Clark County AHU Legislative News

Dan Heffley from CCAHU in Studio. « 100.5 Jack FM, Las Vegas

2010-08-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Dan Heffley from CCAHU in Studio. « 100.5 Jack FM, Las Vegas

On lunches and politics: An open letter to CCAHU members

2010-08-05T14:48:00.001-07:00

I’ve received some feedback regarding our luncheons that I wanted to share with membership and more importantly, address. One point is highly controversial and the other is more for understanding.

The first is our choice of speakers this month, Sharron Angle. We’re primarily an educational association--we’re certainly not a political organization. However, my duty as President is to help preserve the good of the order and to allow us to thrive into the future. With PPACA now the law of the land, my ability to comply with these duties has come under serious attack so that we are now in survival mode. I’ll be on vacation in Kansas shortly so I’ll borrow an appropriate maxim from that neck of the woods-- you don’t plant your crops when your storehouse is on fire.

Over our history, we’ve traditionally tried to be neutral in the political arena. Opinions, as well as political leanings, tend to be a highly personal thing and the potential to offend by promoting a particular agenda is high. NAIFA faced a similar quandary when they were presented with an opportunity to have Sharron speak at a national level, which they declined. The reasons for the declination were many but it boiled down to this: NAIFA’s core business is life insurance and investments, not health insurance. In fact, I was informed that they actually lost membership because they did not support the PPACA legislation.

We, however, ARE involved in the health insurance market…intimately. For those who understand the legislation, we know that it will threaten our livelihood, possibly even eliminate it. I don’t know about you, but my chosen profession is an extension of who I am, which is HIGHLY personal to me. Between the MLR provisions, the Exchange provisions and the calling to resurrect the public plan option, our industry and profession continues to be threatened. This legislation will not, as one uninformed, wishful-thinking agent (not a member) recently told me, “just go away”. No, it needs to be fought long and hard on multiple points.

Which brings me to our speaker, Sharron Angle. The reason I asked her to speak is two-fold: 1) She supports free-market reforms as a way to reform the system, and 2) to give our membership a close-up look at this candidate. She is far different than how some perceive her. A member recently told me that they would not attend the luncheon because they didn’t want to listen to that (less-than-flattering-colloquialism). I asked if she had spoken to her personally and what she based that upon—answer was “no” and “the media” respectively…she’s coming to the meeting.

As President, I do not necessarily need to support all of Sharron’s positions nor do you. Her position on health reform is the only issue that matters to me as President of CCAHU. Personally, I may not see eye-to-eye with her on other platforms or even health reform. I would suggest however, that if that’s case for you on health reform, you’re in the wrong business. I also understand that as a junior Senator, she won’t have a rubber-stamp, but instead will be one more vote against the current majority party’s support of PPACA in it’s entirety. The same goes for her other positions: She’s one vote, not the decision-maker. But it’s how health reform is ultimately enacted that’s the key here. That’s where our focus should be.

The other point will be brief. I’ve been told that our lunches are too expensive for what is served. You’re right—I can get our lunches for much less than $30—if that’s all we were getting. That $30 covers not only the food, but the serving staff, the audio-visual equipment, the internet connection, the microphone and sound system, the private use of the venue, etc etc etc. The alternative would be to fold the costs into the dues like NAIFA does and include lunch—NAHU’s monthly dues are currently less than half of what NAIFA’s dues are. (Note: NAHU National dues are going up January 1st $75 a year).

In closing, as President I do what I think is right for the association, our industry, and our clients who look to us for guidance. How you vote come November 3rd is up to you. At least you’ll have a first hand look unfiltered by media on which to base your decision on the newest candidate.

P.S. I’ve made a similar request of Reid’s office, even so far as to extend it to Reid’s Senior Health Liaison Officer a month ago. I’m still waiting for a response.

Dan Heffley
CCAHU President

URGENT-IT'S CRUNCH TIME

2009-04-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Members:

This Friday, Assembly Bill 162 is slated to be discussed in the Senate. It has already passed the House and WILL pass unless we take action. The hearing will be simulcast at the Grant Sawyer Building at 555 E. Washington Ave. at 1:30pm. I am asking EVERY member to contact their legislator and also contact EVERY client to have them do the same and voice your opposition to this discriminatory bill. Better yet, if you or your clients can attend the hearing that's even better.

