House defeats amendment to impose fiduciary duty to health-plan beneficiaries

An amendment that would have restored an explicit fiduciary duty to health-plan beneficiaries failed on a roll-call vote in the Indiana House after lawmakers debated whether employers or plan administrators should bear that duty.

Supporters said the change would ensure patients’ interests come before insurers’ profits. "Hoosiers enrolled in these plans are the reason for the contract," Representative Campbell said, urging colleagues to "put beneficiaries back in" the protections. Opponents argued the employer–employee relationship means employers, not plan beneficiaries, are the proper fiduciary and warned the amendment could create legal exposure and challenges for employers and administrators.

The amendment was offered during consideration of a Senate-transmitted insurance-related bill on second reading. Discussion included procedural concerns about timing: at least one speaker said committee members had only minutes’ notice of the chairman’s amendment and were unable to fully confer before the vote. Representative Carball described the language as "familiar" to him from committee and urged caution about unintended consequences.

A roll-call tally recorded 29 ayes and 60 noes; the amendment was defeated. No further amendments to that bill were recorded in the transcript during that session.

The debate centered on whether a statutory fiduciary duty should be owed to the individual plan enrollee (a beneficiary) or to the employer that selects and pays for the plan. Supporters framed the amendment as a patient-protection measure; opponents said it would create new litigation risk and improperly shift legal lines drawn by employer plan design.

Floor action: the amendment was defeated on the roll call; the underlying insurance bill remained pending further consideration.