The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) published their 2026 Legislative and Regulatory Trends Report, which highlights some of the legislative activity shaping workers’ comp this year.
The NCCI has monitored 1,102 state and federal bills, and 210 proposed workers’ comp-related regulations. Approximately 167 bills were enacted and 90 regulations were adopted.
Of note, the NCCI saw a noticeable increase in worker classification-related bills, primarily driven by numerous portable benefits for independent-contractor legislation across states. Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Virginia enacted laws related to worker classification, while Alaska, California, Colorado, and New Jersey considered legislation that would classify certain workers as independent contractors under certain circumstances.
As for portable benefits, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and West Virginia have considered bills for portable benefit plans that specifically referenced workers’ comp. Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, New Hampshire, and Wyoming considered similar bills that didn’t specifically reference workers’ comp. Other states considered pilot programs or study bills.
Mental injury-related legislation continued to be a trending topic, with a majority of mental injury bills related to first responders. Most of the mental injury-related legislation in 2026 centered on who can qualify for the coverage, what conditions qualify for coverage, and which medical professionals are authorized to diagnose qualifying conditions.
Of note for mental injury legislation:
- Virginia enacted mental-only coverage of PTSD, anxiety disorders, and depressive disorders for firefighters and law enforcement officers
- Minnesota expanded which providers can diagnose mental disorders, while a similar bill is currently pending in New York, having passed both chambers
- New Hampshire reestablished a commission to study the incidence of PTSD in first responders
- New York is still debating a bill that would recognize suicide as a “line of duty” death for the purposes of certain death benefits
- Washington established a pilot program for PTSD treatment and research
Single-payer insurance legislation was also a trending topic, with 10 states in 2026 introducing legislation to propose such insurance. Of note, among these proposed bills, six of them included a workers’ comp component. A majority of these bills did not pass, though some are still pending.
However, in Maryland a bill was enacted to create a commission to envision and make recommendations regarding a comprehensive healthcare system in the state, including the study of the role of workers’ comp in the system.
States also continued to consider marijuana legalization and whether workers’ comp should reimburse marijuana. Georgia, Kansas, and Wisconsin considered legalizing medical marijuana, with the Georgia bill passing. Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, and New Hampshire considered recreational legalization, but none of the bills passed. Idaho, Iowa, and New Hampshire considered recreational marijuana via state constitutional amendments, though only the Idaho proposal will reach the November 2026 election.
Oklahoma enacted legislation stating that marijuana reimbursement is not required as part of workers’ compensation, while New Jersey is considering legislation that could require certain insurers – including workers’ comp insurers – to cover marijuana under certain circumstances.
At the federal level, various bills are in motion. One bill hopes to create a Committee for the prompt and plausible pathway to federal cannabis regulation, while others would make it easier for insurers and businesses to work with marijuana, or to create a framework to study a prompt pathway to rescheduling cannabis, in service of a recent Presidential executive order.
While many states introduced bills related to psychedelics, very few passed. One area that saw greater success was research related bills. Colorado established an ibogaine research pilot program, Tennessee allowed qualified state research institutions to conduct drug development trials with ibogaine, and Utah authorized the Huntsman Mental Health Institute to conduct a clinical study on the safety and feasibility of psychedelic-assisted therapy for veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD. Other pilot program and research bills for Illinois, Massachusetts, are pending.