Autism is a public policy issue and should be treated as such. AB162 puts the sole burden on individuals, small businesses and fully-insured plans. It EXEMPTS Unions, State employees, Self-funded (read: Casinos), SCHIP and Medicaid from having to provide coverage. Rates are estimated to go up $30 a head for those affected; small businesses who hire a parent with an autistic child will be forced to drop their plans when their experience rating hits the maximum upon renewal. Autism costs $50,000 a year to treat and doesn't discriminate. ANYONE can have an autistic child, so EVERYONE should be a part of the solution. You can find your legislator by clicking here: http://mapserve.leg.state.nv.us/website/lcb/viewer.htm

You can voice your opposition by clicking here: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/75th2009/opinions/vwComments.cfm

and go to SUBMIT AN OPINION, Scroll down the drop box marked Select Bill and go to AB162 (be sure it is AB and not SB), then click on Against and fill in the Comments box asking your legislator to vote NO. Be sure to hit 'Submit' when done.

There is strength in numbers, and we need large numbers of individuals to oppose this bill or it WILL pass.

Thank you.

Dan M. Heffley
Leg Chair

HUPAC Challenge- Become a 365 sponsor

2009-04-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful, productive, and educational time this year’s Cap Conference was. It didn’t hurt that the weather was beautiful and the cherry trees were in bloom. It’s hard not to feel patriotic when you visit our nation’s capitol, with the austere beauty of the Washington monument reaching for the heavens, the majestic authority of the Lincoln Memorial, the bustling activity in the city itself. So much history here, you can feel it in the air. There are many pages in our country’s history that has helped define who and what America represents. It is a page from our nation’s history that serves as a warning for everything that we, as health underwriters, believe in and is forever immortalized in the following poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year

It was 224 years ago this month that Paul Revere made his famous ride informing the American Colonists that “The British are coming! The British are coming!” which subsequently awakened them from their slumbers and allowed them to repel the British Troops. Imagine, for a moment, if the colonists had not responded. It was, after all, past midnight; they could have just as easily rolled over and went back to sleep, thinking someone else was going to take care of it. Good thing they didn’t. We might be singing “God Save the Queen”.

I bring this up to draw attention to the urgency we as Health Underwriters now face. On a positive note, our state was well represented at Cap conference with both Southern and Northern Nevadans attending. In between all the facts, figures, speakers and meetings, however, one fact emerged that was less than flattering. It seems that out of all the regions, Region 8, our region finished second-to-last in number and volume of HUPAC contributions per member. What made it worse was that California, which is also in Region 8, had the highest per diem contribution in the Nation! I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about what that says about Nevada. If you don’t know, HUPAC stands for Health Underwriters Political Action Committee. HUPAC’s purpose is to raise funds from NAHU members for the purpose of supporting the political campaigns of candidates who believe in private sector solutions for the health and financial security of all Americans. This also helps us to get face-time with the legislators in Washington so that our views can be heard. Your membership dues cannot go towards HUPAC by law.

I won’t mince words. From commission disclosure legislation, insurance connector formations, the threat of public healthcare, our industry is under attack as the American people are screaming for blood. Worse, our current administration is listening to them. In these tight economic times, we need to demonstrate our value to America’s healthcare system, that we are not simply salespeople who take a percentage of premiums that could be used elsewhere. Our only line of defense is to properly educate the decision makers who ultimately decide on which laws to pass. In this tumultuous year, it is gratifying to know that our National Association has the ears and eyes of the various legislative bodies. Although it was a successful Conference, NAHU was among those organizations that didn’t survive the cut for one particular committee meeting in Washington. We should be represented at EVERY meeting. In order to continue our relationship with the legislators and be at the table, we need funds. I would personally challenge each and every one of us to become a 365 sponsor (or $1 a day), but even $5 or $10 a month will help. Times are tough; but without funding, they will get a lot tougher and then we won’t have to worry about it because we won’t have a job. At this critical time in our industry, we can’t afford to hit the snooze button. That’s why I’m shouting at the top of my lungs, “the Socialists are coming, the Socialists are coming!” (tongue-NOT-in-cheek).

