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Debate on healthcare reform legislation continued on the Senate floor last week, while behind the scenes a tentative agreement was reached among Democrats on the controversial public insurance option.  As a result, further consideration of the Senate healthcare reform bill is temporarily on hold, as Democratic leaders await cost estimates on the new public option compromise. …
Read More Last Week in DC: The Healthcare Reform Debate – December 14, 2009

As discussed here and here, the New York Insurance Department (the “Department”) has drafted a new regulation regarding the transparency of insurance producer compensation.  The proposed rule, Regulation 194, would require insurance producers to disclose to clients information about their compensation. …
Read More Proposed Insurance Producer Transparency Regulation is Published in the New York State Register; Prompts Insurance Industry Trade Group to Prepare for Suit Against Regulators

On December 2, 2009, the NAIC Valuation of Securities (E) Task Force adopted final assumptions (the Assumptions”) for the financial model used in determining risk based capital (“RBC”) for insurer owned residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”). …
Read More NAIC Valuation of Securities (E) Task Force Adopt Assumptions for Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities

Judge Reggie B. Walton of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia recently granted an injunction sought by the American Bar Association (“ABA”) that prohibits the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) from enforcing the Red Flags Rule against attorneys.  Judge Walton’s memorandum opinion was released December 1, 2009, detailing the legal reasoning behind his judgment. …
Read More In American Bar Association v. Federal Trade Commission, Federal Court Prohibits FTC from Enforcing Red Flags Rule Against Attorneys

The Senate returned from Thanksgiving break last week and resumed consideration of its healthcare reform bill in earnest, debating and voting on several amendments to the legislation.  However, despite slow but steady progress and a seven day work week, agreements on the more controversial aspects of the 2,000+ page bill remained elusive. 

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Read More Last Week in DC: The Healthcare Reform Debate – December 7, 2009

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) filed an amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) (the “PPACA”) on December 1, 2009, that would repeal the exemption from federal antitrust laws for the health insurance and medical malpractice insurance industries. 

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Read More Partial Repeal of the Insurance Antitrust Exemption Introduced as Amendment to Senate Healthcare Bill

The House Financial Services Committee passed a revised version of the Federal Insurance Office Act, H.R. 2609, earlier this week.  The bill will now head to the floor of the House of Representatives for a full House vote.  To win bipartisan support and pass unanimously, H.R. 2609 went through a transformation from the previously debated discussion draft, which we covered here. …
Read More House Committee Passes Legislation Creating Federal Insurance Office, But without Regulatory Power

The Texas Department of Insurance (“TDI”) has planned a public hearing for Wednesday, December 9, 2009, on whether the TDI should adopt a rule banning the use of discretionary clauses in insurance contracts.  The hearing is the result of a petition filed by the Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel (“OPIC”) requesting the ban. 

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Read More Texas To Hold Public Hearing Regarding Use of Discretionary Clauses In Insurance Contracts