AZ Legislative Update – March 18, 2022
Posted by [email protected] on Mar. 18, 2022 / AZ Legislative Update / Subscribe 0
AZ Legislative Update – March 18, 2022
Today marks the 68th day of the Arizona 55th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session and next week is the final week for bills to be heard in committee. Bills that have not been heard in committee (other than the appropriations committees) by Thursday will be considered dead. Moving forward, all legislative activity will have to occur on the floor or through a conference committee.
With the end of committees in sight, attention at the Capitol has shifted to the budget. House and Senate leadership are reportedly still nowhere near a deal which has led to some discussion that a “skinny budget” may potentially be on the table to help expedite the process, allowing members to adjourn and spend more time campaigning before the August 2nd State Primary Election.
Lawmakers are also bracing for a potential special session to “repeal and accelerate” last year’s historic income tax cuts. In addition, Republican leadership continues to explore various options and workarounds to skirt the super majority voting requirement to resolve the precinct committeeman (PC) snafu, caused by an overlooked legislative drafting error, a couple of weeks ago, which has angered GOP PCs.
Below, please find a few bills that we would like to highlight; however, we are continuing to monitor for strikers. Additionally, attached, you will find your full tracking list of bills.
We are continuing to engage members and staff on your top legislative priorities. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Health Insurance
HB 2144 Health Insurance Coverage; Biomarker Testing (Cobb): HB 2144 passed out of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday morning, 8-1. HB 2144 requires hospital and medical service corporations, health care service organizations, disability insurers and group or blanket disability insurers to provide coverage for biomarker testing. HB 2144 directs the AHCCS and its contractors to provide biomarker testing for its members and describes procedures for usage and coverage of biomarker testing. The bill was slightly improved by the committee amendment which creates some additional guardrails by adding in a definition for “clinical utility.”
HB 2698 Insurance; Assignment of Benefits (Martinez): HB 2698 will be heard in the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday morning. The bill recently passed out of the House despite potential constitutional issues dealing with ERISA preemption. The bill stipulates that statute prohibiting insurance payments for services from being made to anyone other than the health care provider to whom payment was assigned applies to an insurer whether acting as an insurer or performing administrative services.
Insurance Operations
S/E: HB 2121 Medicare Supplement; Insurance; Fees; Consent (Kaiser): HB 2121 along with the strike-everything amendment passed out of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday morning, 7-3. The striker included the language from the original version of SB 1118 which was unfavorably amended last week in House Commerce with a hostile amendment dealing with fire and flood insurance. HB 2121 as amended includes various minor changes to insurance regulations which include modernization language with regards to customer communications, clarifying language for motor vehicle policy exclusions, amends the definition of an advisory organization and reduces agency filing fees. Additionally, it includes language allowing consumers to receive discounts on Medicare supplemental plans.
HB 2599 Administrative Hearing; GRRC (Grantham): HB 2599 passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday afternoon, 9-0. The bill updates the Office of Administrative Hearing (OAH) process by eliminating the unfair unilateral authority for state agencies to overrule an administrative law judge’s decision and allows businesses to recover attorney fees and costs if successful at OAH. The bill also streamlines the appeals process when the third parties are appealing an agency decision. Additionally, it makes several modifications to the GRRC appeal process by modernizing procedures and leveling the playfield for the business community.
HB 2685 Artificial Intelligence; Requirements (Carroll): HB 2685, which was favorably amended in the House to now just be a study committee on AI, will not be moving forward this session. The bill will now be used as a striker vehicle for a Maricopa County transportation tax bill. As originally drafted, this troubling bill stipulated that an algorithm that enables artificial intelligence to learn and implement decisions without human intervention must support human agency and fundamental rights, comply with all federal and state laws, fulfill ethical principles that ensure no unintended human harm occurs, and provide transparency and traceability of data logs and decision-making.
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