The Individual Market
Insurance agents are concerned
about recent moves by some health insurance companies to significantly reduce
or eliminate commissions paid to their health insurance agents for selling and
servicing their policies in the private individual marketplace. The CAHU Executive Board is engaged in
finding solutions and we have discussed the viability of fees in this
marketplace. We agreed that we need to
obtain solid legal guidance in order to respond accurately, lawfully, and
within the constraints of antitrust to the requests from our members on this
critically important issue.
The CAHU Board approved coordinating
with the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors—California
(NAIFA-California), and IIABCal (Independent Insurance Agent and Brokers of
California) and those organizations agreed with us in approaching a legal firm
in beginning in November, 2016, but in late
January that firm decided not to pursue the project. I am happy to report that we have selected a highly
recommended firm who will do the in-depth research and provide us with this
much needed guidance document. The
arrangements to implement this have begun and the report should be available by
May.
The
attorney will give us a legal outline of the current ability, if any, of
insurance producers to charge fees in connection with the sales and
service of health insurance policies governed by the California Department of
Managed Care, the California Department of Insurance, and whatever other State
and Federal laws might affect this area.
Additionally, this white paper will show where future legal,
political, or lawful marketplace advocacy is needed to change current legal and
statutory limitations on existing fee practices.
Efforts
on the national level are a little less clear at this time. NAHU is supporting the elimination of the
Medical Loss Ratio either by legislation or by regulation. NAHU’s white paper on health care reform
includes the importance of consumer access to, and fair compensation of, agents
for all the work they perform. Given the
uncertainty in Washington about health care reform, it is impossible to predict
the impact on agent’s commissions at this time.
Capital
Conference
NAHU
held its Capitol Conference in Washington, D.C. in mid-February. I have been
attending these meetings for more than 15 years and what impressed me was the
number of attendees, over 800, more than a 50% increase over the normal
turnout. Having a conversation with your Congressional representative is one of
the most effective ways of participating in our democracy and getting our
message through to those who make the decisions that will affect us and our
clients for the future. Also impressive
was the effort made by our Washington legislative staff to prepare us for
discussions with legislators on the most important aspects of health care
reform. For example, the talking points
in the informational kits that provide the basis of our presentations were
based upon the political party of each legislator. The differences were subtle, but this new
approach was effective in creating a dialogue with legislators.
The
presentations by experts reflected the uncertainty revolving around House
Republican programs as none had gained enough support to move forward. Since the conference, the Republicans have
proposed the American HealthCare Act (AHCA) which is in the process of moving
through the legislative process. This legislation
will continue to evolve, but a tax on the employer-sponsored health insurance,
which was a key discussion point during the conference, was not included in the
bill. The CAHU Executive Board will
continue to provide timely updates and thoughts about the Federal efforts.
Thank
you for your membership.
Questions/Comments? comments@cahu.org
P.S. Don’t forget to submit your
application for the NAHU Leading Producers Round Table. This is an excellent
way to stand out from the crowd, distinguish yourself as an industry leader,
and gain access to the benefits & discounts only LPRT qualifiers
receive. Deadline: 3/31/17!
