Insurance Making a Summer Splash in Hot Washington, D.C. — Senate Votes to Start Healthcare Debate and Trump Signs Covered Agreement with EU

Amidst the sizzling news of investigations and conversations about North Korea and terrorism, insurance is making its own headlines in the nation’s capital this summer. Congress is debating repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Trump Administration has signed off on the Covered Agreement with the European Union.

Most of the insurance news out of Washington, D.C. is centered on Republican efforts to repeal and replace the ACA. Several packages are currently on the table. In May 2017, the House of Representatives …

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EU and U.S. Negotiators Reach Covered Agreement

On January 13, 2017, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and former U.S Trade Representative Michael Froman notified Congressional leaders that U.S. negotiators reached a covered agreement with EU officials entitled “Bilateral Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America On Prudential Measures Regarding Insurance and Reinsurance” (Covered Agreement). The covered agreement covers three main areas of prudential insurance supervision: 1) group supervision; 2) reinsurance; and 3) exchange of information between supervisory authorities.

The U.S. Treasury Department released a Fact

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Leaders of Major House Committee Wade into Equivalency Discussions

On August 17, 2016, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee waded into the ongoing discussions between U.S. and EU leaders regarding equivalency with the EU’s Solvency II and negotiation of a covered agreement. Chairman Kevin Brady and Ranking Member Sander Levin sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and United States Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman expressing concern that Solvency II “unfairly discriminates against U.S. insurance and reinsurance (“(re)insurance”) business.”

EU regulators are concerned about the lack …

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