Health Insurance

Creation of a statewide health insurance pool. Senate Bill 146 would create a statewide pool which would - if funded at recommended levels - reduce the cost of insurance for 32,000 to 36,000 Delawareans. Sponsored by Sen. Blevins and Rep. Stone. Fact sheet about S.B. 146 here.
Status: S.B. 146 passed Senate; passed out of House Economic Development, Banking and Insurance Committee; was not brought up for vote in House of Representatives

Reducing high medical malpractice rates for OB-GYNs and other doctors. Senate Bill 123 would create a financial subsidy for doctors in high-risk professions such as OB-GYN to help them pay their medical malpractice premiums.  The subsidy would be funded through a surcharge on the excess financial reserves of health service corporations. Neither policyholders nor taxpayers would pay for the subsidy. Sponsored by Sen. Blevins and Rep. Oberle. Fact sheet about S.B. 123 here.
Status: S. B. 123 passed Senate; was tabled in House Economic Development, Banking and Insurance Committee

Allow the Department of Insurance to regulate health insurance rates.  Senate Bill 236 would give the Insurance Department the legal authority to turn down excessive health insurance rate applications.  The Department already has this authority for other lines of insurance such as automobile and homeowners insurance. Sponsored by Sen. Blevins and Rep. Oberle. Fact sheet about S.B. 236 here.
Status: S.B. 236 passed Senate; was tabled in House Economic Development, Banking and Insurance Committee

Tracking malpractice verdicts and settlements. In order to help analyze the high cost of medical malpractice insurance for doctors – one of the causes of high health care costs – medical malpractice insurance companies must report malpractice settlements and verdicts to the Insurance Department. Sponsored by Rep. Oberle and Sen. Blevins.
Status: House Bill 133 signed into law by Governor on July 7, 2005

Protecting consumers from bogus health insurance.  Senate Bill 369 will protect Delaware consumers from “medical discount cards,”  which look like health insurance but are not and, in some instances, can be scams against low and middle income Delawareans who are struggling to pay for health insurance.
Status: Senate Bill 369 passed Senate; did not receive a hearing in House Economic Development, Banking and Insurance Committee

Allowing coverage for adult children of parents with health insurance while attending college.  Many families face a quandary when their children leave home, as some colleges and jobs do not offer health insurance but many private health insurance plans do not allow the parents to continue carrying the adult child on the family’s plan.  House Bill 446 would require that health insurance carriers offer parents the option of purchasing insurance for their adult children through the age of 24.  H.B. 446 would also address the problems that led to “Michelle’s Law” in New Hampshire, inspired by a college student who died of cancer at age 22 and was told she could not stay on her parents’ health insurance unless she remained a full-time student. News release on H.B. 446 here.
Status: H.B. 446 signed into law by Governor on July 10, 2006

Low-cost arbitration of billing disputes between health care providers and insurers.  Currently, health care providers have no practical way to contest decisions by health insurance companies to refuse their bills.  House Bill 438 would set up a low-cost, expedited arbitration process for billing disputes between health care providers and insurance companies, to ensure that such dispute are resolved quickly, fairly, and inexpensively. News release on H.B. 438 here.
Status: H.B. 438 passed House of Representatives; was not brought up for a vote in Senate

Protecting Consumers

Restricting the use of credit scoring in setting insurance rates. The use of credit scoring is both unnecessary and unfair and has been eliminated by law in some states and restricted voluntarily by some insurance companies. Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 2 would ban the use of credit scoring for policy renewals in auto and homeowner insurance, meaning that policy holders would never see an increase in insurance due to credit status. The bill would allow, at the request of a customer, insurance rates to decrease if a person's credit score is found to have improved; however, a customer's insurance rates could never increase, even if a customer requests a review and their credit score has worsened. The legislations would make Delaware one of the six strictest states in the country in terms of restictions on the use of credit scoring in setting insurance rates. Sponsored by Sen. Henry and Reps. Williams and Plant.
Status: Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 2 passed Senate; passed out of House Economic Development, Banking and Insurance Committee; was not brought up for vote in House of Representatives

