Committee amends House Bill 1587, approves measure 8-0 to send to floor

A committee of the Indiana General Assembly on the bill cycle for House Bill 15‑87 adopted a package of amendments that substantially altered the bill and then voted 8‑0 to advance the amended measure to the full chamber.

The committee, led by Chairman Baldwin, accepted Amendment 10, which Senator Gaskell described as deleting “pages 9 through 12 of the bill, and the last, several lines, about two thirds of page 8,” and taking those provisions out for further stakeholder negotiations. Senator Gaskell said those provisions “weren’t quite ready” and needed another year of work. The committee also adopted Amendment 9, which Senator Gaskell said “is going to repeal the provisions related to mortgage transactions and real estate transactions,” and Amendment 11, which gives additional time for an administrative rule to be promulgated.

Representative Carbaugh, the bill author, summarized the revised bill for the committee. Representative Carbaugh said the bill would authorize mobile integrated health providers to bill and be reimbursed by payors for non‑emergency runs, remove a separate requirement for health insurers to hold a public forum that the sponsor said has been sparsely attended, extend the deadline for the Indiana Public Employers’ Plan (IPEP) to convert to a reciprocal insurance company, and allow managed care organizations and emergency services providers to negotiate reimbursement rates with a fiscal‑safeguard provision enabling the Family and Social Services Administration secretary to void agreements that would adversely affect the Medicaid budget. Carbaugh also said the bill would allow insurers to choose one of two methods to determine employer group size going forward but not switch back and forth between methods.

Elizabeth Berg of the Indiana Land Title Association told the committee the association supported the repeal in Amendment 9 of provisions tied to a foreclosure‑era database (described in testimony as the “R Real database”), saying regulators and task‑force members told them the data in that database “are not used.” Berg asked the committee not to rebuild or maintain a database that state regulators do not use and that would impose unnecessary costs. Marty Wood of the Insurance Institute and other witnesses said they supported parts of the amended bill, and representatives of local programs and advocacy groups, including Ryan Ritchie (City of Crawfordsville), Bill Elliott (AIM), and Amber Marr (AARP Indiana), also testified in favor of the mobile integrated health component.

After testimony and brief committee discussion, a motion to advance the bill was called. The roll call recorded “yes” votes from Senators Randolph, Kodoro, Walker, Gaskell, Schmidt, Freeman, Crasco and Chairman Baldwin; Senator Alting was recorded as excused. The chair announced the result as “8 to 0” and said the bill would move to the floor. Chairman Baldwin later said the bill would be recommitted and that further amendments were possible.

The amendments removed sections that committee members and stakeholders said required more work or broader agreement, and supporters said the remaining provisions were technical changes and policy updates. Committee members asked for clarifications on constitutional language and the practical operation of several statutory thresholds that remain in the bill; Senator Randolph asked whether court‑tested statutory language should be added to protect against challenges to government modifications of contractual terms.

Committee leaders signaled willingness to continue refining language before final floor action. Representative Carbaugh and Senators who sponsored the amendments said they would consult with stakeholders and the House side on final language before the bill proceeds further.

Votes at a glance: The committee advanced the amended House Bill 15‑87 by roll call, 8 ayes, 0 nays; one member was recorded excused. The committee chair said the measure will be recommitted and that additional amendments may follow.