By every measure, our 2014 Capitol Summit was a resounding
success. Arriving in Sacramento while riding the wave of our ACA open
enrollment achievements created an entirely different reception when visiting
with our state legislators.
Licensed health insurance agents came with a strong story to
tell and our elected officials were ready to hear our thoughts and ideas.
It was, indeed, a year like none in recent memory.
First on CAHU’s agenda in Sacramento was the association’s
annual meeting and House of Delegates.
The delegates elected our new officers for the upcoming
year, and we welcome the following new officers:
President: Patrick Burns
President Elect: Michael Lujan
Immediate Past President: Sam Smith
VP of Communication: Meg McComb
VP of Finance: Juan Lopez
VP of Legislation: Dave Fear, Jr.
VP of Membership: Ryan Neace
VP of PAC: Rick Coburn
VP of Professional Development: Stephanie Berger
VP of Public Affairs: Neil Crosby
VP of Public Service*: Cerrina Jensen
*appointed position
In addition to the election of officers, the CAHU Board of
Directors adopted a new policy statement supporting the availability of
consumer-directed health plans and wrap programs. Other actions included
the approval to join Californians Against Higher Health Care Costs--the
coalition of organizations opposing the upcoming Insurance Rate Public
Justification and Accountability Act (IRPJAA) ballot initiative. The
board also voted to apply to the NAHU State Legislative Defense Fund for
$100,000 in matching funds to organize our opposition to the Rate Regulation
Initiative. This will bring our initial CAHU commitment to defeat the
initiative to a total of $250,000. This is a good start. CAHU will
be using these funds as part of our campaign to educate members and reach out
to clients and communities about CAHU's concerns with the initiative.
It was a special pleasure to welcome Janet Trautwein, CEO of
the National Association, as a keynote speaker. We were honored by her
attendance and were fortunate to hear her national update and insights.
So much is occurring federally that impacts our legislative efforts here
in California. It was wonderful to hear firsthand about the many moving
parts of the continuing ACA implementation. Thank you, Janet!
Also joining us for the conference was special guest Dr.
Richard Pan, Chair of the Assembly Health Committee. We were exceedingly
pleased to hear his message of congratulations on a job well done by
agents. Dr. Pan was very forthcoming in his understanding and support of
the role of the agent in this year’s open enrollment. He outlined the
exceptional performance of our agent community in facilitating enrollments both
in and out of the exchange, especially in the minority communities.
Legislative issues, of course, were a key focus of Capitol
Summit attendees. They learned more about key bills and carried important
information to the state Capitol. CAHU supports three bills: SB 20
(Hernandez), SB 1034 (Monning) and SB 1446 (DeSaulnier). SB 20 aligns the
next open enrollment with recent federal changes. SB 1034 will help
resolve the new hire waiting period issue. SB 1446 provides employers
with 50 or fewer employees the ability to renew their small employer health
care service plan or health insurance policy in effect on October 1, 2013,
including those that early renewed by December 31, 2013, and still in force at
the time SB 1446 is signed in to law. The extension in SB 1446 will ensure less disruption in
the small group market by providing extra time to convert to new coverage
(December 31, 2015 or longer, should federal rules change). Plans
that meet this definition are now being referred to as “grandmothered”
plans. All of these are continuing to move forward and are expected to
reach the Governor’s desk.
CAHU members spoke to legislators about a number of issues
of concern as well, including AB 1962 (Skinner) that proposes a dental “medical
loss ratio” on every specialized health plan contract and insurance policy
providing dental care benefits issued, sold, renewed, or offered. These shall provide an annual rebate to each
enrollee if the dental loss ratio exceeds 80 or 85 percent, depending on group
size.
CAHU voiced concerns that consumers will end up with fewer
affordable options for dental coverage.
I am very happy to report that our visits with legislators
and the nearly 1,000 letters sent by CAHU agents to members of the Assembly
Appropriations Committee had a very positive impact. On Friday, AB 1962 was
completely amended and now will simply require reports by dental plans on their
medical loss ratios – another success for CAHU!
In our meetings, we also brought up AB 2533 (Ammiano), which
seeks to reduce barriers to out-of-network providers by policyholders in all
types of health insurance products. CAHU remains concerned that this
doesn’t really go to the heart of what drives bills like AB 2533—network
adequacy. CAHU members also noted their strong opposition to AB 2088
(Roger Hernandez), a bill that seeks to further eliminate choice for employers
with 50 or more employees by prohibiting supplemental policies unless primary
coverage meets bronze level plan requirements. These bills continue
to move forward and I know that CAHU members will continue to raise their
voices together in opposition to these bad policy bills.
Until Next Time,
Sam