Senate committee advances bills to open insurance pools for housing projects, boost biomarker testing transparency and authorize Guard life insurance program

A Senate committee on insurance and related matters voted to advance a package of House bills that would change how insurance and health programs operate for housing authorities, patients and military service members.

Senator Heckman said House Bill 10-75, sponsored by the Housing Authority, would let entities created through public-private partnerships participate in the authorities’ insurance pool so projects can lower their insurance costs. "This bill... allows these entities that's created to develop these low income housing authorities on the bill improvements and then we'll make improvements," Senator Heckman said, adding the change responds to shifts in HUD funding and the use of low-income tax credits that can exclude some projects from current pools.

The measure was reported out of committee on a motion described in the transcript as "title sufficient to pass." The transcript does not specify the name of the member who moved the motion nor a roll-call vote tally.

The committee also reported House Bill 565, referred to in the hearing as "Jill's Law," a biomarker bill intended to guide treatment decisions for patients with cancer and other conditions. The chair said the bill's initial sections establish how biomarkers will be used clinically and that other sections align codes with Medicaid and prior-authorization rules. "We're referring to this bill now as Jill's Law," the chair said.

House Bill 856, which removes a previously scheduled repealer related to step-therapy protocols (the practice requiring patients to try certain drugs before others), was described by the chair as having "negligible" cost according to the state health plan. The committee moved and reported that bill as well.

Senator McClendon presented House Bill 939 to extend the Mississippi Linked Service Award Program (LOSAP) for volunteer firefighters. "It's got $3,000,000 in it," he said, and added the program will require additional funding in future years to retain and recruit volunteers. The committee reported the bill.

Other bills the committee advanced included House Bill 1019, to expand access to trade-association or self-funded group health plans for small businesses and self-employed professionals; House Bill 1117, a transparency measure aiming to report dental-insurance data to the insurance commissioner through a portal; and House Bill 1332, which directs examinations to follow National Association of Insurance Commissioners standards. A presenter said the NAIC standards are the baseline and would not change continuing-education exemptions for certain licensees.

Senator Kate presented House Bill 1713 to authorize the Mississippi Military Department to administer a voluntary, state-sponsored life-insurance program for National Guard members and to designate the adjutant general as program sponsor. The presenter said the program has operated since 1962, carries no fiscal note in the transcript and is paid for by participating guardsmen.

The committee completed its agenda and rose to report the bills to the next stage. The transcript records voice votes and statements that bills "will be reported," but does not include formal roll-call tallies for the motions recorded in this hearing.

What happens next: reported bills move to the next legislative stage for consideration by the full Senate or additional committees as required by chamber rules; the transcript did not specify further hearing dates or floor schedules.