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MONTANA SELF INSURERS' ASSOCIATION

MSIA Legislative Update 3/31/2023 - Week 12

  • This Week’s Legislative Action 
  • HB 923 – Eliminate SAWW Cap on Benefits 
  • HB 313 - PA’s Independent Practice 
  • HB 836 – Create a Regulatory Sandbox
  • HB 896 – Create WC Residual Market Mechanism 
  • SB 556/LC 3945 – Terminate State Fund
  • Hearings Scheduled
  • SB 165 – Eliminate Common Law Bad Faith Actions 4/4
  • SB 310 – Add Specific Cancers to FireFighters Presumption Law 3/31
  • HB590 – Violence Against Health Care Workers 4/3
  • SB 369 – Vaccine Reaction Claims 4/5
  • HB 636 – Decrease ownership level for WC Exemption 4/3
  • Welcome New MSIA Member – Cool Cat Technology 
  • Legislative Action 


Deadlines do funny things to people. When you put enough people in a room and call them a legislature, sometimes they really stretch the imagination. For example, the transmittal deadline is for money bills either revenue or appropriations (which a friend calls reverse revenue), is next Friday 4/7. That means bills more or less have to be through committee this week. To meet that deadline and definition for bill action, we will see a revenue section in a bill that otherwise doesn’t really fit. For example, HB 923 (details below) included specific permission to the Department of Labor to charge $1 for copies of papers or records. Thus, suddenly it was a revenue bill. 


My general approach to legislatures is that they make the rules and they change the rules; nothing is dead until the day after they go home. 


With the transmittal deadline approaching, we also saw a number of bills suddenly introduced and heard. Last week at this time, I thought we had pretty well exhausted the big workers’ compensation bills and would have just what we knew about to address for the rest of the session. I was wrong. 


Introduced and heard in Committee this past week were HB 896 to create a WC residual market mechanism (and originally titled to provide a premium tax on State Fund), SB 556/LC 3945 the perennial ‘kill the state fund’ bill, and HB 923 to increase benefits. All three bills died on Committee action – the details are below. We will continue to monitor all the legislation previously reported. When there is action, or a change, we will update the report. Otherwise, if the bill is not in the weekly report, nothing has happened since last week’s report. 



HB 923               Harvey               D-Butte                          As originally drafted and introduced this bill would have increased benefits from 66 2/3 to 100% of average weekly wage. This bill was subject of a notice to members in January and saw no activity until this week. It was set for hearing on Wednesday 3/29 and MSIA assisted other insurance and business interests in creating opposing positions. NCCI priced the proposal as immediately increasing WC costs between 11.3 to 15.8%. About 4p the day before the hearing we heard there was a technical issue and the incorrect language was released. The new language eliminated the State Average Weekly Wage on benefits. The last-minute change left us with little to say other than we did not have time to review, analyze or discuss the proposal. It is a great example of why we need a vehicle for dialogue with others on workers compensation issues. MSIA prepared a written statement and MSIA member, Montana School Boards Group Insurance Association presented on our behalf at the hearing on 3/29. The bill died in committee on 3/30 with an 8 – 11 vote and was tabled (almost certainly dead). MSIA opposed this bill.


HB 313               Etchart             R-Billings                          This bill, as amended, would permit Physician Assistants (PA’s) with a minimum of 6000 hours (3 years) of experience to have an independent practice. Under current law, PA’s must work under a supervising physician. The bill passed the House on 2/28 by a vote of 92 – 6. This bill was heard by the Senate Business, Labor & Economic Affairs Committee on 3/22. The bill passed the Senate today 36 – 13, interestingly with most of the D’s voting against. It’s next stop will be the Governor’s desk and he is expected to sign it into law. MSIA can support the amended version of the bill. 


HB 836               K. Zolnikov        R-Billings                        This bill is an MSF idea to create a ‘regulatory sandbox’ to allow for additional, limited experimentation within the marketplace. The idea is to permit new ideas that do not fit within the regulatory scheme to have some freedom to be tested out, within a somewhat controlled environment. The bill permits these experiments as long as there is a written business plan, no negative impacts to consumers and no negative impacts to the financial solvency of the insurance carrier and it would be limited to 10,000 policyholders. An ‘innovation waiver’ from regulation for a period of up to three years would be provided and reporting would be required, and it only applies to property and casualty insurance. MSF reports they would like to see how it might be applied to return to work and safety programs in workers’ compensation. The bill was heard by the House Business & Labor Committee on 3/27 and passed 19 – 0 on 3/28. Within the context of return to work and safety programs, MSIA supported the proposal. 