Dan Heffley
Legislative Chair

The Stimulus Package and Obama's Speech

2009-02-24T18:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight, President Obama unveiled his vision for healthcare reform. As such, he referred to the successes thus far and his hopes for the future. As most of you know, both SCHIP and ARRA have been passed. While certainly not simple, SCHIP is fairly straightforward in that it directly addresses health insurance reforms as it relates to children and pregnant women. ARRA (aka the Stimulus Package), on the other hand, comprises many items in addition to the many healthcare reforms. The reforms that will directly impact our industry and our clients are many-fold. Cobra, the federal law that allows employees to continue their healthcare coverage after termination of employment has been expanded and will be subsidized for 9 months in certain instances. Funding for a host of disease research, among them heart disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s Disease and cancer research, (now the leading cause of death of Americans), was included in this bill. During the President’s speech, he alluded to this and his hope that cancer will be ‘cured within our time’. Funding for Health IT systems are a big part of the package as well, with healthcare providers being mandated to have electronic records by 2015. This item has certainly generated some controversy, however the codification of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology and the Comparative Effectiveness provision have become the ‘cause celebre’ in the media and has led to a ‘feeding frenzy’ by radio talk shows and print media. Even our own Las Vegas Review Journal, in it’s Sunday, February 22, 2009 editorial, voiced concerns about misuse of the legislation to deny claims. Nothing could be further from the truth. The law is specifically written with consumer protections in mind. The Coordinator position was actually created during the Bush Administration; the new legislation simply clarifies and officially recognizes it. With so much misinformation out there, your clients look to YOU, their agent, to provide the voice of reason amidst this storm. NAHU and CCAHU provide the answers and training you need to properly inform and advise your clients. One of the ways we can do that by attending our monthly luncheons. Always pertinent and informative, at our March 10th luncheon the various provision of the ARRA will be thoroughly discussed. Now is the time to reserve your seat for the luncheon so you can be better informed to answer your clients’ question

Day on the Hill

2009-02-24T18:45:00.000-08:00

For those of you that were able to attend “Day on the Hill” in Carson City this past week, congratulations. For those of you who weren’t able to attend, the event can only be described as “electric”. From our first day attending a tour of the Carson City DOI to an after-hours dinner party sponsored by Nevadans for Affordable Health Care, to the final day attending the 75th Legislative Session at which Senator Harry Reid spoke, I think I speak for all that attended that it was very informative and productive. Your CCAHU (and the concerns of our industry) were very well represented, with the legislators and lobbyists very receptive to our input as the country moves closer to comprehensive healthcare reform. It is events like these that help your CCAHU and our industry as a whole maintain a seat at the table of healthcare reform. Next month CCAHU will be in Washington, DC at Cap Conference, advocating reforms that directly affect you and you clients. It is important to support these activities directly by attending these important events, and/or indirectly through your contributions to HUPAC and State HUPAC. Hope to see you at Cap Conference !

Stimulus Package Set to Become Law

2009-02-15T19:45:00.000-08:00

On Friday, February 13th, lawmakers signed HR-1, commonly know as the stimulus bill. Next, it will go to President Obama for his signature, Monday February 16th. A number of compromises were struck, most importantly on the House version's expansion of the Medicaid program. Instead of expanding the Medicaid Program, lawmakers agreed on language giving $87 billion in matching funds to the states through December 31rst, 2010.

Next is a provision allowing workers that were/will be involuntarily terminated between 9/1/2008 through 12/21/2009 to receive a 65% subsidy for COBRA for 9 months. After 9 months, the worker could still continue COBRA for the remaining 9 or 27 months but without the subsidy. The total cost for this provision is estimated to be $24.7 billion.

