Transcript Presidential Presentation To NAHU Chapters 2006-2007

The Association of
Health Underwriters:
Presidential Perspectives
Presentation by
David L. Fear, Sr. RHU
2006-2007 President
What I’m Going To Talk About
 Healthcare’s
Future
 Industry Relations
 NAHU’s tent
 The next generation
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Healthcare’s Future




U.S. healthcare is 1/7th of the
economy
Costs have outpaced inflation
nearly 2:1 over the past 30
yrs.
The debate has shifted from
access to affordability in the
past 10 years
The “bell curve” is still very
evident in public polling:
– 25% want government control
– 25% want full privatization
– 50% in the middle want
someone else to pay the cost
and tip either way depending
upon the “issue of the month”
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Healthcare’s Future

Proposed alternatives are all over
the board:
– Socialized medicine & Single payer
– Private medicine but a Single payer
– Employer mandates such as “play
or pay”
– Individual mandates
– Tax incentives for employers to
provide coverage
– Tax incentives for individuals to
purchase coverage
– A blend of public/private programs
such as:





Medicare/Supplements
Kiddie-Care for FPL eligibles
Kiddie-Care with vouchers
Medicaid/Managed Care
Medicaid with vouchers
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Healthcare’s Future

Ideas that are picking up
interest:
– Single Payer @ State Level
– Employer / Employee
Mandate @ State Level
– Extension of Medicare to all
with private supplements
– Private plans with
individual vouchers

All seem to focus on the
government providing
funds to pay for
coverage
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Healthcare’s Future

The role of the private sector
may be changing:
– Large employers question
their ability to contain costs
– Unions want to look good and
gain members
– Small employers are dropping
coverage and focusing in on
dollars
– Consumer Directed Health
Care is the latest in long line
of private sector initiatives:





Managed Care
Utilization Review
Flexible Benefits
Network Contracting
Alternative Funding
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Healthcare’s Future

Looking at our neighbors:
– Canada must ration care to
hold down costs
– England has agreed to
private providers and private
insurance to supplement what
the government cannot afford
or provide
– Germany, Japan are
changing the role of
employers to provide
mandated coverage features
– France struggles with paying
the tab on an increasingly less
productive workforce
– “Third World Countries” are
offering less costly health care
with high quality providers
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Healthcare’s Future



In the U.S.A., healthcare has been a
political issue since the 1930’s and
became a huge part of public policy in
the 1960’s with the creation of Medicare
and Medicaid
The cost of health care is the issue, and
how that cost will be financed
–
–
–
–
Premiums vs. Taxes
Consumers vs. Businesses
Private Insurance vs. Public Coverage
Mandated vs. Voluntary Purchase
–
Government is the largest purchaser of
health care services
Private sector has been the recipient of
cost shifting for many years
Providers want to practice medicine and
be paid for their services
Consumers want access and reasonable
cost sharing
Businesses want more control over what
they pay for
Politicians want the votes
A balance between public and private
sector needs to be maintained
–
–
–
–
–
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Industry Relations

NAHU is in a unique
position:
– Our members represent
consumers and business
interests
– We understand how real
life health care works
– We know about the good
and bad of the private
system

Industry Relations
–
–
–
–
With
With
With
With
carriers
providers
regulators
legislators
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Industry Relations

The Role of the Agent
– The story of what our members do
every day needs to be told
– Helping regulators and legislators
consider all the facts in formulating
good public policy
– Helping the Media to report the real
story and the facts
– Working with our carrier partners to
improve the image of the private
sector system
– Working with providers to better
meet the needs of our customers
– Making the Private System Work!
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Industry Relations

Local/State/National AHU roles
have never been more important
– Working with public policy officials at
local, state, national levels
– Working with local, state, national
media to tell our story
– Working with local, state, regional and
national carriers to develop products
and services that are attractive to our
consumer and business customers
– Working with agents, brokers and
consultants to meet their professional
needs and to achieve success!
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NAHU’s Tent

We are the association of
“health underwriters”
– Agents, brokers, home office
personnel who sell, service,
underwrite health insurance
for individuals, groups and
other organizations
– We originally were specialists
in “accident”, “disability” and
“health” related products
– Our current membership is
made up of:
 Producers (agents, brokers)
 Wholesalers (general agents)
 Manufacturers (carriers)
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NAHU’s Tent

How many licensed
professionals are there in
America:
– At least a million?

