Bill > HB1580

This bill mandates that companies offering Medicare Advantage Plans (which provide Medicare benefits through private insurance plans), Medicare Part D Plans (which cover prescription drugs), and Medicare supplement policies (also known as Medigap, which help pay for costs that Original Medicare doesn't cover) to Mississippi residents must adhere to specific requirements. These include paying agents and brokers selling Medicare Advantage and Part D plans the commission rates set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency overseeing Medicare, and using a flat fee commission model for agents selling Medicare supplement policies. Furthermore, companies offering Medicare supplement policies must provide an open enrollment period every five years for individuals aged 65 to 80, allowing them a one-time special opportunity to purchase a policy without medical underwriting during their birth month, with full commission paid to agents. The bill also requires providers in these companies' networks to submit "intent to exit" paperwork by August 1st annually to leave the network, or they will remain contracted for the following year, and mandates that companies keep information about independent contractor agents (1099) separate from employee agents (W-2). The Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance is empowered to enforce these provisions.

Business and Industry

https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2026/pdf/history/HB/HB1580.xml