House committee backs bill to add two exempt positions at Department of Insurance for PBM enforcement

The House Insurance Committee voted to give HB 372 a favorable report, a one‑page bill that would create two exempt positions at the Department of Insurance to handle pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) compliance and enforcement.

Representative Rigsby, who introduced the bill, told the committee the Department of Insurance needs additional expertise to implement the PBM reforms passed last year. "They've had over 3,000 complaints and they need some expertise in that position to help with PBM compliance and PBM enforcement," Rigsby said.

Committee leadership signaled unanimous support for the staffing addition. The chair said the panel "just dumped a bunch of responsibility on the Department of Insurance" with last year’s PBM legislation and added, "We've got to give them the resources to be able to police and do what they need to do." The Department of Insurance confirmed it supports the change.

A motion for a favorable report was made (mover identified in the record as Easterbrook; seconded by Representative Sellers) and approved by voice vote. The committee did not record a roll‑call tally in the transcript; the action was taken by voice vote and the bill was reported favorably to the next stage of the legislative process.

If advanced by the full House, the bill would allow the Department to hire two exempt employees outside the standard merit system specifically to bolster PBM enforcement capacity. The bill text itself is one page and does not specify salaries or classification details; those administrative specifics would be handled by the department and through subsequent budget or personnel procedures.