How many are health
insurance specialists?
– 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, more?

How many are dues paying
members of an A.H.U.?
– 20,000+ in 2006

There is strength in numbers
and the A.H.U. has never
needed them more than now!
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NAHU’s Tent

We have formed “Advisory
Groups”:
– To expand our membership
– To meet the needs of these
non-health insurance
professionals
– To help our existing members
understand other alternatives

NAHU Advisory Groups:
– Disability Income Advisory
Group (DIAG)
– Long Term Care Advisory
Group (LTCAG)
– Worksite Marketing Advisory
Group (WMAG)
– Senior/Medicare Advisory
Group (SMAG)
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NAHU’s Tent

Advisory Groups are
helping us meet the two
basic needs of association
members:
– Membership Affairs
(membership services,
education, programs,
awards & recognition,
training & networking)
– Public Affairs (legislative
and regulatory matters,
media relations, political
action committees, industry
relations)
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NAHU’s Tent
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Remember: At one time NAHU
wasn’t involved in health
insurance as we know it today
– we evolved to what we are
It’s time for us to evolve into
something bigger, broader and
of more value to a larger
segment of the industry
While we have high hopes for
the private health insurance
industry, NAHU would fail to
meet the needs of members if
it were to ignore these other
specialties in our industry!
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The Next Generation
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Fact: Average age of
today’s health insurance
agent is over age 50
Fact: There is a future for
agents in the delivery of
insurance products and
services
Fact: Young people are
just as smart and hungry
as we were 30 years ago!
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The Next Generation

NAHU has formed a “Young Agent
Task Force”
–
–

The Life insurance industry has done
this and the P&C industry still does this
–
–
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To begin to strategize on a game plan
to recruit younger people into our
business
Chaired by Steve Selinsky (NAHU
Secretary) and Ryan Thorn (NAHU
RVP)
We can learn from them
We can work with them
Other segments of the NAHU family
may be involved including the NAHU
Education Foundation and the NAHU
Industry Relations Committee
We will work with our carrier partners
and “sister” organizations to reach out
and inform, educate, recruit, train and
manage young professionals in our
business
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The Next Generation
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Our members need to tell us
what they need and we need
to respond
Our chapters need to work
with us because all
membership benefits start at
the local level
Young people are interested in
honorable careers, making a
living, succeeding and
excelling in this business
We need to seek them out,
encourage them and show
them the benefits of our
profession and the association
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Summary & Conclusion

There is a future for the private health
care and health insurance system – but it
may look different from what we have
today!
– Government & Private Sector initiatives will
continue to refine and modify the system over
time.
– The cost of health care is becoming the “third
rail” of public policy.
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Summary & Conclusion

Some in the public policy world will try to
“divide & conquer” our industry by
playing parties against each other: Agents,
Providers, Insurers
– NAHU will continue to maintain a seat at the
industry table to try and formulate
alternatives that work.
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Summary & Conclusion

NAHU is expanding it’s membership tent
to include professionals in other
specialties including DI, LTC, Worksite
and Senior products
– Our local, state and national programs must
meet these needs in terms of government
affairs, media relations, membership,
education, networking and professional
development
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Summary & Conclusion

NAHU is formally pursuing a strategy to
get younger agents involved in the
industry and in the association
– A “Young Agent Task Force” has been formed
and will formulate strategies to accomplish
this task
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Remember…
Each of us needs to do 3 things:
1. Recruit at least two new
members
2. Participate in 3 “Operation
Shouts”
3. Donate at least $150 to the PAC
This is the year to:
“Make It Happen!”
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