SB1912 Summary

• Establishes Office of the Healthcare Advocate within the Department of Insurance, headed by a Chief Health Care Advocate who reports to the Director and represents consumer interests in rate hearings.

• Requires all individual and small group health insurance policies subject to federal standards (45 CFR Part 154) to file rates with the Department for approval; unreasonable rate increases or inadequate rates must be modified or disapproved.

• Mandates insurers post plain language rate filing summaries on their websites and the Department post all filings on its website, with summaries including justification details such as medical loss ratio, medical trend, and administrative costs.

• Establishes 30-day public comment periods for rate filings with public hearings during the comment window; Department must post all comments within 5 business days after the period ends.

• Requires Director to adopt affordability standards for rate decisions considering trends, inflation, market comparisons, ability of low-income individuals and small businesses to afford coverage, administrative cost controls, and affordability strategies.