Bill Would Force MEM to Privatize; Future of Surplus Still Unclear

A bill introduced this week in the Missouri legislature would privatize a state-chartered workers’ compensation carrier created by statute more than two decades ago. House Bill 2579, introduced Tuesday by Rep. Shane Roden, R-Cedar Hill, would force Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance Co. to transition into a private entity by the beginning of 2022. The bill would force MEM to establish a successor and require it to complete a report outlining how it will do that — including the "value, if any, of state equity or other state financial interests” — by Jan. 1, 2...