I got a few inquiries over the weekend about the fate of insurance bills and other measures that haven't been passed out of committee. Here's what I know, well, most of it anyway.
Just a few minutes ago, the Senate Insurance Committee passed a bill that would create a health insurance exchange in hopes of making coverage more affordable for those who work for small businesses as part of a plan touted by Gov. Haley Barbour. There was some opposition, but the bill was passed in the committee, as some Senators reasoned they could make changes to the bill before it comes up for final vote.
The Senate Insurance Committee also chose again today not to act on several Hurricane Katrina related insurance measures. Those bills, seven of which Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, authored were not on the committee's planned agenda for Monday. Baria told the Sun Herald last week he was disappointed his bills haven't been allowed out of committee for the full Senate to consider.
But the Senate's Katrina insurance reform bills aren't officially dead yet, but as of now, they face long, long odds. So far, the Senate Insurance Committee has set no meeting for Tuesday, the last day they could vote to keep the bills alive.
The House of Representatives Insurance Committee passed a "Policyholder's Bill of Rights" last week, which would put the burden of proof on the insurance company to prove that a claim is excluded from a policy. The bill is eligible for a vote on the House floor now.
Most of the Legislature's post-Katrina insurance reforms aimed at coverage offered through the private sector have not passed. The Legislature last year approved a bailout for the state wind pool, which is the insurance of last resort for those who can't get wind coverage.
I'll be in the thick of it again tomorrow and there should be plenty of action inside the Capitol on deadline day.
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