Kansas bill would require Department of Insurance to produce insurer impact reports before health laws

House Bill 2703 would require the Kansas Department of Insurance to prepare a legislator-requested financial impact report describing how proposed health-insurance legislation would affect covered individuals, premiums and out-of-pocket costs before the legislature considers the measure. The bill, described to the Committee on Insurance by reviser Eileen, requires the department to issue a data call to health insurers and administrators doing business in Kansas and to aggregate and de-identify information to protect trade secrets and personal data.

The bill directs the department to report whether the proposed legislation would be preempted in whole or in part by federal law and to estimate the aggregate change in premium costs for the first plan year after passage. The department must produce the report within a time frame specified by the requesting legislator, but the bill allows a minimum of two business days for insurers to respond to the data call. Section 4 would keep the collected information confidential, prevent naming insurers in the report, and exempt the data from the Kansas Open Records Act for five years unless the legislature reenacts the exemption. If approved, the bill would take effect upon its publication in the statute book.

Supporters testified the bill fills a gap in the fiscal-note process. Jonathan Buxton of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association said the measure "creates a simple mechanism" so legislators have more information when considering mandates. Andrew Wiens of Kansas Employers for Affordable Health Care said the requirement would provide "objective analysis" of how proposals would affect premiums and consumer cost sharing. Brad Smoot of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas told the committee the bill would give lawmakers data similar to revenue-department analyses for tax changes and highlighted that the bill covers both premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

Committee members sought clarifications about whether the Department currently provides testimony about costs and how this process would interact with existing fiscal notes and state-employee plan reviews. Witnesses said the change formalizes a department-led data call to private insurers and employers — information the committee often lacks when assessing private-sector cost impacts. The hearing produced no committee vote on HB2703 in the transcript; the chair closed the hearing after proponent testimony and no opponents or neutral witnesses appeared.

What's next: The bill remains at the hearing stage. If advanced, amendments could clarify timelines, the scope of data requested, or limits on confidentiality.