Senator Cleary, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 2370 as amended, said the bill would continue a $25 monthly cap on the member cost-share for insulin and diabetic supplies for PERS health-plan members, continuing a pilot program that ran in the current biennium.

"Senate bill 23 70 is a it sets a $25 per month cap on the amount a member of NDEPRS could be charged for insulin or diabetic supplies," Cleary told the committee. He said the pilot showed limited premium impact (0.14% during the pilot) and meaningful savings for users of the cap; PERS reported that individuals who used the cap saved on average about $80 per month on diabetes-related out-of-pocket costs.

Rebecca Fricke, testifying for the Public Employees Retirement System, said the cap would not apply to Medicare Part D retirees (the federal Inflation Reduction Act already creates a $35 cap for Medicare Part D), and that continuing the benefit for PERS members would be a policy decision for the Legislature. Deloitte, PERS's actuary, priced the ongoing cost at 0.12% of premiums for the coming biennium, equating to roughly $2.07 per contract per month and about $834,000 for the state-funded portion plus roughly $160,000 for political subdivisions; PERS estimated roughly 18,000 affected subscriber contracts covering about 50,000 lives and said approximately 831 individuals used the cap during the pilot year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024).

Senators asked why the commercial insurance market had not adopted the cap statewide; witnesses said manufacturers lowered list prices during the pilot period and that the PERS board had been reluctant to make a marketwide recommendation but had recommended continuation for the PERS plan. Fricke said the PERS board historically defers benefit enhancements with costs to the Legislature because of reserve and policy considerations.

No final committee vote on SB 2370 was recorded in the transcript; senators agreed to set the bill aside pending further action in the other chamber.