September 22, 2023

Biden Administration Takes Aim at Reporting of Medical Debt, Insurance Premiums Poised to Rise for Millions of U.S. Homeowners & More

Biden Administration Seeks to Exclude Medical Debt from Credit Scores The Biden administration announced plans to develop new rules that would prevent unpaid medical bills from counting towards consumers’ credit scores. The new rules, which administration officials said would be developed next year, are likely to face strong opposition from the healthcare industry. ( KFF HEALTH NEWS ) Quarter of U.S. Homes Underpriced...

September 22, 2023

Passage of Data Delete Act Nears in CA, Landmark CA Children’s Data Privacy Law Blocked by Federal Judge & More

CA Assembly Passes Data Delete Act California’s Assembly passed a bill ( SB 362 ) that would let consumers request the deletion of data collected on them by third-party brokers with the click of a button, much like the way the Do-Not-Call Registry works. The Delete Act now returns to the Senate—where it was passed on a 32-8 vote in May—for a concurrence vote, after being amended in the Assembly. (...

September 22, 2023

$25 Minimum Wage for Healthcare Workers in CA, Push for Prescription Drug Price Controls in MD & More

CA Legislature Approves $25 Healthcare Worker Minimum Wage On the last day of this year’s regular session, California lawmakers passed a bill ( SB 525 ) that would phase in a nation-leading $25 minimum wage for workers at hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has until Oct. 14 to act on the measure. ( KFF HEALTH NEWS , STATE NET) Push in MD to Control Prescription Drug...

September 22, 2023

State Lawmakers Slow Down Healthcare Mergers

Just last month, Illinois became one of the latest states to enact a law requiring parties involved in healthcare mergers to observe a waiting period before closing their transactions. The bill, HB 2222 , received very little attention when it was signed by Gov. J. B. Pritzker in mid-August. But it represents a little-known, but growing trend among state lawmakers who are increasingly concerned about consolidation in...

September 01, 2023

TX ‘Death Star’ Law Declared Unconstitutional & Court Ruling with Implications for AI Regulation in CA

TX Judge Strikes Down ‘Death Star’ Law A county judge in Texas declared the state’s new so-called “Death Star” law preempting local ordinances, including those mandating water breaks for construction workers, “entirely unconstitutional.” The state immediately appealed the ruling and said the law would take effect as scheduled. ( LAW360 ) CA Court Ruling Could Have Implications...

September 01, 2023

State Errors to Blame for Post-Pandemic Medicaid Disenrollments & More

Many Post-Pandemic Medicaid Disenrollments May Be Due to State Errors Federal officials have uncovered significant problems with the systems and procedures states have been employing to “unwind” Medicaid coverage protections put in place during the pandemic. A senior official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said many states have been conducting automatic or “ex parte” renewals...

September 01, 2023

Court Ruling Could Tighten Regulation of Broker-Dealers, Farmers Slashing Workforce & More

Court Ruling Against Robinhood Could Let States Impose Tougher Rules on Broker-Dealers Massachusetts’ top appellate court upheld a first-in-the-nation rule holding broker-dealers to the same standard as investment advisers, which had been challenged by brokerage app provider Robinhood LLC. The ruling could support efforts by states like Nevada and New Jersey to promulgate regulations that go beyond U.S. Securities...

September 01, 2023

Advances in Financial Scam Tech Raise Alarms with State Legislators and Financial Sector

Financial Scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, thanks in large part to artificial intelligence. But the problems created by this new wave of technology are so numerous and complicated that addressing them will not be easy. Fraud Boom May Be Looming on Horizon In July, U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan warned that AI is turbocharging fraud , raising a litany of concerns with regulators, law enforcement...

August 25, 2023

Post-Pandemic Medicaid Termination Lawsuit in FL, Increase in Workers’ Mental Health Needs & More

Nation’s First Lawsuit over Post-Pandemic Medicaid Terminations Three Florida residents have filed a lawsuit alleging health officials in that state aren’t notifying disabled and low-income residents about Medicaid redeterminations. The suit is the first legal challenge to the flurry of disenrollments from the program since federal pandemic-era coverage protections ended. ( KFF HEALTH NEWS , AXIOS ) Spike...

August 25, 2023

Biden Administration’s U-Turn on MA Right to Repair Law, Nvidia’s Revenue Surge & More

NHTSA Reverses Direction on MA Right to Repair Law The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent a letter to the Massachusetts attorney general’s office last week giving the state the go-ahead to enforce the right to repair law voters approved there in 2020. That notification was a U-turn for the agency, which in June instructed automakers not to comply with the Massachusetts law, saying the...

August 25, 2023

Averted UPS Strike & CA Bill Aimed at Making Striking Workers Eligible for Unemployment Benefits

New UPS Labor Contract Averts Strike The union that represents over 300,000 UPS workers ratified a new labor agreement last week, preventing a strike that might have crippled the U.S. economy. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said the contract will increase the wages of current workers by at least $7.50 per hour, increase the minimum pay for part-time employees from less than $17 per hour to $21 per hour,...

August 25, 2023

States Beginning to Regulate Popular Usage-Based Car Insurance

Usage-based auto insurance has been around for over 25 years. But recently it has been drawing more interest from insurers and consumers, as well as state lawmakers. UBI works by using vehicle “ telematics ” to track an individual’s driving behavior, such as how fast they drive, how hard they brake and corner, when and how much they drive, and whether they talk on the phone while driving. That data...

