Clouds On The Horizon

 

 Fear.  Damn, I had forgotten the sound of fear.  I had enjoyed the relative calm of the last 3 years.  But fear was returning to the insurance business.  Worse, that fear wasn’t unwarranted. 

The exact wording may vary, but the clients’ questions tend to track in one of these directions:

•  “I have Cancer/a Heart Condition/MS/Other pre-existing condition.  Am I going to lose my health insurance? 
•  “Will they let me keep my health insurance, but charge so much that I will have to drop it?”
•  “Am I going to lose my Medicare Supplement?”
•  “Are they going to move Social Security to 69 or 70?” 

You know these questions and a half a dozen more.  You may have asked them yourself.  The former president/presumptive Republican nominee is still campaigning to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).  Trump is still complaining, seven years later, about Senator John McCain saving the country.  What would happen if Donald Trump was the president and the Republicans regained the majority in both the House and Senate?  John McCain is gone.  Would you trust your health care to Ted Cruz and J D Vance?  

It would be wrong to pooh-pooh the worries of the 50 year old cancer survivor.  That person, and the 54 million other non-elderly Americans with pre-existing conditions, have legitimate concerns.  Most elected Republicans are happy to complain about the prices and deductibles, but no longer want to engage in discussions about repealing and replacing Obamacare.  Without a viable replacement, they having decided to substitute whining for action.  But there is a vocal minority within the current House majority, the ones who disposed of one Speaker of the House and are constantly threatening the current placeholder, who are still trying to impose their concept of “political purity” on their caucus and the rest of us.  Thankfully they have been too fixated on Hunter Biden to have had the time to dismantle our health care system.  Given another term and a different president, who knows? 

Some of my clients, and yes, many of my clients are well-read and up on current events, are focused on the Supreme Court.  The Roberts Court saved the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act several times.  Will Texas strike again?  Will this new majority, one no longer concerned with precedent or judicial restraint, protect us again?  That hardly seems like a safe bet.  There will be more challenges to birth control, Medicaid, Medicare, and other health related issues in the next few years.  We can only guess, with Susan Collins like accuracy, how this court will rule. 

There is a move to raise the Social Security age to 69.  It is reasonable to believe that the same 175 members of the Republican Study Committee would also want to both privatize Medicare and to move the starting point past the current age 65.  I don’t know of any of my elderly clients that would want the current Republican members of the US House of Representatives to tinker with their health care or retirement.  And if they are paying attention, the 25 year olds are just as concerned.  Addressing the funding and structure of our social safety net may make sense, but it is time to ask for all of the details.  

It is April 2024.  We have seven months until the election.  There will be television ads filled with half-truths and complete lies.  Our letter carriers will be forced to deliver actual junk mail.  And you will receive unsolicited phone calls and texts almost daily.  Heck, I get texts from Laura Trump and Don Jr.  Don’t let fear get the best of you.  

Dave 

www.cunixinsurance.com

 Picture – A Moment Of Calm – David L Cunix

Piece Of The Puzzle

 

 

 I have friends who enjoy the challenge of a good jigsaw puzzle.  They might spend entire weekends tackling a bucolic scene of 2,000 or more pieces.  Not me.  I am still haunted by the puzzle frustrations of my childhood.  No matter how careful I was, there would always be a piece missing!  That missing piece, perhaps in the lower right corner, wasn’t relevant until it was everything, the very definition of whether or not I had completed the puzzle. 

I was recently in Washington DC as part of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP) annual Capitol Conference.  As I have detailed in previous years, 500+ health insurance agents and industry employees gather in our nation’s capital to hear from the heads of the regulatory departments (think CMS), Congressmen, Senators, and thought leaders on the issues impacting us and our clients.  And, we then get the opportunity to meet with our elected representatives or their legislative aides in their offices. 

I love wondering around the Halls of Congress

Most of our attendees are very familiar with legislation pending in either the House or the Senate.  Some even know the players, who is championing a particular bill, or may be in opposition.  There is an entire process to the meetings in the Congressional offices.  The meetings are scheduled in advance.  Our talking points, the key issues we would like to discuss, are provided to their offices along with a list of which of our members will be attending.  And yes, we even include our attendees’ addresses so that the Congressman or staff will know if they will be meeting with a constituent.  Our meetings are an opportunity to put a face and a story to the issues and to explain the real-world consequences of their actions or inactions. 

Due to the limitations of this Congress, our talking points were reduced to one page (front and back!), much less than previous years.  We limited our focus to pending legislation.   But we did have something else to discuss – the brand new NABIP American Healthcare Consumer Bill of Rights.  The key, at least in my opinion, begins with the idea that we are Consumers, not patients.  As consumers we are purchasing goods and services.  Our expectations are different when we identify as consumers.  Our focus isn’t simply about outcomes, but we should know that we have the right to access healthcare, that we will be respected, that the process will be transparent, and that we will be a part of the decision making process.  Does this fix all/any of our system’s flaws? No.  This is just another step in the right direction.  And if it helps my clients to better understand their place in the process, an active participant not just an end-user, then we will have accomplished something. 

I led two delegations to Congressional offices this year.  We met with one staffer who, though relatively new in this particular office, had been on the Hill for almost a decade.  And we met with a bright young woman early in her career.  In both instances our members were able to help the Congressional staffer to see the individuals and small businesses impacted by the laws and regulations they helped to shape.  That is what seems to be missing, the human factor.  We are the last piece of the puzzle.  Insurance is the way most Americans access and pay for health care.  And insurance agents are the way the product is most effectively delivered.  We are also in the position to help regulators and Congress to course correct when the best of intentions lead in the wrong direction. 

And that is why I’ll be in Columbus a few times this year and already look forward to next year’s Capitol Conference. 

Dave 

www.cunixinsurance.com

Picture – At The Top, Cannon Office Building 2024 – David L Cunix

Raison D'etre

 

Friday, December 29th, the last business day of 2023, was a very good day to be an insurance agent.  At least it was in my office.  

I started the day with three important scheduled appointments, three disasters.  One of the problems was caused, in part, by the client trying to fix things on his own.  The other two were related to the failure of Ohio Medicaid to communicate effectively.  It doesn’t matter if you are talking about children or senior citizens, sudden changes in your health coverage with little to no warning can be terribly disruptive.  I needed to get everyone properly covered on the 29^th or they would be stuck in limbo for all of January. Each of these appointments could have lasted for hours and similar cases had.  But on Friday all three were successfully resolved by 1:30 in the afternoon.    

Communication failures led to two more client contacts later that afternoon.  In these cases I was able to reassure the clients that everything was fine.  The client and/or their child have access to the doctors and facilities important to them.  The clients might be able to talk to someone at the state, or the insurance company, but they can always get a response from their agent, me or any of my peers. 

This blog has readers across the country. My peers, my friends who are agents, in Phoenix, Atlanta, or Portland (Maine and Oregon) encounter interesting and possibly even more complicated issues every day.  This is the gig.  Our job is to solve the problems of our clients - individuals, families, small and large businesses - as they attempt to acquire and maintain effective health insurance. The insurance companies may have call centers and someone will eventually answer the phone at the state’s office, but your insurance agent is the one you know you can call. 

I am already booked for Washington DC for the end of February and I hope to be in Columbus a couple of times in 2024.  There is a good chance I will see your agent in Washington and that he/she will also be spending time meeting with your state legislature this year.  Let us know what is on your mind and how we can help. 

Dave 

www.cunixinsurance.com

Picture – Oh, And I got A New Car, Too – David L Cunix