So far this year, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, one state, New Mexico, has enacted legislation dealing with balance billing, the practice of charging consumers for medical costs not paid by their insurance. Balance billing measures have also failed in five states and are pending...

By some accounts, insurance fraud has reached epidemic proportions, costing insurance companies and their policyholders tens of billions of dollars each year. State lawmakers have taken several measures in recent years to combat the problem, but this year they’re stepping up their efforts even...

Although the decennial census is a federal responsibility, with states having so much to gain from an accurate tally, 30 have established committees - either through legislation or executive order - to ensure their populations are fully counted, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures...

As of the start of this year, at least 25 states had passed laws requiring businesses that handle personal data to implement security procedures to protect that information from unauthorized access, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. LexisNexis State Net’s legislative tracking...

At least 40 states have introduced legislation in 2019 aimed at reducing the cost of prescription drugs, according to LexisNexis State Net ’s legislative tracking system. Fifteen of those states have enacted such measures.

MA House Endorses HB 3904 The MASSACHUSETTS House endorses HB 3904 , a bill that would establish a framework for licensing and regulating appraisal management companies in the Bay State. It is now in the Senate (STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE [BOSTON]. NJ Governor Signs AB 5321 NEW JERSEY Gov....

As the fate of the Accordable Care Act (ACA) hangs in the balance in a federal court, states are experimenting with myriad policies affecting health care coverage and insurance costs. In a hearing in New Orleans on July 9, two Republican-appointed members of a three-judge panel of the 5 th District...

At least 26 states have introduced bills this session dealing with the collection and use of biometric information, such as fingerprints, speech patterns or gait, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net. Three of those states - Arkansas, New York...

At the start of this year, many observers believed states might be lining up to duplicate California’s tough new data privacy law, set to go into effect next year. That rush didn’t quite materialize, but that doesn’t mean lawmakers completely whiffed on data protection. According...

Legislation dealing with medical balance billing - the charging of patients by healthcare providers for services not fully covered at the providers’ rate by the patients’ insurance - has been introduced in 32 states this year, according to analysis by LexisNexis State Net . Seven of those...

When SNCJ reported in August 2017 on medical balance billing - the direct charging of patients by healthcare providers for services that aren’t fully covered at the providers’ rate by the patients’ insurance - nearly half of the states had passed legislation addressing the practice...

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia will abide by a deal reached in July by California and four major global automakers to require new vehicles to average approximately 37 miles per gallon by 2026. The Trump administration, meanwhile, is seeking to freeze mileage standards at 2021 levels of...

Bypassing the Trump administration, California has reached agreement with four of the world’s largest automakers to improve fuel efficiency and reduce automobile emissions that contribute to global warming. And more are likely to follow. “This is about leadership, California asserting...

COURT SAYS KY GOV CAN REJECT PRIVATE LAWYERS The KENTUCKY Supreme Court rules that Gov. Matt Bevin (R) and legislative leaders were within their legal authority to cancel an employment contract that Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear awarded to private lawyers to help his office sue the pharmaceutical...

Lawmakers in at least three states have introduced legislation this year that would impose a tax on corporations that pay their chief executive officers far more than their average workers, according to Inequality.org, a project of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies. Four states...

It’s a good time to be a CEO in America. Various studies show that CEOs of major corporations made hundreds of times what their workers earned in average pay last year. According to data compiled by the Associated Press , average CEO compensation at Fortune 500 companies rose to $12 million...

At least 37 states have introduced legislation this year dealing with the cybersecurity of government agencies, 24 of which have enacted such measures, according to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net. The measures deal with a range of issues, including...

VA GOV VOWS END TO LAWSUITS AGAINST PATIENTS VIRGINIA Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said he would work with University of Virginia James Ryan to end the widespread practice of aggressively pursuing former patients for unpaid medical bills. A recent investigation by Kaiser Health News revealed that that UVA...

At least 27 states have considered legislation this year dealing with the privacy of consumer data, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures . Consumer data privacy bills were enacted in six of those states, while measures are still pending in several others, including California, where...

BAKER PUSHES MA IMPAIRED DRIVING BILL Responding to the state Cannabis Control Commission moving closer to allowing social consumption marijuana lounges, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) urged Bay State lawmakers to act on legislation ( HB 71 ) he proposed earlier this year to address impaired...

As of October 17, 68 lawsuits had been initiated against the Trump administration via a complaint or petition filed by multiple states, according to data compiled by Dr. Paul Nolette, an associate professor of political science at Marquette University, for the website AttorneysGeneral.org . Democrat...

Judge Upholds Baker’s MA Vaping Ban A Suffolk Superior Court judge rejected a plea from vape retailers to overturn upheld MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker’s (R) emergency ban on vaping. The ruling came hours after health officials announced a second Bay State resident had died from a vaping...

As of Oct. 15, governors or public health agencies in seven states had imposed temporary bans on the sale of vaping products, four of which had been at least partially blocked by legal challenges, according to Time . At least five states have also introduced bills this year aimed at banning flavored...

As of mid-October, 26 states had introduced legislation this year dealing with the privacy of consumer data, according to analysis of LexisNexis State Net legislative data by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Seven of those states had enacted such measures, including Hawaii, where a consumer...

It’s the holiday season, and if most voters are thinking about politics at all they are probably pondering more about how to get through family festivities without a major blowup over differing political philosophies than they are about next year’s legislative agendas. But rest assured...