Committee adopts amendment limiting public notices of potential contract terminations, sets template and contract deadlines

The Health Care & Wellness Committee adopted amendment H-2102.2 and reported substitute Senate Bill 5579 out of committee with a do-pass-as-amended recommendation.

The bill, as described by committee staff during the executive-session briefing, prohibits health carriers, health care providers, and facilities from making public statements about a possible contract termination until 45 days before the termination date. The striking amendment filed earlier in the electronic bill book and an adopted stakeholder amendment further clarified exceptions and enforcement.

The adopted amendment H-2102.2 was described by the vice chair as negotiated with a stakeholder group that included the bill's prime sponsor, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, health carriers and hospitals. The amendment clarifies that communications exclusively with the governor, legislators, or state agency staff do not count as public statements for purposes of the bill. It also adds health care providers who are employed by, contracted with, or affiliated with a health care facility to the prohibitions, specifies that notices using only the commissioner's template are exempt from review, and requires the insurance commissioner to develop a standard template for notices to enrollees and patients by Dec. 1, 2025. The amendment directs that the bill's provisions be included in all provider contracts by Jan. 1, 2026, but exempts certain individual providers who are terminating or expiring contracts and are not employed by a system or group practice.

The amendment also changed enforcement mechanics: it authorizes the insurance commissioner to impose civil monetary penalties against carriers of up to $100 per day per enrollee for notices sent earlier than the 45-day window, allows the commissioner to refer suspected provider or facility violations to the Department of Health or appropriate licensing or disciplining authority, and adds violations of the bill to authorities enforcing certain licensed health care facilities and to the Uniform Disciplinary Act.

Representative Marshall said the amendment was a “good, clarifying amendment” and urged support. Committee members adopted H-2102.2 by voice vote; committee staff later announced an expedited voice vote reporting 19 ayes and no nays.

Nut graf: The amendment was presented as a stakeholder-driven effort to balance protecting negotiation confidentiality during contract discussions with the public interest in timely notice to enrollees and patients. It establishes near-term administrative deadlines for an insurer notice template and contract language, and modifies enforcement and penalty provisions.

Implementation details and next steps

- Insurance commissioner must develop and post a standard template for notices to enrollees and patients by Dec. 1, 2025. - Bill provisions are required to be included in provider contracts by Jan. 1, 2026, with limited exemptions for individual providers not employed by systems or group practices. - Penalties for carriers are capped in the amendment at up to $100 per day per enrollee for notices sent earlier than the 45-day period; other enforcement changes include referral authority and adding violations to existing disciplinary frameworks.

The committee moved the substitute bill as amended out of committee with an announced expedited vote of 19 ayes. The measure will proceed through the legislative process as a do-pass-as-amended committee report.