HB 896                Nicol                 R-Billings                       This bill was incorrectly titled to provide a 2.75% premium tax on MSF policies (the same level as Plan 2 policies). The specific language is confusing, contradictory and poorly put together. It may be an example of rushing language to meet a legislative deadline. The thrust of the bill was to create a workers’ compensation residual market mechanism. MSF organized business and labor to oppose the bill citing increased costs and decreased services as experienced in other states with such a program. The only supporter for the bill was the sponsor. The bill was heard on 3/28 and was defeated 1 – 18 by the Committee on 3/30 and was tabled (almost certainly dead). MSIA monitored this bill. 


SB 556/LC3945 Glimm             R- Kila                                 This is another Representative Nicol bill and sponsored by Senator Glimm. The language is a carry-over from 2017 and as a result, some of the language is inaccurate. The bill eliminates MSF and creates an assigned risk pool and turns MSF assets over to be used for other purposes. The replacement of MSF language is complicated, makes assumptions that may not be accurate, and based on experience from other states employers will see a rate increase and a decrease in service from the residual market mechanism. As with HB 896, MSF organized business and labor to oppose the bill and only the sponsor and Representative Nicol supported it. The bill was heard in Senate Business, Labor & Economic Affairs Committee on 3/29. The bill failed to pass committee 2 – 8 on 3/30 and was tabled (almost certainly dead). MSIA monitored this bill.


  • Hearings Set      


SB 165                Usher                 R-Billings                         This bill requires first and third party claimants against insurers to provide information and cooperate with an insurers’ claims adjudication process in a timely man(almost certainly dead ner and provides insurers an affirmative defense if they do not. In addition, it amends the Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPA) so that third party claimants would no longer have a common law bad faith action opportunity against insurers, as created in the BREWINGTON v EMPLOYERS FIRE INS C :: 1999 :: Montana Supreme Court Decision. Under the current law, first party claimants (your insured) have a private right of action against their insurer, should the company not deal in good faith in adjudicating the claim. Third party claimants, under this proposal, would specifically have the same rights, and be limited to those rights. The bill passed final reading in the Senate 34-14 along party lines on 2/16. The bill has been set for a hearing in the House Business & Labor Committee on 4/4. MSIA supports this bill.


SB 310                Small                  R-Busby                           This bill adds ovarian and testicular cancers to the list of presumptive illnesses covered for firefighters. This bill has the support of leadership and we were told it will pass and we can expect it to be signed by the Governor. The bill passed the Senate on 2/28 by a vote of 34 – 16, with mostly the more conservative members voting against. It is set for hearing in House Business & Labor Committee today, 3/31. MSIA opposes this bill but did not testify. 


HB 590              Buttrey             R – Great Falls                This bill requires health care employers to report incidents of violence against health care workers. Unlike the Senate Version (SB 241, which was withdrawn by the sponsor, it does not require a workers’ compensation claim be made by the employer. The bill is set for hearing in front of the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee on 4/5. With the change from the Senate version, MSIA did not take a position on this bill. 


SB 369                Trebas               R – Great Falls                This bill specifically identifies in workers’ compensation statute that an injury or accident covered under the law would include a “serious adverse event” experienced by an employee after receiving a vaccine mandated by the employer. The amendment MSIA worked on with the sponsor deleted the language including “a congenital anomaly or a birth defect.” In requiring that the adverse reaction be a “serious adverse event,” the bill may create a higher standard than currently exists. The bill passed the Senate on 3/2 by a vote of 47 – 3. It is schedule for a hearing in front of the House Business & Labor Committee on 4/5. MSIA testified in opposition to the bill and in support of the amendment. With the adoption of the amendment, MSIA no longer opposes the bill. 


HB 636               J. Kassmier        R-Bozeman                     This bill would reduce the corporate officer/owner threshold for WC coverage exemption from 20% ownership of the business to 10%. The bill passed the House on 3/2 by a vote of 96 - 3. The bill is set for hearing in front of the Senate Business, Labor & Economic Affairs Committee on 4/3. MSIA is monitoring this bill. 


  • Welcome New MSIA Member – Cool Cat Technology


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See you next week!