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Insurance director highlights consumer-savings programs, mental-health initiatives and a mostly flat budget request
Summary
Judith French, director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, told the Senate committee the department is largely flat-funded, highlighted programs that saved consumers tens of millions in 2024, discussed mental-health access work and said the department will monitor workforce and technology changes affecting the insurance industry.
Chair Manchester called the Department of Insurance to testify at the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee's hearing on Sub House Bill 96.
Judith French, director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, said the department's proposed budget is "virtually flat funded" and described the department's regulatory scope. She noted Ohio's insurance market is large — she cited it as among the top five in the United States — and said the department regulates more than 1,700 licensed insurance companies, licenses over 341,000 agents and 23,000 agencies, and oversees insurers that write roughly $145 billion in premiums annually.
French highlighted consumer-facing programs. She said the Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIP) helped Ohioans save $54 million in 2024. She said the department's consumer services division more than doubled recoveries compared with five years earlier and cut complaint-processing time by a third. French described the Mental Health Insurance Assistance Office (MHIA), which she said is fully staffed and provides a "no wrong door" approach for Ohioans seeking information about mental-health and substance-use disorder coverage; she provided a helpline number and said the department has formed a working group with other agencies, providers, plans and consumer advocates to improve access and payment transparency.
French said the department had cut agent licensing fees in the prior budget cycle — an action that saved the industry more than $15 million last fiscal year — and that the department will continue to monitor revenues and seek efficiencies. She described workforce challenges in the insurance industry and said the department is partnering with higher education and industry stakeholders to address the need for additional employees.
The department's requested appropriation totals just over $51,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and about $52,750,313 for fiscal year 2027, a roughly 3.1% increase, French said. She offered to answer committee questions; none were asked and the hearing proceeded.
