Ridley when he about to text me for that. Mm-hmm. Depends. Depends on ... Yeah, I gotta go. I got two bills in Game, Fish, and Parks I'm trying to... Yeah. Don't leave yet. You got your bill.

309. 1:12:06

     Everyone's gonna have a great idea. I'm employed. It's a very good amendment. I'm so excited, I tell them you 10 things. Yeah.

310. 1:12:23

     No, that's what we're here

311. 1:12:40

     for. All right. Like a new brand new amendment? I've got one. All right, so- You're gonna read it to us. Thank you, sir. Yes, sir. All right. So at line 377, insert a subsection B. Mm-mm. No. Mm-mm. 373. C. Oh, hold on. Okay, 375. I've been moving things around. All right, at line 375. There you go. Mm-hmm. All right. We have a subsection B that reads as follows.

312. 1:13:13

     Any approved rate increases shall be clearly posted on the homepage of the department's website in a font no smaller than 12-point font, comma, along with the insurance company's name and a detailed explanation for why the rate increase is necessary. And then with the committee's permission, I'll make conforming changes to the, uh, remainder of this section so that we have appropriate subsections C and D.

313. 1:13:47

     Second.

314. 1:13:49

     I, I'll entertain a motion on the amendment.

315. 1:13:52

     So moved.

316. 1:13:54

     We have a motion.

317. 1:13:55

     Second.

318. 1:13:56

     And a second.

319. 1:13:57

     Discussion. Further discussion.

320. 1:14:00

     Yeah. Somebody... You got a discussion? You got something?

321. 1:14:04

     I just got a question.

322. 1:14:06

     Okay.

323. 1:14:07

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. How important is that font thing? 'Cause not like it's a letter and the f- the font might... I, I just don't know what the font is on a website and I don't want to mess up a bill 'cause the font doesn't match.

324. 1:14:19

     So I'll tell you how important...

325. 1:14:23

     Might have to.

326. 1:14:23

     I'll tell you how important it is. Every time that our school system or your county goes up on a, uh, has to post it on public, it has how big the border's gotta be on the paper, what the font's gotta be, the whole nine yards for a tax increase. So why should... It is important 'cause if you don't, they'll put it in negative one down there where nobody can see it.

327. 1:14:44

     All right. All right.

328. 1:14:46

     Okay. Okay.

329. 1:14:47

     That is true. Why don't we just do visible?

330. 1:14:50

     Well, that depends on your eyesight.

331. 1:14:52

     Or, I mean, you can make this more font consistent with their website or something. But yeah, just, I mean, that's, that's fine.

332. 1:14:58

     Any further discussion?

333. 1:14:59

     Now we need to vote on that.

334. 1:15:00

     Do we want to vote? Do we want to vote?

335. 1:15:04

     Sure, why not?

336. 1:15:06

     No, because-

337. 1:15:10

     Can we vote?

338. 1:15:11

     Yes, we can vote on the amendment.

339. 1:15:12

     I understand that.

340. 1:15:13

     The rest of the acronym.

341. 1:15:16

     Okay. All-

342. 1:15:17

     I'm good. Yeah. We don't-

343. 1:15:19

     All-

344. 1:15:24

     Yeah.

345. 1:15:24

     All in favor of the amendment, say aye.

346. 1:15:26

     Aye.

347. 1:15:26

     Aye.

348. 1:15:27

     All opposed.

349. 1:15:31

     Wasn't that simple? Now we want to vote on the-

350. 1:15:33

     The amendment by substitute.

351. 1:15:35

     By substitute.

352. 1:15:43

     Okay. Now we're gonna vote on the substitute as amended. Make sure I got my words exactly right. All in favor, say aye.

353. 1:15:52

     Aye.

354. 1:15:52

     Aye.

355. 1:15:53

     All opposed.

356. 1:15:56

     Do pass.

357. 1:15:58

     Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Representative Ridley.

358. 1:16:02

     Uh, thank you.

359. 1:16:03

     Thank you, Representative Horner.

360. 1:16:06

     Thank you.

361. 1:16:06

     Hey, wait a minute. Where you going?

362. 1:16:08

     We have two people over there gabbing and talking.

363. 1:16:11

     Clarifies the-

364. 1:16:11

     Let, let's give us all the time to come up there and talk with you. Don't start till we get there, 'cause I'm on that committee.

365. 1:16:21

     Substitute committee.

366. 1:16:22

     Mike, wake up.

367. 1:16:28

     Okay. We now on to a hearing from, uh, Representative Trey Kelley.

368. 1:16:38

     If you will, uh, tell us what LC number you're working off of and the bill number and...

369. 1:16:46

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to come before you today. I know it's late in the afternoon. I know y'all been doing some busy and important work here. Uh, I'm working off House Bill 134- 1354, LC 521011. It's a measure that deals with helping our medical, uh, providers in our state get credentialed with our health plans across our state. When I've talked to health providers around the state, they talk to me about what the hardest, one of the hardest things about helping them come into the practice of medicine is getting credentialed, uh, by our health plans.

370. 1:17:22

     They say that once they've made it through medical school, once they've passed their boards, they think they've, they've almost made it there, you know, to the, to the finish line to be able to provide treatment to the patients that they've worked so hard for and got their education for, and then they've run into an onerous, uh, practice from our health plans of being credentialed. Uh, this delays patient care in Georgia. When we talk about having a shortage of doctors in our state, uh, it, uh, makes our state unfriendly to them. This would be something that not only would maximize, uh, the strength of the doctors we have here, but also would be a tool to help us recruit doctors, uh, by simplifying our credentialing process.

