Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

Pennsylvania House Bill HB966 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version

                             
PRINTER'S NO. 1043 
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL 
No.966 
Session of 
2025 
INTRODUCED BY VENKAT, FRIEL, KOSIEROWSKI, MEHAFFIE, KHAN, 
WEBSTER, PIELLI, HARKINS, MADDEN, GIRAL, McNEILL, STEELE, 
FRANKEL, INGLIS, MAYES, SALISBURY, BENHAM, PROBST, HILL-
EVANS, CERRATO, BOROWSKI, SANCHEZ, CARROLL, FREEMAN, RIVERA, 
BRENNAN, RABB, HADDOCK, GUENST, HOWARD, KENYATTA AND 
HANBIDGE, MARCH 19, 2025 
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE, MARCH 19, 2025 
AN ACT
Amending the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L.682, No.284), entitled "An 
act relating to insurance; amending, revising, and 
consolidating the law providing for the incorporation of 
insurance companies, and the regulation, supervision, and 
protection of home and foreign insurance companies, Lloyds 
associations, reciprocal and inter-insurance exchanges, and 
fire insurance rating bureaus, and the regulation and 
supervision of insurance carried by such companies, 
associations, and exchanges, including insurance carried by 
the State Workmen's Insurance Fund; providing penalties; and 
repealing existing laws," in quality health care 
accountability and protection, further providing for 
departmental powers and duties and providing for additional 
penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1.  Section 2181(f) of the act of May 17, 1921 
(P.L.682, No.284), known as The Insurance Company Law of 1921, 
is amended to read:
Section 2181.  Departmental Powers and Duties.--* * *
(f)  The department shall submit an annual report to the 
chairperson and minority chairperson of the Banking and 
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22 Insurance Committee of the Senate and the chairperson and 
minority chairperson of the Insurance Committee of the House of 
Representatives regarding the implementation, operation and 
enforcement of this article, including the aggregate data the 
department has compiled under subsection (b). The department 
shall post the report on the department's publicly accessible 
Internet website.
Section 2.  The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 2182.1.  Additional Penalties.--(a)  The department 
shall order an insurer to pay penalties in accordance with 
subsection (b) whenever the aggregated data compiled under 
section 2181(b) shows that more than fifty per centum (50%) of 
all adverse benefit determinations, excluding administrative 
denials, issued by the insurer in a calendar year were 
overturned through the insurer's internal claim and appeal 
procedures specified in section 2164 or the external review 
processes specified in section 2164.5, 2164.6 or 2164.7.
(b)  The department shall order an insurer to pay a penalty 
for each overturned adverse benefit determination in excess of 
the threshold specified in subsection (a) as follows:
(1)  For the first overturned adverse benefit determination, 
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
(2)  For the second overturned adverse benefit determination, 
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
(3)  For the third and each subsequent overturned adverse 
benefit determination, two hundred fifty thousand dollars 
($250,000).
(c)  Penalties collected by the department under this section 
shall be used by the department for consumer protection 
activities.
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30 (d)  The penalties under this section shall be in addition to 
any other penalty or remedy imposed under any other applicable 
statute.
Section 3.  This act shall take effect in six months.
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