August 21, 2023

Insured Losses from Lahaina Fire, MO’s New Approach to Restricting ESG Investing & More

Lahaina Fire Insured Property Losses Estimated at $3.2B Catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Company estimated insured property losses from the Lahaina wildfire at about $3.2 billion. With the death toll from the Maui fires having exceeded 100, they are the nation’s deadliest in over 100 years. ( INSURANCE JOURNAL ) MO SOS Touts New Path for Regulating ESG Investing With Missouri state lawmakers having failed...

August 21, 2023

Bipartisan Embrace of Children’s Online Safety, Second Thoughts about AR Crypto Mining Law & More

Red, Blue States Tackle Children’s Online Safety in 2023 Concern about the impact of social media on children and their online privacy prompted a flurry of legislation in the states this year. In Republican-controlled ones like Arkansas, lawmakers generally sought to require age verification and parental permission for minors to access social media. Meanwhile, lawmakers in several Democrat-controlled states tried...

August 21, 2023

State Lawmakers’ Workforce Development Focus & Coming Increase in CA Minimum Wage

Workforce Development High Priority for State Lawmakers With virtually every sector of the U.S. economy suffering a major worker shortage, state lawmakers are taking steps to boost their workforces in the near- and long-term. To try to attract workers now Vermont and West Virginia have launched programs offering incentives to workers in other states, while South Dakota has initiated a program that connects those looking...

August 21, 2023

Pandemic’s Lasting Health Policy Changes, Troubling Opioid Epidemic Stats & More

Lasting Health Policy Changes from Pandemic A number of health-related state policy changes made during the COVID-19 public health emergency appear likely to remain in place indefinitely. Over the past three years, hundreds of states have sought to extend temporary measures implemented during the pandemic expanding access to telehealth. For instance, New Hampshire enacted HB 500 in May permanently extending a pandemic...

August 18, 2023

State Legislators Look to Regulate Use of AI in Healthcare

For years, movies have been depicting a future where artificial intelligence would provide us with medical care and counseling. In Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith , Anakin Skywalker’s life is saved by droids who replace his missing limbs with robotic appendages, transforming him into the iconic villain Darth Vader. In 2013’s Elysium , Matt Damon’s hard-scrabble character Max has a frustrating...

August 04, 2023

New Infrastructure Workforce Development Program in PA, McDonald’s Franchise Violates Child Labor Laws in LA, TX

PA Launches Infrastructure Workforce Development Program Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) issued an executive order directing up to $400 million in federal funding to a new infrastructure workforce development program. The Commonwealth Workforce Transformation Program will reimburse organizations that train infrastructure workers. The governor said the program was the first of its kind in the nation. ( PENNSYLVANIA...

August 04, 2023

More E-Cigarette Regulation Possibly Ahead, Impact of CEO Ownership Stake on Medical Device Recalls & More

Rise in Vaping-Related Nicotine Exposure Could Trigger More Regulation In spite of a 2016 federal law requiring child-resistant packaging on bottles of liquid nicotine used in e-cigarettes, or vapes, reported cases of vaping-related nicotine exposure reached an all-time high last year. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), co-sponsor of the 2016 measure, said he aims to expand the child-resistant packaging requirement...

August 04, 2023

Challenge to Porn Site Age-Verification Law Dismissed in UT, Proposed Class Action Suit Against Tesla in CA & More

Judge Dismisses Challenge to UT Porn Website Age-Check Law A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging a law enacted earlier this year in Utah ( SB 287 ) requiring porn websites to verify the age of their users. U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart said the Free Speech Coalition, the adult entertainment industry trade group that filed the challenge, couldn’t sue Utah officials because the law doesn’t...

August 04, 2023

Battle Over Water Breaks Latest Front in State-Local Preemption Fight

The weather, of course, is notoriously difficult to predict. But if early projections are to be believed, the cities of Austin and Dallas in Texas are in for some hot days come September. Both cities are expected to see temperatures in the low 90s and high 80s that month, when a controversial new state law governing water breaks goes into effect. In June , Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed into law HB 2127 , which...

July 28, 2023

Higher Capital Requirements Proposed for Big Banks, Allstate Threatens Full Withdrawal from CA’s P&C Market & More

Feds Propose Higher Capital Requirements for Big Banks Federal regulators formally proposed significant changes to the rules governing how much capital larger banks must hold to cushion them from financial losses. The changes, which could increase the high-quality capital requirements for banks with $100 billion or more in total assets by 16 percent, are likely to draw significant industry pushback. ( LAW360 ) Allstate...

July 28, 2023

Legal Battle Over CA Children’s Online Privacy Law, States Enacting AI Laws & More

Court Battle Over Children’s Online Privacy Law Begins in CA Hearings began last week in a legal challenge to California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code law , which is aimed at protecting children’s online privacy. The lawsuit, brought by tech industry group NetChoice, alleges the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. ( PLURIBUS NEWS ) State Lawmakers Making Headway on AI At...

July 28, 2023

WA’s Healthcare Facility Geofence Ban, Congressional PBM Reforms & More

WA Healthcare Facility Geofence Ban Takes Effect A new law ( HB 1155 ) took effect last week in Washington that, among other things, makes it illegal to set up a geofence around a healthcare facility. Supporters of the Washington My Health My Data Act say the ban will protect individuals seeking abortions and transgender care. Connecticut, Nevada and New York have passed similar laws that haven’t taken effect...

July 28, 2023

Data Privacy Landscape Continues to Change as States Pursue More Laws

Halfway through 2023, data privacy regulation remains a high priority for state lawmakers and business leaders alike. Here’s an update on the rapidly shifting, balkanized landscape of data privacy policies. Online Businesses Sue to Stop Arkansas Social Media Law In late June, NetChoice, a trade group representing online businesses like Google, Meta, Yahoo! and TikTok, filed a lawsuit against the state of Arkansas...