Increasing penalties for insurance companies that engage in unfair practices. Insurance companies could be fined up to $300,000 per year for a pattern of unfair treatment of their policyholders, three times the previous maximum fines, under House Substitute 1 for House Bill 90. Insurance companies also would have 21 days to provide a substantive response to the Insurance Commissioner’s office when contacted about a consumer complaint. Previously, there was no statutory time limit on responding to a consumer complaint. Sponsored by Reps. Keeley and Stone and Sen. Blevins.
Status: H.S. 1 for H.B. 90 signed into law by Governor on June 23, 2005

Auto and Home Insurance

Seizing the license plates of uninsured drivers. As part of an effort to control auto insurance premiums, Senate Bill 20 authorizes Insurance Department fraud investigators to take the license plates of cars without insurance, thus keeping those cars off the road. Sponsored by Sen. Sokola and Rep. Stone.
Status: S.B. 20 signed into law by Governor on June 23, 2005

Reducing accidents involving teenage drivers.  Commissioner Denn supports and will work with legislators to see passage of Senate Bill 117 governing use of cars by teenagers with learner’s permits and House Bill 191, which would restrict the number of passengers that teenage drivers can carry during nighttime hours.  These bills are important to public safety and will also have a positive impact on insurance rates. Sponsored by Sen. Sokola and Reps. Smith and Valihura (S.B. 117) and Rep. Valihura and Sen. Sokola (H.B. 191).
Status: S.B. 117 passed Senate; passed out of House Public Safety Committee; was not brought up for vote in House of Representatives. H.B. 191 passed out of House Public Safety Committee; was tabled in House of Representatives

Reducing insurance fraud. Senate Bill 256 would create a “fraud busters” program in Delaware to provide financial awards to persons to make reports of insurance fraud that result in admissions or findings of guilt. Sponsored by Sen. Sokola and Rep. Stone. News release on S.B 256 here.
Status: S.B. 256 signed into law by Governor on June 7, 2006

Economic Development

Expanding the captive insurance industry in Delaware.  House Bill 218 would enhance Delaware’s appeal as a domicile for captive insurance companies. With recent dramatic increases in commercial insurance premiums and greater difficulty in securing access to certain types of insurance coverage, more and more business organizations are turning to captive insurance companies as a risk management tool. This legislation would create foster economic development in Delaware by cultivating the growth of the captive insurance industry in the state. Sponsored by Rep. Stone and Sen. Blevins.
Status: House Bill 218 signed into law by Governor on July 12, 2005

Allowing AAA Mid-Atlantic to expand Delaware call center. House Bill 196 is a change in the law needed to allow AAA Mid-Atlantic to move its call center operation from Pennsylvania and continue to provide insurance services to its members.  Sponsored by Reps. Stone and Keeley and Sen. Blevins.
Status: House Bill 196 signed into law by Governor on June 14, 2005

Workers Compensation

While the General Assembly and Governor are still working on refrom of Delaware's workers compensation system, Commissioner Denn contimues to believe that the following ideas should be implemented in order to ensure that Delaware employers are able to fairly compete.

Workers compensation equity for Delaware contractors. Currently, many out-of-state contractors fail to fully inform their employees that those employees can make claims under the Delaware workers compensation statute for injuries that occur in Delaware.  This omission artificially lowers the workers compensation rates of out-of-state contractors and allows them to underbid Delaware contractors.  Commissioner Denn will propose legislation to fully inform out-of-state workers who are injured on the job in Delaware of their right to make a claim under the Delaware system.

Sanctions for “1099 abuse.” Some employers are avoiding payment of workers compensation premiums by falsely labeling full-time employees as independent contractors.  Commissioner Denn will propose legislation designed to enhance state efforts to combat this type of conduct.