Committee advances H.137 studies on banking fraud, coerced debt and genetic privacy; Medigap rate-review language removed for health committee

The House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development on Feb. 25 considered draft 1.3 of an amendment to H.137 that would (1) require the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) to study models for bank transaction holds, protections for victims of coerced debt and whether insurers should be limited from accessing consumers' direct‑to‑consumer genetic test reports, and (2) include new language for public review of Medicare supplement (Medigap) insurance rate filings. After hearing from DFR and the Office of the Health Care Advocate, the committee agreed to remove the Medigap sections and let the Health Care Committee draft that amendment.

The amendment would require DFR, when it receives a request to increase premiums for a Medicare supplement policy, to post the filing within five business days on the department website with the insurer's name; the overall composite average increase requested; increases by plan type; the proposed effective date; the SURF tracking number; whether a public hearing is required; and instructions for public comment. The draft sets a threshold that would trigger mandatory hearings when a requested composite average rate increase exceeds 10 percent for an insurer that has 5,000 or more lives in Vermont's Medigap market. The language removes a second independent actuarial review previously included and instead adds a public‑input and hearing process for filings that…