
Florida regulators didn't follow up on insurance profits study, author says
TALLAHASSEE — Last month, Florida's current and former insurance regulators said the state never finished a 2022 study showing insurers losing millions of dollars while their affiliates were making billions.
On Thursday, the author of that study said she believed it was completed and that regulators never told her it wasn't.
'In our mind, we had our final draft,' said Jan Moenck, an analyst with the Connecticut-based company hired by regulators to produce the report.
To some lawmakers, the testimony appeared to contradict testimony by Office of Insurance Regulation Commissioner Mike Yaworsky and past Commissioner David Altmaier.
'What is being revealed basically said they lied to us,' said Rep. Dianne Hart, D-Tampa.
Yaworsky strongly denied that he misled lawmakers.
'The idea that I lied somehow around that is just flatly false,' he said after the hearing.
Last month, House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, ordered hearings by a House committee after the Times/Herald revealed that the state had commissioned a study examining insurers' use of affiliate companies.
Florida-based insurance companies have long used affiliate companies, which charge the insurance company for services, such as handling claims or writing policies, sometimes at inflated prices.
The state's study, capturing data between 2017 and 2019, was the deepest dive into the business practice. Moenck found that Florida-based insurers had a net loss of $432 million, while their affiliates had a net income of $1.8 billion.
The industry overall spent $680 million on dividends to shareholders during the period.
The report was produced in April 2022, at the height of the insurance crisis, but never given to lawmakers. Instead, lawmakers focused on making it harder to sue insurance companies.
Altmaier, who commissioned the report, told lawmakers last month that the initial report 'certainly raised some red flags,' and his office intended to follow up.
Yaworsky said he didn't learn of the report until October 2024, when the Times/Herald's lawyers demanded his office turn it over. The newspapers first requested it in 2022, before Altmaier left the office.
Yaworsky said the report was incomplete because 23% of insurance companies never responded to the office's request for data and because it didn't provide the level of detail of insurers' finances that the state needed.
Moenck agreed that it is up to the client to decide when a report is finished. She said more information on finances would be helpful but difficult to obtain.
'I don't know that a person would ever be able to capture that unless you had a forensic accountant looking at each company on an individual basis,' Moenck said.
After turning over her report in 2022, she said she asked whether regulators wanted a verbal presentation about her findings or had any other questions.
'We did not receive any requests for additional work or follow-up on the reports,' Moenck said.
Committee chairperson Brad Yeager, R-New Port Richey, said the fact that regulators didn't follow up was 'telling.'
At least one more hearing, to find forensic accountants who can investigate further, will be scheduled, Yeager said.
'We've asked questions and we've gotten good answers, but I think those good answers have provided more questions and some concern,' he said.
Earlier Thursday, his committee advanced a bill that would require insurance companies to turn over more details about their relationships with affiliate companies.
'The report, I think, made everybody step back,' said the bill sponsor, Rep. Griff Griffitts, R-Panama City Beach, referring to the 2022 report brought to light by the Times/Herald.
Yaworsky said he welcomed getting more details about insurance companies' practices. He has asked for more oversight of insurers' affiliate companies.
'For years now, we have called for more scrutiny in this space,' Yaworsky said. 'We've gotten some, but at other times, the Legislature has said 'No thank you.''
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kansas abortion clinic leader was ready for Missouri abortion ban, fears it won't be short-lived
Kathryn Boyd, the new CEO and president of the Wichita-based abortion clinic Trust Women, appeared on the Kansas Reflector podcast to discuss how Missouri's abortion ban might affect Kansans. (Submitted) TOPEKA — In May, as Kathryn Boyd began her new role as president and CEO of the Trust Women clinic in Wichita, one of the first conversations she had with the clinic's leaders was how to deal with a new ban in Missouri and what it might mean for Kansas. A late-May decision from a Missouri judge triggered an all-out ban on abortion in the state, but that wasn't much of a surprise to Kansas abortion providers who were preparing for the worst. The majority of abortion patients in Kansas already come from out of state, and now, Trust Women is making its physicians more available and expanding its hours to brace for an influx. 'This is a case of lawmakers who, despite what Missourians voted for, have decided that they're going to just throw that out the window and do what they want anyway,' Boyd said on the Kansas Reflector podcast. 'So I think my first reaction was like, OK, here we go again.' 'Before the ban, Missourians were able to receive abortion care in major cities, reversing years of restrictions implemented by state lawmakers. Those rulings came after voter approval of a constitutional amendment in November enshrining reproductive freedom in the state constitution. All of that was undone in a two-page ruling last month from Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Russell, who ordered Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang to vacate the December and February decisions and reevaluate the case, restoring a ban on abortions and restricting facility licensing. Health centers in Missouri provided care to people who wouldn't have to travel as far as they do now, Boyd said. Following the anger, fear and worry in the wake of the decision in Missouri, Boyd said the primary focus of Trust Women is to expand access. The clinic's message, she said, is, 'We're still here.' 'We're still providing care. We need to expand, and we need support. You know, that's really what it comes down to. And I think that that is a similar story of many, many providers throughout the country, regardless of what state they're in,' Boyd said. However, her fear is that the ban won't be short-lived. Boyd, who has worked in the field of abortion and reproductive care for years, entered the top job at Trust Women about a year after intense turmoil within the clinic. Reports of mass resignations and multiple leadership shakeups led the clinic to temporarily close its doors. Boyd, though she wasn't working at the clinic at the time, describes it as 'very, very hard' for the organization. 'Coming in after a culture shock like that can be really challenging for any leader,' Boyd said. 'Making sure that I come in with that in the back of my mind, I don't want that trauma to, like, dictate what we do going forward, but it definitely is like a side dish.' Her goal is to create a culture of transparency and collaboration, and that requires building back trust and listening, she said.