The remainder of the bill gives $19 billion to doctors and hospitals to help them institute electronic medical records, $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness technology, $1 billion for wellness and preventive programs and finally, also included in the legislation is an expansion of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs and the Health Coverage Tax Credit.

Obama Reverses Bush CHIP directive

2009-02-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

On the heels of President Obama signing expanded SCHIP legislation into law, a memo reversing certain restrictions placed upon SCHIP by the Bush administration in an August 2008 letter was released Thursday, 2/5/09. Specifically the memo sought to eliminate the following restrictions, which was proving to be unenforceable and resulted in certain states filing legal challenges against it.

Children in families with incomes greater than 250% of the federal poverty level first must verify that 95% of eligible children in families below 200% of the poverty level are enrolled in the program. HHS also required states to verify that children in families with incomes above 250% of the poverty level have been uninsured for one year before qualifying for CHIP. The memo sought to clear up any potential confusion over SCHIP implementation and to allow the new SCHIP law to proceed without interference.

The entire memo can be viewed at this link : http://politics.theatlantic.com/02-04-09%20CHIP%20Presidential%20Memorandum.pdf

President Obama Signs SCHIP bill

2009-02-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

As of 1:30 pm PST (4:30 EST) today, February 4th, President Obama signed the House's bill HR2 into law. The bill was unchanged from the Senate version passed last week so the Senate's amendments were included. The law contains premium subsidies long advocated by NAHU, which is believed to help mitigate potential "fall-out" (whereby individuals opt out of other coverage to go onto the SCHIP plan) by allowing states to create, expand and improve premium-assistance programs for employer-coverage. Going forward, NAHU expects to develop model legislation to help create new premium assistance programs in states that don't already have programs in place and to improve upon states' plans that are already in place.

SCHIP News

2009-01-31T20:39:00.001-08:00

The Senate has passed an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for another 4 ½ years on January 29th. Since the House voted and passed their version of an expansion, they now go to a conference committee. The plans are nearly identical, with most of the funding coming from tobacco tax increases as well as expanding eligibility to children and pregnant women who are legal immigrants, but without a five-year waiting period.

Region 8 legislative report

2009-01-31T20:14:00.000-08:00

The Region 8 Legislative Report has been received and with it some items of interest come with it. The following affects not only those agents with licenses in those states, but possibly every agent or broker in the health field. Since most legislative sessions are just starting, there isn’t much activity yet as the states are concerned with budget issues. Some of the activity:

1) California—New bill to reform and improve CA’s broker safety net health plan for uninsurable. State funding will be needed. Sixty to seventy healthcare reform bills are expected to be introduced before 2/27deadline. Expected to be funded by new costs and rules for health insurance industry.
2) Oregon—HB2009 introduced by Rep. Greenlick would establish Health Insurance Exchange and Health Authority.

NAHU is monitoring the situation.

Chamber calls for PEBP changes

2009-01-31T19:49:00.000-08:00

On January 26th, a week before the start of the 2009 Legislative session, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce held a press conference, whereby they called for reform of the Public Employees’ Benefit Program (or PEBP). While also addressing other issues, the applicable healthcare provisions were as follows:

1) Eliminate the PEBP retiree health care subsidy for all new employees.
2) Reduce the PEBP retiree health care cost for all current employees.
3) Eliminate PEBP retiree health care subsidy for all current employees when they become eligible for Medicare.

The Chamber’s call for reform follow a series of fiscal analysis reports performed by Jeremy Aguero of Applied Analysis and Guy Hobbs of Hobbs, Ong & Associates, whose purpose according to the Chamber was to “provide a factual foundation from which the Chamber can make informed public policy recommendations.”

House Moves Forward with Stimulus Bill

2009-01-27T09:04:00.000-08:00

The House Ways and Means Commerce Committee voted 24-13 on Jan. 22 to approve its part of the stimulus package to provide tax, health and unemployment relief to families while also urging businesses to create new jobs. Three areas are of great interest to NAHU.

1) COBRA subsidization and expansion: The bill provides for $30.3 billion to subsidize COBRA premiums. Additionally, workers aged 55 or older who have at least 10 years employment with their last employer would be allowed to keep their COBRA until Medicare eligibility or until they get other coverage.

