Authorizing the commissioner of insurance to select and announce the version of certain instructions, calculations and documents in effect for the upcoming calendar year and cause such announcement to be published in the Kansas register, allowing certain life insurers to follow health financial reports and adopting certain provisions from the national association of insurance commissioners holding company system regulatory act relating to group capital calculations and liquidity stress testing.
Impact
The bill amends several sections of the Kansas Statutes Annotated related to insurance regulations, particularly concerning risk-based capital (RBC) reports and the operations of insurance holding companies. This legislative move aims to enhance transparency and regulatory rigor by adopting provisions from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The potential impact of these amendments includes improved regulatory compliance from insurers and better assessment of financial health through group capital calculations and liquidity stress testing, which are essential for maintaining the stability of the insurance market.
Summary
House Bill 2128 proposes significant changes to the regulation of insurance in Kansas. The bill authorizes the commissioner of insurance to select and publish specific instructions, calculations, and documents relevant to insurance regulation for each calendar year, ensuring that stakeholders are aware of the applicable guidelines. Moreover, it allows certain life insurers to adopt health financial reporting methods, which could align more closely with broader health insurance practices, thereby updating and modernizing financial oversight within the sector.
Contention
There are notable points of contention surrounding the implications of House Bill 2128. Supporters argue that these updates will lead to more uniform and effective regulatory practices that align Kansas' insurance laws with national standards. However, critics may raise concerns about the burden these additional reporting requirements could impose on small insurers, impacting their operational flexibility. The balance that the bill strikes between regulatory compliance and the operational realities faced by insurers—especially smaller firms—will be a pivotal aspect of the discussions as it moves forward.
Updating certain statutory references contained in chapter 40 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated; specifying certain requirements of documents submitted by medicare provider organizations and health maintenance organizations to demonstrate fiscal soundness; removing the requirement of a documented written demand for premium as part of a prima facie case; adding certain legal entities to the definition of person for purposes of violations of insurance law; and updating the version of risk-based capital instructions in effect.
Updating certain definitions, terms, conditions and provisions related to the Kansas insurance guaranty association act and Kansas life and health insurance guaranty association act.
Enacting the Kansas public investments and contracts protection act concerning environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, prohibiting the state and political subdivisions from giving preferential treatment to or discriminating against companies based on such ESG criteria in procuring or letting contracts, requiring KPERS fiduciaries to act solely in the financial interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the system, indemnifying KPERS with respect to actions taken in compliance with such act, restricting state agencies from adopting ESG criteria or requiring any person or business to operate in accordance with such criteria and providing for enforcement of such act by the attorney general.
Establishing the Kansas purple alert plan to provide public notice of missing persons 18 years of age or older who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability and are in certain dangerous circumstances.
Prohibiting the state department of education from distributing or expending state foundation aid moneys in fiscal year 2025 to a school district that has no students enrolled in and attending school in such school district in school year 2024-2025.
Amending the Kansas life and health guaranty association act to include health maintenance organizations as member insurers and broadening the assessment base for long-term care insurance insolvencies.
Authorizing the commissioner of insurance to select and announce the version of certain instructions, calculations and documents in effect for the upcoming calendar year and cause such announcement to be published in the Kansas register, allowing certain life insurers to follow health financial reports and adopting certain provisions from the national association of insurance commissioners holding company system regulatory act relating to group capital calculations and liquidity stress testing.
The standards and management of an insurer with an insurance holding company system and the confidential treatment of investigation and examination records of insurance holding companies.