Happy Wednesday! In this week’s Big I Buzz: Wisconsin dentists raise concerns after an insurance company acquires a major dental practice, and a congressional hearing explores potential reforms to FEMA’s role in disaster response.

Dentists Across Wisconsin Worry After Insurance Company Buys Large Dental Practice

Dentists across Wisconsin are voicing concerns following Delta Dental’s acquisition of Cherry Tree Dental, a Madison-based practice with over 30 locations. The insurance provider maintains that the purchase presents no conflict of interest, but many in the dental community argue that the move blurs the line between insurer and care provider. Read more here.

FEMA Role in Disaster Response Examined in Congressional Hearing

Last week, the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management held a hearing to introduce the bipartisan “FEMA Act of 2025.” The proposed legislation would remove FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and restore it as a cabinet-level agency reporting directly to the president. The bill aims to streamline disaster aid, speed up assistance to survivors, and incentivize state-level investments in disaster mitigation. Read more here.

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In this week's Big I Buzz we are covering Allstate's push into the independent space, pro sports players associations stance on the Senate Republican stimulus proposal and we look into the states ranked by uninsured rates. 

Allstate's $4 billion push into the independent space

Allstate has announced that it will acquire National General Holdings for $4 billion in their attempt to step into the independent agent channel. According to Insurance Business America, "There is talk that Allstate is in the middle of a major restructuring that would see thousands of staff being laid off. News of a major acquisition deal despite Allstate's alleged internal issues raises more questions than answers, and some may wonder why the insurer went through with this deal."

Pro sports players associations come out against key McConnell stimulus priority

The executive directors of the NFL, NBA, NHL Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer players associations signed onto a letter raising concerns about the liability protections included in the Senate Republican proposal introduced last week. Read more about the proposals from both the Republican and Democratic parties here. The players associations were opposing the structure of the proposal because the legislation does not explicitly provide liability protections for those who engage in willful misconduct or grossly negligent behavior, providing a tighter scope on the bill's safe harbor than the players association asserts, according to CNN. 

States ranked by uninsured rates

Becker's Hospital Review has ranked the states by their uninsured rates. This report compared uninsured rates in 2018 to rates in May 2020 with information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Urban Institute. Texas ranked at the top with the highest uninsured rate in the U.S - with 29 percent of adults uninsured as of May, according to a report from Families USA. The total number of uninsured in the U.S. climbed to 21 percent due in part to layoffs tied to the COVID-19 pandemic in recent months, according to Becker's Hospital Review. Wisconsin's uninsured rate sits at 10 percent at the time of this report. 

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On this week's Big I Buzz, we're discussing the workers' comp rate decrease, a COVID-19 liability update from WCJC and how wearables have become important to doctors throughout the pandemic. 

Workers' Comp Rate Decrease

The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance approved an overall workers' comp rate decrease. See the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau's Circular letter here. 

Wisconsin Civil Justice Council COVID-19 Liability Update

The Wisconsin Civil Justice Council released a new COVID-19 liability update. The updated discussed a Wisconsin Legislative Council brief on businesses' use of COVID-19 liability waivers. The mentioned brief reported that Wisconsin courts are "generally skeptical of liability waivers" and would likely refuse to uphold them in future cases. "With individual liability waivers likely off the table, it is even more important for Wisconsin to enact state-level liability protections for Wisconsin businesses facing COVID-19 lawsuits," the WCJC update read. 

The Future of Staying Healthy is Sitting on Your Wrist

As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the U.S., many people are choosing to stay at home instead of seeing their usual doctors for annual check-ups. Instead of heading to the doctor's office for their appointments, people are turning to telemedicine. Prior to COVID-19, doctors couldn't do much with the information pulled from smart watches but now, the FDA has allowed certain Apple Watch models to take EKG for diagnosis on a telemedicine call.  According to protocol, "In the future, wearables will likely help us realize that we're sick even before we do - and help us prevent illnesses rather than treating them after the fact. Even with COVID, some early trials have suggested that data that existing wearables can collect could be enough to help people know when they've contracted the virus." 

For more news, check out the Action News section of our weekly e-newsletter Big I Buzz. If you aren't subscribed, click here to add your email to our emailing list. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!