2) Medicaid expansion: The bill also provides $8.6 billion so states could receive 100 percent federal matching funds to provide optional state Medicaid coverage, through 2010, for certain individuals who are involuntarily unemployed.

3) Health information technology incentives: The House proposal also includes $20 billion in spending to encourage the adoption of health information technology, with payments to doctors of $40,000 to $65,000 who can demonstrate that they are meaningfully using electronic data, such as through the reporting of quality measures.

NAHU's Position: Nahu has serious concerns regarding the proposed extension of COBRA eligibility and the potential Medicaid expansion with no subsidies for any other coverage option except for COBRA. However, the proposed means to administer the subsidy through the employer (or their administrative designate) for COBRA administration is exactly as NAHU recommended.

Senate Democrats are working on their own version of a stimulus package with the overall goal of having a bill finalized for President Obama’s signature by mid-February. NAHU is working with key Senate offices on the COBRA provisions of concern as well as the Health IT privacy enforcement issues.

Senate passes SCHIP legislation

2009-01-18T17:33:00.001-08:00

By a 12-7 vote, the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday approved SCHIP reauthorization and expansion legislation that could add four million children to the program, the AP/Boston Globe reports (AP/Boston Globe, 1/16). The bill, introduced by committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.), would expand the program by $31.5 billion over four-and-one-half years. The House passed a similar bill (HR 2) on Wednesday. The bill now goes to the floor, where Senate leaders are expected to amend Baucus' language into the House-passed bill and send it to conference to resolve any differences.

Health Opportunity Accounts

2009-01-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

The Deficit Reduction Act allows 10 state Medicaid programs to set up five-year demonstration projects to provide Medicaid recipients with Health Opportunity Accounts (HOAs), similar to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) used in the private sector.168 Proponents hope these accounts will create an awareness of health care costs and inject an element of consumerism into the purchase of medical services. The states that choose to participate will receive federal matching funds to contribute up to $1,000 per child and $2,500 per adult into the HOAs. HOAs can be used to purchase a variety of medical goods and services, and unused funds will be available for future use by participants. Moreover, if patients become ineligible for Medicaid, they have up to three years to use up to 75 percent of their HOA balances to purchase private health insurance.169 South Carolina, which had already applied for a HIFA waiver to restructure its Medicaid program, has applied to become one of the 10 states.

House votes Yes on SCHIP Expansion

2009-01-14T21:47:00.000-08:00

The U.S. House of Representatives passed bill HR 2 today which expands the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which was slated to expire March 31rst. The bill calls for funding, primarily through cigarette taxes, through September 2013. A Senate version of the bill is scheduled for mark up by the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. President-elect Obama has stated he will sign new legislation into law once he takes office.

NAHU State and Local Legislative Chair Washington Report

2008-12-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

President-Elect Obama’s Administration

Key Cabinet Appointments:
Rham Emanuel (D-IL), Chief of Staff
Tom Daschle (D-SD), Health and Human Services Secretary
Peter Orzag, CBO Director

Still Vacant Key Positions and Possible Choices:
CMS Administrator- David Cutler, Harvard Economist; Pearson, AHIP and Harvard
Secretary of Labor- David Bonior, Former Representative; Dick Gephardt, Former Representative; Andrew Stern, President of the Service Employees Union International
Health Policy Advisor- Dr. Dora Hughes; Chris Jennings

Key Health Care Proposals to be considered by the 111th Congress:
Senator Wyden’s Healthy Americans Act

