Kuderer meets with Washington congressional delegation on health, home insurance issues

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer spent May 14 and 15 in Washington, D.C., with her fellow state insurance regulators to discuss insurance regulatory priorities with members of Congress during the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 2025 Commissioner Fly-In.  

The annual Commissioner Fly-In brings together insurance regulators and their congressional delegations. While on Capitol Hill, regulators brief lawmakers on insurance regulatory efforts and advance state and NAIC priorities developed to protect consumers and maintain resilient insurance markets.  

Kuderer met with representatives Pramila Jayapal, Emily Randall, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith and senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, as well as staff from the offices of representatives Marilyn Strickland, Marie Glusenkamp Perez, Dan Newhouse and Suzan DelBene.

“There’s a lot of shared concern about the state of things at the federal level right now, but our meetings were encouraging,” Kuderer said. “Our congressional delegates are committed to fighting for Washingtonians’ health insurance and understand the risks climate change poses to the home insurance market, which are two of my biggest priorities.”

Kuderer’s priorities during the meetings included:

• The current Republican proposal to bar states from regulating artificial intelligence for 10 years. Her office is currently establishing an advisory board to provide counsel to ensure insurance companies’ use of AI complies with all applicable insurance laws and regulations.
• Keeping markets stable by extending enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. Without the extension, up to 80,000 Washingtonians could drop health coverage due to premium increases next year.
• Restoring state oversight of Medicare Advantage marketing to prevent deceptive practices. Her office receives frequent complaints from Medicare Advantage beneficiaries about denied claims, prior authorization delays, and inadequate provider networks, but federal law preempts state insurance commissioners from overseeing crucial aspects of Medicare Advantage plans. 
• Addressing climate change. Insurance relies on predictability to plan for future losses, but climate change has broken the historical models they relied on. The cost of weather-driven events has caused the industry to greatly reduce its capacity to provide property insurance coverage.
• Funding for NOAA, FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program. Degrading these agencies’ capabilities puts Washington residents at unnecessary risk; the credible science they produce keeps people prepared for, and our communities and infrastructure protected from, natural disasters.

Read more about the NAIC Commissioner Fly-In and state insurance regulatory priorities on the NAIC website.