Banking & Insurance 2017-2018

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee today, January 30, 2018, to consider the following:

SB 780 (Vogel) – An Act providing for telemedicine and for insurance coverage. Unanimously reported as amended.

Amendment A05606 (Vogel) – Adopted unanimously.

SB 1031 (Laughlin) – Amends the Insurance Regulation and Oversight Fund Act to provide greater transparency around the regulatory costs incurred by Pennsylvania domiciled insurers. Unanimously reported as amended.

Amendment A05625 (Laughlin) – Adopted unanimously.


The Senate Banking & Insurance Committee met on Wednesday, December 13, 2017, and took the following action:

Reported Out as Amended:
SB 637 (White): Amends the Insurance Company Law regarding Pharmaceutical Transparency. The bill was reported out by a vote of 10-4.
• A02377 (White): Removes the proposed Pharmaceutical Transparency Commission and shifts duties to Insurance Department. Adds language requiring health insurers report aggregate amount of rebates received from pharmacy benefit managers or drug manufacturers in its annual statement to the Department of Insurance. The amendment was adopted unanimously.

SB 1003 (White): Amends the Insurance Company Law to require emergency medical service agencies be reimbursed for services whether or not transport to a hospital occurs. The bill was reported out unanimously.
• A05263 (White): Ensures all health insurance plans reimburse for service, not only managed care plans. The amendment was adopted unanimously.


The Senate Banking & Insurance Committee met on Tuesday, October 24, 2017, and took the following action:

Reported Out as Amended:

SB 373 (Eichelberger): Legislation directs insurance companies to pay a dentist directly for services rendered to a patient (known as assignment-of-benefits). Bill was reported out as amended by a vote of 9-6.


The Senate Banking & Insurance Committee met on Wednesday, October 18, 2017, and took the following action:

Reported Out as Amended:

HB 1388 (Irvin): Pennsylvania Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization. Also, Prohibits CHIP from covering gender reassignment surgery and other gender transition services. The bill was reported out as amended by a vote of 14-1.

Reported Out as Committed:

SB 877 (White): Allows insurance producers to offers rebates and incentives up to $100 in value (Insurance Department Act). The bill was reported out unanimously.

SB 878 (White): Allows insurance producers to offer rebates and incentives up to $100 in value (Insurance Company Law). The bill was reported out unanimously.


The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee met on Tuesday, June 13, 2017, and took the following action:

Reported Out as Amended:

SB 471 (Blake): Establishes the Vacant and Abandoned Real Estate Foreclosure Act to create an accelerated process for foreclosing and selling vacant and abandoned properties. The bill was reported out unanimously.

Reported Out as Committed:

SB 590 (Stefano): Increases the cap on the service charge a merchant may charge for a bad check from $50 to $75. The bill was reported out unanimously.

SB 629 (Reschenthaler): Amends the law regarding fraudulent transfers—the act of moving property to a third-party entity in order to shield the asset from creditors. The bill was reported out unanimously.

SB 751 (White): Provides for regulation and licensure of mortgage servicers. The bill was reported out unanimously.

HB 1039 (Brown): Creates the Savings Promotion Raffle Authorization Act to allow banks and credit unions to offer savings promotion raffles to depositors. The bill was reported out unanimously.


The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee met on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, and took the following action:

Reported Out as Committed:

SB 143 (Yaw): Amends the Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act, replacing the membership of the now-defunct Middle Atlantic Truck Stop Operators with the PA Food Merchants Association, and provides for appointees from the Senate President Pro Tempore, Speaker of the House, and Minority Leaders of the Senate and House. The bill was reported out unanimously.

SB 630 (Reschenthaler): The Travel Insurance Modernization Act provides for licensure, requirements for sale of travel insurance, and authority of limited lines travel insurance procedures. The bill was reported out unanimously.