Senator Wyden’s bill, which would eliminate the employer exclusion, may have lost some steam due to President-Elect Obama’s strong opposition to that financing mechanism articulated on the campaign trail.
However, a group of Senators recently signed letter to president-elect Obama advocating for the measure. Along with Wyden, the letter was signed by Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Bob Bennett, RUtah; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Tom Carper, D-Del.;Norm Coleman, R-Minn.; Bob Corker, RTenn.; Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Judd Gregg, R-N.H.; Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii; Mary L.Landrieu, D-La.; Joseph I. Liebermann, I-Conn.; Bill Nelson, D-Fla.; Arlen Specter, R-Pa. and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
Includes an individual and employer mandate
All Americans would have to purchase coverage through regional purchasing pools and purchasing pools would contain individual policies that would be guarantee issue and rated on a community or modified community basis.
Government run “health help agencies” would be placed in charge of enrollment, purchasing and claims assistance.
Plan would offer subsidies on a sliding scale for people, up to 400% of the federal poverty level, and would eliminate Medicaid and SCHIP, covering beneficiaries through regional pools.
Includes a mandatory employer contribution, which is based on a complicated formula, taking into account the number of employees.
Senator Wyden’s bill does have bipartisan support and co-sponsors. Some conservative republicans like that it replaces public programs with “private coverage” and its focus on individual policies rather than employer sponsored.
The elimination of Medicaid and SCHIP, and the required employer contribution, led to the Congressional Budget Office stating that the bill could amount to being budget neutral for the US Treasury.

Senator Kennedy’s Health Reform Proposal

The Senator and his staff are determined to see health care reform advance through Congress during the time the Senator has left.
A group of strange bedfellows- consumer groups, insurers, business groups and others including NAHU, have been brought together to hammer our a new health care reform package. Leaders of these organizations are meeting regularly with the Senator’s staff in an attempt to negotiate consensus around the reform.
Basis for the Kennedy reform will likely center on the 2006 Massachusetts reforms, which included both an individual mandate, an employer mandate and the creation of an exchange.
On November 18th Senator Kennedy’s office announced the creation of three working groups within his Committee, 1) led by Senator Harkin (D-IA) on prevention and public health; 2) led by Senator Mikulski (D-MD) on improving the quality of care; and 3) led by Senator Clinton (D-NY) on insurance coverage. Still unclear which Senator would lead the third working group if Senator Clinton were to be nominated as Secretary of State in President-elect Obama’s administration.

Senator Baucus’ White Paper

The very detailed paper advocates for an individual mandate, an employer mandate, subsidies through tax credits to both individuals with incomes up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (nearly $85,000 income for family of four) and small businesses, and discusses capping the employer exclusion from both income and payroll taxes based on benefit packages or income or both.
It calls for a national health insurance exchange to offer both private coverage and a public Medicare-expansion product on a guarantee issue basis with no consideration of preexisting conditions; extension of Section 125 plans, Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility expansions; a Medicare buy-in option for early retirees, and a provision to the formula for Medicare Advantage plan payments.
While NAHU certainly has concerns about a number of these ideas, the paper also focuses a great deal of attention on medical care cost containment, which NAHU believes is key to any responsible reform proposal.
Cost containment ideas in the paper include wellness tax incentives, Health IT improvements, investment in comparative effectiveness research, increased transparency, disease management and medical liability reform

AHIP and BCBSA Endorse Individual Mandate w/ Guaranteed Issue Coverage

AHIP and BCBSA both released statements the week of November 17th in support of an individual health insurance coverage mandate if coverage is also provided to individuals on a guaranteed-issue basis without regard to preexisting medical conditions.
AHIP’s proposal expands on its existing guaranteed-access plan, released last year, which encourages states to guarantee-issue coverage in combination with a broadly funded pool to cover uninsurable risks.
In 2006 NAHU’s Board of Trustees and Legislative Council approved a white paper on the issue of individual mandates, in which we state that we need to approach the idea of an individual mandate with caution. While the concept of an individual mandate does attempt to creatively address the problem of the uninsured, NAHU feels this solution raises practical and philosophical concerns, such as viable enforcement, cost, and possible greater government intrusion into the private health insurance market.
NAHU also has a current internal working group on individual market reforms and is working actively to release our blueprint to address the needs of consumers purchasing individual insurance in the near-term future. NAHU will continue to work with AHIP, BCBSA, Members of Congress, state legislators, the administration, and others to find sensible solutions to the uninsured crisis.

