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Division of Financial Regulation requests staff and exam funding; highlights reinsurance and PBM oversight
Summary
The Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) told the subcommittee it seeks authority for the reinsurance program, additional contracted exam capacity, consumer advocacy staffing and new oversight authorities for pharmacy benefit managers after returning millions to consumers and increasing outreach.
TK Keane, administrator of the Division of Financial Regulation, told the Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee that DFR’s work spans insurance, banking, securities and several consumer protection programs. Keane said the division returned more than $9,000,000 to Oregonians last year and handled more than 17,000 consumer phone calls and emails.
Why it matters: DFR’s oversight affects insurer rate filings, consumer complaint resolution, and complex market conduct work. The division’s budget requests would expand examinations, consumer advocacy and market surveillance capacity at a time regulators face new responsibilities such as PBM licensure and data‑broker registration.
Key programs and statutory changes: Keane outlined recent statutory work that changed DFR’s responsibilities: - Data broker registry (House Bill 2052, effective Jan. 1, 2024) requires companies that collect, sell or license brokered personal data to register and publish consumer opt‑out information. - Pharmacy benefit manager licensure (House Bill 4149, effective Jan. 2025) converted PBM oversight from registration to licensure for most commercial plans and increased DFR oversight tools, including books and records authority.
Requested capacity and rationale: Keane described seven policy option packages (POPs) before the committee, including: - Continued support for the state reinsurance program and its federal waiver‑related funds. - Additional limitation for contracted examination services to ensure timely, nationally accredited examinations of domestic insurers and financial institutions (contract examiners are reimbursed by industry but require limitation authority to spend). - An additional consumer advocate position to handle rising property‑casualty complaint volumes (property‑casualty complaints rose from about 1,300 in 2020 to about 2,600 in 2024, Keane said). - A market conduct analyst to bolster insurer compliance review, administrative support for the state banking and community bank team, and a paralegal to manage administrative enforcement caseloads.
Revenue and transfers: Keane and Director Stolfi said DFR and other DCBS programs are a net revenue source for state government: DFR transfers an estimated $224,000,000 to the general fund through assessments; Stolfi added that insurer assessments supporting the Oregon Health Plan are expected to generate about $510,000,000. Keane noted that industry complexity has grown and that additional staff and contracting flexibility are necessary to meet national accreditation and consumer protection expectations.
Committee follow‑up: Committee members pressed for FTE detail and timing for positions. Keane and agency staff said some positions are phased into the biennium (reflected as partial‑year FTE such as 0.88 for a position phased in later) and agreed to provide further documentation.