371. 1:18:02

     And so what this measure would do would be, uh, to simply say that once a doctor has been credentialed for Medicaid in our state, that the health plans shall, within 45 days, also approve their application, uh, and approve them to be credentialed under that private health plan. Another benefit of this, along with, uh, getting our, uh, doctors credentialed with private, uh, health plans, is that it would also encourage more doctors to get credentialed with Medicaid, uh, because we know that sometimes there's a shortage that we have in terms of having Medicaid providers, and so this would give a incentive for, uh, our medical providers to get credentialed with Medicaid so no, so that they would then have this streamlined process, uh, in terms of getting credentialed from our private payers.

372. 1:18:55

     That is the bill, Mr. Chairman. I know it's a hearing today, and I appreciate the time and attention, and I look forward to any questions.

373. 1:19:02

     Appreciate you bringing this bill, and I want to say to the audience now, if anybody, this will be the, uh, hearing on this, so if you, anybody out there wants to speak to the bill, uh, we have a sign-up sheet out there. There's a sign-up sheet on the corner, and, uh, we want to hear from you

374. 1:19:18

     Number five. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and, um, thank you for this bill. I do think that it's an important issue to make sure that, uh, credentialing is happening in a timely manner. I'm just very curious, um, about how this will impact the state health benefit plan. Would that also be- fall under this, I guess, timeline as well? Yeah, any, any insurer providing a network plan in our state. And as the Department of Community Health oversees our state health benefit plan as well as our Medicaid credentialing process, I think it should be a smooth transition for them.

375. 1:19:51

     But I appreciate that question. Thank you.

376. 1:19:55

     Any other, any other, any other questions for the presenter?

377. 1:20:02

     Number seven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and, um, thank you, Representative, for bringing this bill. I have a question on line 20. Um, all insurancer- all insurers providing a network plan. I'm trying to think through, are there insurers that would be providing other types of plan, or is this comprehensive to all plans? It is my understanding that this is comprehensive to all plans, but I'll work on getting clarification for that- That's great ... uh, before tomorrow morning. But that is my goal.

378. 1:20:32

     Number eight. Um, thank you for the bill. I like it in concept. So I guess my question is, how long does it take to credential applications now, and what are the challenges to getting them, um, approved? I've heard from medical providers that it's all over the board, and, uh, it could drag out for months at a time. And that is also impacting, uh, not only our individual providers, but those working inside our hospital systems that are already working inside our hospital systems, that they would be providing services to the hospital, but then they're not able to get reimbursed.

379. 1:21:06

     So it varies in terms of how long it takes, but, uh, it is a, uh, extensive process that drags out it for months at a time, according to the anecdotes that I've heard. May I follow up? Sure. Are these administrative type of delays, or are they taking in information that are, uh, affect coverage? I mean, w- why are they approving or not approving certain, um, applications?

380. 1:21:37

     That's a good question. Um, I think there's one- that's a reason why we need to standardize what's in this, is that all of our plans should essentially be looking for the same kind of requirements from our providers, the education level, the residency requirements, where they're providing care, what type of care they're providing, w- w- you know, where they're providing it. Uh, and it should be standardized, and it's really a data collection mechanism. Uh, and but you're having the doctors have to fill out multiple applications across all the different health plans.

381. 1:22:11

     And so it's a lot of the redundant information along all ends, and this is something that's meant to be friendly to our providers and our health plans in terms of us helping come along with a standardized process for everyone to work inside of to ultimately put our patients, uh, forward in Georgia.

382. 1:22:37

     Thank you. Any further questions? Anyone from, uh, the audience? Okay. Uh, I, I heard, picked up on something, maybe it's not an amendment or a change, but, uh, y- you guys, uh, we have the un- unsigned, undocumented Campbell-Tarvin rule, and if we have a, uh, w- we want... There's, there's several people interested in this bill, and, uh, we wanna vote it out, if it is the committee's, uh, uh, preference a- and their will.

383. 1:23:09

     So check your email tonight. It- I will send Ms. Campbell on, Representative Campbell, for sure, because we are both people of our word.

384. 1:23:21

     Representative Kelley, I appreciate you bringing this and being patient with us and, and, uh, we had a little bit of all kind of mix-up today, and we got about 10 committee meetings going on the same time. I've been sitting here. I haven't been texting people about this meeting. I've been trying to keep people from texting me about they need you there for a vote, so you know how w- how, how that goes. And we, we're thinking we're gonna plan on trying to, there should be a notice out meeting at 9:00 in the morning. And I believe it was in, I'll have to look now, it's been so long, but I believe it's 406 or 606. I don't know what she ended up getting.

385. 1:23:52

     I look forward to seeing y'all in the morning. Thank you, sir, very much. Thank you.

386. 1:23:58

     Representative Campbell. What it kind of looks like- Oh, 5- 506. 506 is on- A universal application. 506 what? On the invite it says 506. Or like common app. Okay, 506. I don't know what common app is, but it is- Universal application ... seems to be a universal application. Hey. Mm-hmm. Hey, Trey, I actually do have one

387. 1:24:28

     question.