Covered California has been listed as a Gold sponsor of the California Association of Health Underwriters (CAHU). In late 2009 CAHU was very vocal that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act should not be passed by congress. A CAHU Gold sponsorship costs approximately $10,000 according to their website. It would be interesting to know what Covered California believes it is getting for the sponsorship?
CAHU opposed passage of the ACA
CAHU had been a particularly vocal opponent of the ACA sponsoring several editorials and letter writing campaigns against its passage. Later in 2010 CAHU was lobbying against the California legislation that would create the Health Benefits Exchange and ultimately Covered California. CAHU followed the leadership of the National Association of Health Underwriters by issueing a press release against the passage of the ACA.
CAHU AND NAHU WEIGH IN ON CURRENT FORM OF H. R. 3590
December 22, 2009
California and national leaders of the Association of Health Underwriters do not support current
provisions in “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009.”
CAHU President, Juan R. Lopez said today that, “the State Association has been watching this
process closely for potential impact to consumers in the State of California and we
wholeheartedly agree with the assessment that NAHU CEO, Janet Trautwein has made.”
Monday, Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU),
issued the following statement regarding said health care legislation:
“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 contains many provisions that will
drive up private health insurance costs significantly for millions of Americans families and
businesses and disrupt the quality coverage on which millions of Americans rely.
Repeal and replace the ACA
Even today, the parent organization of CAHU, the National Association of Health Underwriters continues to support the repeal of the ACA taxes that actually fund the Advance Premium Tax Credits that make affordable health insurance possible. CAHU also opposed AB 52 which would have allowed the Department of Insurance and the Department of Managed Health Care to the power to approve or reject health insurance premium rate increases.
What’s in a name?
Their very name, Health Underwriters, harkens to the era when health insurance could be denied on the basis of a pre-existing condition. The health insurance companies wanted the agents to perform “field underwriting” to steer potential claim generators away from applying. Fortunately, with the inclusion of a ban on the denial of health insurance based on a pre-existing medical condition, there is no more “field underwriting” being performed by agents and brokers for health insurance.
CAHU now works with Covered California
In 2012, CAHU was brought into Covered California in a stakeholder advisory capacity as the new Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) was being developed. Since licensed and certified health agents were the only representatives that could enroll small groups in this new program, it made sense to tap into their experience as the program was being developed. While it wasn’t the fault of CAHU, the SHOP website ultimately failed similar to the Cover Oregon exchange and all enrollments had to be handled with paper applications.
Golden thank you
It is hard to gauge how much impact CAHU has had on the development Covered California as there are still significant challenges to agent training, enrollment tools and getting answers to simple questions from the Covered California call center. Perhaps by Covered California becoming a sponsor of CAHU they thought they could temper their opposition to the ACA. Or maybe the $10,000 sponsorship was just a thank you for all their hard work.
Sponsors influence advocacy
Sponsorships do carry weight with CAHU or any organization. The recipients are less inclined to bite the hand that feeds them when a dispute arises. The numerous sponsorships from the health insurance companies have certainly influenced how vocal CAHU has been against the constant slashing of agent commissions in recent years. The Covered California sponsorship might also buy a certain level of silence from CAHU so they are less inclined to “rock the boat” over policies and procedures that are harming agents and their clients.
The new landscape of health insurance sales
The health insurance industry has changed. They dynamics are no longer weighted toward the health insurance carrier. Agents and brokers are now consumer advocates. Health insurance sales now focus on the maze of ACA enrollment questions from citizenship and immigration status to understanding federal tax law and the Modified Adjusted Gross Income. Then there is the follow customer care of making changes to household size, income and shepherding different members through the Medi-Cal system.
#BBF, Best buddies forever
I’m not a member of CAHU. I was a member until I saw such strong opposition to the ACA and support for the repeal and replacement of the law. I’m happy that CAHU has a seat at the Covered California table. But CAHU doesn’t speak for all agents. And I am uncertain as to their veracity to advocate on behalf of agents and Californians given their past support of anti-consumer legislation. It’s nice to see old foes now become best buddies. However, I don’t see how the Gold Sponsorship of CAHU helps agents on the ground today trying to clean up the mess left by a chaotic open enrollment period.