A federal commission voted Tuesday in favor of a Trump administration proposal to rescind requirements that larger employers report the demographics of their workers — information that’s used to help enforce racial and gender antidiscrimination laws.

Most employers with 100 or more workers have been required to submit data annually on staff sex, race and ethnicity since 1966 to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Earlier this summer, the administration submitted a proposed rule that would eliminate that reporting requirement for companies as well as for state and local governments. 

The EEOC contends that demographics reporting requirements place an “impermissible focus on ‘minorities’ and women.” The commission argues the forms “may encourage employers to discriminate against employees who are not considered ‘minorities.’” The proposed rule will be posted to the Federal Register for a public comment period of 30 days, and a public hearing will be held Aug. 11, with requests to testify due Aug. 7.

Bloomberg Law reported that the commission voted 2-1 along party lines to advance the plan.  

Since President Donald Trump took office, the administration has been focused on eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The new proposal, if finalized, would roll back federal oversight and limit employer transparency, experts say. 

If the federal requirements end, states might step in to create their own requirements, said Alexandra Garrison Barnett, a partner at the law firm Alston & Bird in Atlanta, Georgia.

“We might see more states imposing those kinds of requirements in the absence of a federal requirement, or we could see states banning or prohibiting employers from collecting (demographic information),” said Barnett, a labor and employment attorney who helps employers evaluate their DEI policies and strategies.

A handful of states already have requirements that employers collect and report on workplace demographic information, she noted. 

The commission’s vote comes on Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. Tuesday marks how far into the year Black women must work to equal the average pay earned by a white man by the end of the previous year.

The lack of demographic data will hinder accountability for employers, said labor economist Valerie Rawlston Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy.

“(The proposal) is consistent with the general anti-equity push of this administration to eliminate pretty much all of the infrastructure that have been in place for equal employment in this country,” Wilson said. “We have laws in place that prohibit discrimination, but the effectiveness of those laws is really dependent on our ability to enforce those laws. And the enforcement of those laws is facilitated by having consistent reliable data.”

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research reports that Black women make 64 cents for every dollar paid to white men — across all education levels and positions, including leadership positions. 

Broken down by state, the gap widens: In Idaho, for example, Black women make 36 cents for every dollar white men make, across all workers with earnings.

The rule, Wilson said, would “severely hinder the ability of the EEOC to carry out its enforcement responsibilities.”

Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanen@stateline.org.

Health insurance premiums are likely to grow more expensive next year for those who buy Marketplace plans, after increases this year.

Affordable Care Act Marketplace insurers are proposing a median premium increase of 14% for 2027, which would be a double-digit hike for the second year in a row, according to a new analysis of preliminary rate filings.

Insurers must submit their requested premium changes to state regulators by July 15, per Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services deadlines. Rates should be finalized later this summer.

Released Wednesday by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and healthcare research group KFF, the analysis looked at proposed rate changes among 77 Marketplace insurers across 16 states and Washington, D.C., that have made proposed rates publicly available. Those are Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington state.

The majority of insurers across those states are proposing a median ACA Marketplace premium increase between 10% and 20%, while 20 insurers are requesting premium increases of more than 20%. None included in the analysis proposed a decrease in premiums. 

Along with the expiration of enhanced premium subsidies, insurers are also citing rising healthcare costs and changes in federal regulations as reasons behind the increases.

At the end of last year, enhanced premium tax credits expired, leading to more out-of-pocket costs for some people enrolled in Marketplace plans. Premiums increased especially for those with incomes at 400% or more of the federal poverty level — or roughly $63,000 for a single person — who completely lost subsidies. That caused many healthier enrollees to leave the Marketplace, leaving behind enrollees who are more expensive to cover, according to KFF.

While the proposed increases are lower than last year’s median nationwide proposed rate change of 18% — the finalized change was 20% — it’s the second-highest requested change since 2018, according to the report.

ACA Marketplace enrollments have seen a steep drop, with 2.6 million fewer Americans on the rolls in February compared with the same time last year, The Associated Press reported.

Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.

Legislators in at least six states this year have approved measures related to patient medical debt, according to a report on legislative policy trends released Wednesday by United States of Care, a nonpartisan think tank.

Many Americans are struggling to afford healthcare. A recent survey found that 46% of adults, regardless of their health care insurance status, reported struggling to pay for medical care last year.

Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Oregon and Washington enacted laws this year related to medical debt. Hawaii legislators have approved a measure that is awaiting the governor’s signature, and other states have bills in committee.

In 18 states, legislators introduced or approved measures related to preserving no-cost preventive care, and a dozen states weighed legislation related to hospital facility fees, according to the report.

Louisiana enacted a law that limits the interest that providers and debt collectors can charge on medical debt. The new rule caps the annual interest rate on medical debt for “medically necessary care” at 3%. The law defines such care as services or medications deemed necessary by a licensed health care provider to prevent, diagnose or treat an illness or disease symptoms.

Under Washington’s new law, unpaid medical bills can’t be assigned to a debt collector for at least 120 days after the first billing statement in situations where the patient is a pedestrian or bicyclist who has been struck by a motor vehicle. Maine’s law prohibits debt collectors from salary or wage garnishing for medical debt. And Hawaii’s legislature passed a medical debt forgiveness bill that is awaiting the governor’s signature.

Indiana enacted a bipartisan measure that requires hospitals to inform patients of financial assistance programs for which they might be eligible before debt collection begins. The law also requires such information to be posted inside hospitals. It also prohibits health care providers from using automated tools to submit health benefits claims without a provider first reviewing the claims.

Last year, Alaska Democratic state Rep. Genevieve Mina introduced legislation that prevents medical debt from showing up on patients’ credit reports. Michigan lawmakers introduced a similar bill, which has been referred for a second reading. And on Tuesday, Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey proposed an action  that would stop medical debt from being reported to consumer credit agencies.

New Mexico enacted a law prohibiting hospitals from charging patients facility fees for preventive outpatient care, vaccinations and telehealth, but preserves facility fees for inpatient and emergency care.

Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.