FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Paige Gehlhausen, Press Secretary
Paige.Gehlhausen@iga.in.gov
317-232-9425
Busch: Priority bill to hold the health insurance industry accountable passes Senate committee
STATEHOUSE (Jan. 30, 2025) — A Senate Republican priority bill authored by State Sen. Justin Busch (R-Fort Wayne) that would hold businesses in the health insurance industry to higher standards unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services Wednesday, Jan. 29.
Senate Bill 3 would stipulate that third-party administrators (TPAs), pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), employee benefit consultants, and health insurance agents/brokers who are compensated on a percentage basis, have a fiduciary responsibility to the health plan sponsors with whom they work.
Fiduciary responsibility is a legal standard already used in professions such as financial advising, accounting and pension administration. It requires a party to act prudently and solely in the best interest of their client when making financial decisions on their behalf.
Concerning health insurance, plan sponsors are typically employers who provide coverage to their employees. Employers either purchase the insurance outright, or they pay claims through their own funds but contract with TPAs and PBMs who help create benefit plans and process claims, and who are trusted to make the best choices for employers and their employees.
"When Hoosier employers work with these health insurance companies to help cover their employees' medical costs, both the employers and employees should be able to have full trust these companies are working to find the best and most affordable coverage," Busch said. "There are many concerns surrounding the health insurance industry, including its opaque practices and conflicts of interests – and it's the clients who are put in positions of financial risk. By legally requiring these companies to act in the plans sponsor's best interest, we can remove bad financial incentives that drive up the cost of health insurance, which would ensure Hoosiers get access to more affordable health care."
In recent years, the General Assembly has passed many meaningful laws that seek to lower the cost of health care, including a law authored by Busch in 2023 that put a stop to primary care physician noncompete agreements. SB 3 is another effort to help strengthen the focus on this important issue, which affects nearly every Hoosier family.
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To learn more about Senate Bill 3 and other bills Busch has authored this session, click here.
State Sen. Justin Busch (R-Fort Wayne) represents Senate District 16,
which includes Whitley County and a portion of Allen County.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
