Around the PIA Western Alliance States – Week of December 9, 2024

Arizona — Resiliency and Mitigation Council Formation: Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) Director Barbara D. Richardson has established the Resiliency and Mitigation Council (Council) to investigate the availability and affordability of personal homeowners insurance in forested areas and wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas of Arizona.

The Department is aware of the difficulties that Arizona homeowners in these areas face in finding coverage for their homes, and that they are increasingly turning to local, state, and national leaders to address the issue. Working through the Council, DIFI’s goal is to draft a report of the Council’s findings by the end of next year to equip state policymakers with the information they need to implement solutions, including risk mitigation strategies, to address the availability and affordability of homeowners insurance in wildfire-prone areas of the state.

While the Council’s efforts will focus on mitigating the risk of losses in forested and WUI areas, its work will benefit all Arizona homeowners. By reducing the total amount of risk that is spread among all policyholders in the state, homeowners insurance premiums may begin to stabilize.

The Council will be composed of the following representatives from cities, towns, and counties, firefighting authorities, the insurance industry, and federally recognized tribal nations within Arizona:

Director Barbara D. Richardson, DIFI

Director Thomas A. Torres, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management

Tom Savage, League of Arizona Cities and Towns

Terri Edwards, Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Arizona

Chief Jake Rhoades, Arizona Fire Chiefs Association

Chief Randy Chevalier, Arizona Fire District Association

Carmine DeBonis, Jr., Pima County

Jacob Emnett, County Supervisors Association of Arizona

Laura Curtis, American Property and Casualty Insurance Association

Michael Newman, Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety

Vacant, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona

Vacant, Navajo Nation

“I am optimistic that the Council’s work will provide an important resource for policymakers at the state and local level to begin addressing the risk of wildfire across the state,” said Director Richardson. “We understand that high insurance premiums are a financial burden for Arizona homeowners and an unfortunate symptom of the heightened risk from wildfires. The ultimate goal is to save people’s homes and make our communities more resilient to fires.”

The Council’s inaugural meeting is scheduled for December 11th at 1:00 P.M., with both in-person and virtual attendance options. Interested parties and members of the public are encouraged to attend.

Washington — Consolidated health care (R 2024-05): We adopted the Consolidated Health Care rule (R2024-05) on November 27, 2024. The rule takes effect on December 28, 2024. The Commissioner is adopting consolidated health care regulations due to the passage of health insurance related legislation. Currently, multiple provisions of health insurance-related regulations in the Washington Administrative Code need to be updated by the Commissioner to be consistent with legislation passed and codified in the Revised Code of Washington, as well as recent federal law changes. These rules will facilitate implementation of the new laws by ensuring that all affected health care and insurance entities understand their legal rights and obligations under the enacted legislation.

For more information, including the adopted rule (CR-103) and the concise explanatory statement, please visit consolidated health care (R 2024-05) the rule’s web page.

Washington — Implementation of SSB 5986 and updates to the Balance Billing Protection Act (R2024-01): We adopted the Implementation of SSB 5986 and updates to the Balance Billing Protection Act rule (R2024-01) on November 27, 2024. The rule takes effect on December 28, 2024.

The purpose of the proposed rule is to implement Substitute Senate Bill 5986, which was enacted on March 19, 2024. The legislation adds ground ambulance balance billing protections to the Balance Billing Protection Act (BBPA). Before the passage of this legislation, the BBPA only applied to emergency services, air ambulances, and certain services at in-network facilities. Rulemaking is necessary to revise Chapter 284-43B WAC to include reference to ground ambulance services. The rules will facilitate the implementation of the law changes by ensuring that affected entities understand their rights and obligations under the new law. Rulemaking is also necessary to update the BBPA rules, including but not limited to consideration of arbitrator fees and revisions to the arbitration process for arbitration authorized under RCW 48.49.135. A new chapter is being added Chapter 284-170 WAC to address network access standards and contracting for behavioral health providers as it relates to transport to emergency crisis behavioral health centers as alternatives to emergency departments. For more information, including the adopted rule (CR-103) and the concise explanatory statement, please visit implementation of SSB 5986 and updates to the balance billing protection act webpage.