DOI Update

2008-08-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

By Len Barend
Legislative Chair

A workshop was held on August 14, 2008 in Carson City with a video feed to the DOI office in Las Vegas. The main purpose of the workshop was to review several items prior to the DOI meeting scheduled for the following week.

Of particular interest was the commission item on the agenda. The purpose of the new regulation was to change commissions to be calculated by a % of premium or a flat rate per application. Many of the CCAHU membership felt this was an easy out for the DOI instead of enforcing the current regulations. (There are three insurance carriers that are not in compliance with current regulations by paying commissions on the base rate of the premium rather then the entire premium amount.)

Jim Wadhams, our lobbyist was contacted and our options were discussed. Jim suggested that this was an unnecessary and undesirable regulation of commissions without statutory predicates. He then wrote a letter to the commissioner suggesting that the regulation should be removed. He also requested that the non-compliance issues be dealt with under existing regulations and the proposal be withdrawn.

Jim's suggestions were adopted by the commissioner and the proposed regulation was withdrawn and the DOI will be sending letters to those insurance carriers out of compliance.
This is an example of why brokers should be members of the association because without our presence this regulation could have been adopted and our income severely impacted.

Democrats Set Convention Agenda For Healthcare

2008-08-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

By Len Barend
Legislative Chair

Democratic National Convention's official platform calls for universal healthcare coverage.In continuing coverage from the Aug. 11 edition of NAHU Newswire, Modern Healthcare (8/15, DoBias) reported that "[t]he agenda-setting committee for the Democratic National Convention released its official platform for the party convention, calling for universal healthcare coverage but stopping short of making it a mandate." Furthermore, "[t]he committee...calls on the medical establishment to more quickly adopt health information technology, primarily 'privacy-protected' electronic medical records and calls for financial incentives to help them do so." Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) "has said that he would sign a comprehensive healthcare plan into law by the end of his first term, if elected."

2008 Capitol Conference Report by Ken LaRovere

2008-02-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

This year’s Capital Conference was truly a remarkable experience. We had the opportunity to listen to a variety of speakers who discussed a multitude of topics. We were given definitions of various health plan proposals and points of view of politicians and proposals for change. Breakout sessions covered topics of interest. I participated in a session that addressed dealing with the media. I learned that it isn’t enough to state a position, but how necessary it is to make sure that the person you are discussing a topic with not only hears what is being said, but fully understands what points of view are being communicated. It is your obligation to make sure the media understands your position. If they don’t understand, the real possibility of being misquoted exists and incorrect information will be at risk of being disseminated. Carriers often have media departments that address media inquiries, where a carrier representative can refer media inquiries to that department. Agents and brokers don’t have the luxury of having media departments; they must be well informed and be prepared to address questions when asked.

The legislative visits were pre-arranged and were on time. Topics discussed included:
¨ SCHIP
¨ Trade Adjustment Assistance Act Reauthorization/Health Care Tax Credit
¨ Mental Health Parity
¨ The Federal Tax Code and the Tax Exclusion for Employer-Paid Health Insurance Premiums
¨ Access to Health Insurance Coverage
¨ Universal Health Coverage Initiatives
¨ Making Long-term Care Insurance Available through Section 125 Cafeteria Plans
¨ Promoting Greater Access to H.S.A.s
¨ Health information Technology
¨ Wellness

The hot topics were: Health Information Technology, Long-term Care and Access to Health Care. It appeared that SCHIP was a back burner issue.

This trip, I was extremely impressed with seeing first hand, legislators asking questions and truly viewing our members as a resource. Congressman Porter had several questions that could not immediately be answered. Larry Harrison took notes, after leaving Congressman Porter’s office, Larry and I met one of the NAHU staff members, the staffer wrote down the questions, he promised to research the answers and respond promptly to Larry, who in turn will respond to Congressman Porter. This interaction impressed me. This is an example of the value NAHU has for all of us. Credible and timely responses to our questions and concerns. Cap Conference is very important for all of our futures. Getting correct and accurate information in the hands of our legislators is so important.

Cap Conference is an opportunity for legislators to hear our members talk with one voice that is accurate and well informed.