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
State Legislature Acts To ‘Make Texas Healthy Again'
Under Senate Bill 25, which awaits Gov. Greg Abbott's signature, Texas could become one of the first states to mandate warning labels on foods containing artificial dyes and specific chemicals. The bill, dubbed the Make Texas Healthy Again Act, requires labels on products containing one or more of some 40-plus additives, such as Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), and titanium dioxide. The label would state: 'WARNING: This product contains an ingredient that is not recommended for human consumption by the appropriate authority in Australia, Canada, the European Union, or the United Kingdom.' The warning label must be prominent, readable, and would apply to products packaged after January 1, 2027. A loophole allows producers using existing packaging through 2036 to avoid the requirement. The bill also invalidates state labeling rules if federal regulations supersede them. 'Texas can really lead here. … These bills represent a Texas way that prioritizes transparency, prioritizes good education and prioritizes incentive change,' Calley Means, a top adviser to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said during a Senate Health and Human Services Committee hearing. Beyond labeling, SB 25 increases physical activity requirements for middle school students from four to six semesters of 30-minute daily sessions and mandates nutrition education for undergraduates, developed by a seven-member Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee appointed by the governor by December 31, 2025. The committee would include experts in metabolic health, a licensed physician, a Texas Department of Agriculture representative, and others. In addition, doctors and nurses must complete continuing education on nutrition to maintain their licenses. 'This sweeping legislation is not just another bill. It's a call to action — one that so many Texans and Americans are realizing — that something is wrong and that something needs to change in our food industry and in our sedentary lifestyle,' Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), the bill's sponsor, told The Texas Tribune. The bill garnered bipartisan support, with 10 Senate Democrats and three House Democrats sponsoring or co-sponsoring. 'This is about the MAHA parents and the crunchy granola parents coming together to say, 'We are sick and tired of being sick and tired,'' said Rep. Lacey Hull (R-Houston) before the House passed the bill on May 25. Food industry groups, including Walmart, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, General Mills, and Frito-Lay, opposed the labeling, warning in a letter that it 'could destabilize local and regional economies.' Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D-San Antonio) expressed concern that 'the cost of food will continue to rise,' the Tribune reported. Kolkhorst countered in February that 'the market will adjust.' Supporters, like the Episcopal Health Foundation, see health benefits. 'The amount of money and time we're spending treating diabetes as opposed to preventing it is huge, especially in Texas,' said Brian Sasser, the foundation's chief communications officer, per the Tribune. Andy Keller of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute added, 'In a world that pretends the brain is not part of the body, this bill will put tools in the hands of children, parents and teachers to begin truly addressing emotional health and wellbeing.' The bill aligns with federal Make America Healthy Again initiatives, with Kolkhorst noting Kennedy's personal call urging its passage. 'As in so many cases, we're not waiting on Washington,' said Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) in February. 'Texas will act.'
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Long-awaited project nears start next to The River District in west Charlotte
McCraney Property Co. is moving closer to starting its long-awaited industrial park on Garrison Road in west Charlotte. The Florida-based developer plans to start construction later this summer on a new road at and around the project site, McCraney's Massie Flippin said. The road will connect West Boulevard to Dixie River Road, he said. READ: 'A great place': Concord unveils new downtown after years of construction The road project is expected to take 12 months to complete. It will pave the way for the Logistics 485 at The River District industrial park. McCraney has long planned a five-building, 1.2 million-square-foot industrial park at the approximately 150-acre site on Garrison Road. It is now working on a site plan that calls for seven industrial buildings totaling 1.3 million square feet of industrial space. Read more here. WATCH: 'A great place': Concord unveils new downtown after years of construction