Latest Legislation Headlines

All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

U.S. Judge Sets December Date for Health Care Suit Hearing

Sep 15 2010 // A Florida judge said Tuesday he would hear arguments Dec. 16 on a lawsuit by 20 U.S. states seeking to block President Barack Obama’s overhaul of the U.S. health care system. U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, who is...

Judge: Massachusetts Town Can’t Stop Discrimination Suit

Sep 13 2010 // A federal judge has ruled that a social services agency that wanted to open a group home for recovering drug addicts in Framingham can move forward with its lawsuit against the town. Judge Douglas Woodlock on Thursday...

Towers Watson: New Risks, Regulations Reshape Reinsurance Industry

Sep 13 2010 // The growing complexity of reinsurance markets in recent years has increased demands on reinsurance buyers and radically transformed the industry, says Towers Watson. Changes such as complex market data, Solvency II...

S&P Examines Reinsurers Reconsideration of Domicile Decisions

Sep 9 2010 // Global reinsurance companies are reconsidering their choices of corporate domicile, according to a new report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, titled “Choosing A Domicile Remains A Hot Topic For...

Homeowners Insurance an Issue in Texas Gubernatorial Campaign

Sep 6 2010 // Former Houston Mayor Bill White, a Democrat campaigning to replace Repub-lican Rick Perry as governor of Texas, says homeowners insurance rates in Texas are too high and should be more regulated. White said Texans pay an...

Fee Schedule Slowed Growth of Illinois Injured Workers’ Medical Costs

Sep 3 2010 // Medical costs per workers’ compensation claim in Illinois showed slower growth in 2007 following implementation of the medical fee schedule in 2006, according to a study from the Workers Compensation Research...

Financial Reforms Will Help Curb Systemic Risk, Regulators Tell Panel

Sep 1 2010 // New powers from the financial reform law will help avoid a repeat of 2008’s frenzied sale of Wachovia and the wreckage that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers, U.S. regulators said Wednesday. A commission...

Judge: Pennsylvania School District Must Pay $260K in Spying Case

Sep 1 2010 // A federal judge says a suburban Philadelphia school district embroiled in a laptop spying scandal must pay a family’s lawyer about $260,000. Lower Merion School District was ordered Monday to pay attorney Mark...

University Study of P/C Insurers Finds Bad CEOs Can Wreck Companies

Aug 31 2010 // When companies go out of business, their leaders often blame something other than their own performance for the failure. Lehman Bros.’s CEO Richard Fuld said his immense compensation package had nothing to do with...

Study: Compound Drugs, Co-Packs Increase Calif. Workers’ Comp Costs

Aug 31 2010 // The use of compound drugs, medical foods, and so-called convenience packs that combine prescription drugs and medical foods, increased dramatically in the second quarter of 2007 — driving up costs in the...

Judge Allows Lawsuits Against Bank of America Executives Over Merrill Deal

Aug 30 2010 // A Manhattan federal judge refused to dismiss shareholder lawsuits against Bank of America Corp and various executives and directors over the purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. during the 2008 financial crisis and...

Forfeiture Postponed in Ex-Pennsylvania Judge’s Fraud Case

Aug 27 2010 // A federal court forfeiture hearing has been postponed in the case of a former Pennsylvania Superior Court judge convicted of insurance fraud, because the judge’s wife has hired a new attorney to try to prevent their...

Kentucky Court Rules Christians-Only Health Plan Is Insurance

Aug 27 2010 // A Christians-only health care plan provides a “contract for insurance” and doesn’t qualify for exemption from state regulations as a religious publication, the Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled in a...

Commission Weighs Self-Governing Body for Oil Drilling Safety

Aug 25 2010 // The White House oil spill commission Wednesday will probe U.S. offshore drilling policies and consider pushing the oil industry to accept a self-governing body to help oversee tough safety standards. With a focus on...

Massey Suit Goes Before W.Va. Judge Panel

Aug 24 2010 // Hundreds of southern West Virginia residents who claim Massey Energy Co. poisoned their wells and made them sick by pumping coal slurry underground will get their day in court next year _ and a chance to settle the case...

Florida Insurance Department to Survey on Sinkholes

Aug 23 2010 // Starting this month, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is going to begin surveying Florida property insurers about their experience with sinkhole claims, in an effort to get to the bottom of the simmering...

Trade Group Sues Over New Calif. Insurance Rules

Aug 23 2010 // A new regulation that makes it harder for health insurance companies to drop individual policyholders in California is being challenged in court by an industry trade group. The California Department of Insurance’s...

Montana Workers’ Comp Overhaul Gets Green Light

Aug 23 2010 // A proposed workers’ compensation overhaul hammered out by business and labor is going to Montana’s full Legislature, despite stiff opposition from the equally powerful trial lawyers and doctors groups. A...

Court Rules North Dakota Farm Fraudster Entitled to Benefit

Aug 20 2010 // North Dakota’s Supreme Court says an insurance agent who was convicted of running a federal farm payment scam is entitled to some retirement money. Duane Huber of Wimbledon contended North Dakota Farmers Union...

Judges Reopen Portions of Bid-Rigging Civil Suit

Aug 20 2010 // A decision by a federal court in Philadelphia has reopened some of the racketeering and antitrust lawsuits that were dismissed three years ago against insurers and brokers who allegedly participated in a bid-rigging scheme...