Oklahoma House approves bill letting legislature request actuarial, medical and social reviews for health mandates

The Oklahoma House on Monday approved House Bill 1161, a measure that lets the Legislature ask the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) to conduct actuarial or related reviews for bills that impose health mandates. Representative Tedford, the bill’s sponsor, said the change gives lawmakers data to evaluate potential impacts on premiums and plan costs.

Tedford told the House that the bill “empowers the legislature to order actuarial studies from the Oklahoma Insurance Department for any bill that has a health mandate,” and that a floor amendment changed the earlier requirement so the department “may” — rather than “shall” — perform such studies. The amendment was adopted by unanimous consent.

Supporters said the reviews would help lawmakers understand fiscal, medical and social consequences before advancing costly mandates. Representative Hill said data-driven analysis is useful to assess possible premium increases and other effects on constituents.

Opponents urged caution about process and timing. Representative Gann asked whether the Speaker or committee chairs would determine when a bill is routed for review; Tedford said the bill allows the Speaker or his delegates to order studies and that final reports would be made available to the author and the committee chair. Representative Gann warned the bill could appear to remove deliberation from committee if a study is ordered before committee review.

Tedford said the OID can use third-party actuaries and that the statute’s language contemplates insurance-mandate reviews beyond strictly actuarial calculations, noting the reviews can include medical and social-impact analysis. He said the initial statutory limit would be three requests per chamber (six total) to keep costs reasonable; the bill also includes a 60-day timeline for OID studies though hearings need not be delayed waiting for a report.

Representative Marty and others raised concerns about trust in some historical fiscal estimates and the influence of industry-linked consultants. Tedford said he expected professional, independent actuaries would be used and that lawmakers would remain free to accept or reject the department’s findings.

The clerk recorded the final vote as 61 yeas and 26 nays, and the Speaker declared the bill passed.