Bill Description: House Bill 829 would impose a variety of new requirements on insurers regarding claim settlement, impose other regulations and disclosure mandates, and increase penalties.

Rating: -5

Does it create, expand, or enlarge any agency, board, program, function, or activity of government? Conversely, does it eliminate or curtail the size or scope of government?

House Bill 829 would expand the scope of government activity by amending existing statutes and adding new sections to Title 41, Chapter 56, Idaho Code, which impose additional regulatory requirements, penalties, interest obligations, transparency mandates, contracting standards, and civil action provisions on private insurers. These changes would correspondingly expand the regulatory and enforcement roles of the Department of Insurance. 

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Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market?

The bill would increase government intervention in the market by giving government new, additional, and expanded power to regulate activities in the free market by dictating specific timelines for claim processing and payments, prohibiting certain business practices (e.g., delaying tactics or serial information requests), imposing interest accrual rules, setting contracting standards, requiring transparency disclosures, and enabling civil actions against insurers for non-compliance.

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Does it increase barriers to entry into the market? Examples include occupational licensure, the minimum wage, and restrictions on home businesses. Conversely, does it remove barriers to entry into the market?

The bill would indirectly increase barriers to entry into the insurance market by adding layers of regulatory compliance, such as stricter claim adjudication standards, prohibitions on certain contracting practices, enhanced transparency requirements, and increased legal liabilities (e.g., civil actions and penalties), which raise operational costs and complexity for insurers, potentially deterring new entrants or smaller firms.

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Does it directly or indirectly create or increase penalties for victimless crimes or non-restorative penalties for non-violent crimes? Conversely, does it eliminate or decrease penalties for victimless crimes or non-restorative penalties for non-violent crimes?

The bill would significantly escalate enforcement and penalties in numerous ways, including increasing the existing $5,000 administrative fine to $10,000 for a second or subsequent violation within three years.

The bill would strike a current provision that says administrative penalties will not be imposed for a violation of the chapter if the insurer has paid at least 95% of claims in the calendar year within prescribed time periods. 

The bill would also remove current language that says the director “shall not suspend or revoke an insurer's certificate of authority for violations of this chapter,” and adds language allowing the director to do so. 

The bill would add extensive civil action provisions, allowing a practitioner or facility to commence a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against an insurer for violations of the provisions of this chapter. 

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Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the United States Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the US Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?

The bill would violate the spirit of the United States Constitution by interfering with private property rights and freedom of contract (protected under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments) through mandated claim processing rules, contracting standards, prohibitions on retaliatory conduct, and forced transparency requirements that override voluntary agreements between insurers, providers, and beneficiaries.

The bill would even create a new section of code, Section 41-5608, Idaho Code, specifically to violate the right of contract. It says, “All provider contracts, regardless of the date of execution of such contract, shall comply with the provisions of this chapter for claims submitted on or after July 1, 2026.” 

It also says that “an insurer shall not require renegotiation of unrelated contract terms as a condition of implementing the provisions of this section” and “no contract executed in this state may waive the provisions of this chapter.” 

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