Senate Insurance Committee reports six bills to floor, including dental coverage and CE carryover

Chair Sen. Jumonty Bailey presided over the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance on March 23, 2026, and the panel voted to report six bills to the full Senate, ranging from updated screening requirements to insurance coverage changes and a continuing-education carryover for licensees.

The committee first advanced Senate Print 2334, described as an amendment to the Insurance Law and the Social Services Law concerning elevated lead-level screening; members approved a motion to move the bill and the committee referred it to the Finance Committee.

The committee spent its most substantive exchange on Senate Print 2648, described by committee staff as an amendment to the Insurance Law and the Social Services Law addressing coverage for certain dental items. A committee member asked whether the mandate would apply exclusively to stand-alone dental plans or to all commercial dental coverage and pressed on fiscal responsibility: "Then why is this bill necessary?" the committee member asked. Committee staff responded that Medicaid and commercial insurance plans "largely already covered this out of practice" and characterized the bill as largely codifying that coverage. The presenter added that the bill would require commercial dental coverage to include the item and that private plans would determine whether costs are passed on to enrollees. After the Q&A the committee voted to report the bill to the Senate floor.

Committee members also approved Senate Print 3352, described as updating the Insurance Law and the Vehicle and Traffic Law to address electronic delivery of services; Senate Print 5047, relating to employer reward or incentive programs for eligible workers; and Senate Print 61228, introduced by the chair, which would permit licensed insurance agents, brokers, adjusters, consultants and intermediaries to carry over up to five hours of continuing-education credit per biannual licensing period. Finally, the panel reported Senate Print 6551, an amendment described as adding certain image-guided biopsies to covered breast cancer screening services. Each bill was moved, seconded and reported to the floor by voice vote as recorded in the committee proceeding.

The committee did not record detailed roll-call tallies in the transcript; most measures were approved by voice vote and were reported to the Senate floor for further consideration. The meeting adjourned after the six items were disposed of.

What happens next: Each bill will proceed to further committee consideration or the Senate floor as appropriate; the transcript records committee action but does not indicate final Senate passage or implementation details.