Health insurance agents want to cut the roots of the ACA flower before it has had a chance to bloom.
The National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) have signed on to lend their support of a website that seeks to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. The website, The Affordable Coverage Project, is calling for the repeal of the health insurance taxes that made Obamacare originally revenue neutral and finances the tax credits that will make health insurance affordable for millions of Americans.
Health Agents steer consumers
The term “Health Underwriter” is a fancy term for health insurance agent or broker. Many agents like to refer to themselves as “field underwriters” because they help determine if a prospect will be underwritten for health insurance. The steering of potential health plan members, some of whom may have medical issues, for the benefit of the agent or carrier is strictly prohibited under Medicare rules for Medicare Advantage Plans.
Health taxes are the roots of reform
This latest attack has its roots in the Republican and Tea Party hatred of taxes of any kind. Their strategy is to appeal to Americans widespread distrust of taxes to sabotage the ACA. If they can repeal the taxes that fund the whole system of tax credits for low and moderate income families they will be able to squeal that the ACA is adding to the national budget deficit and debt. These are the same folks that had no problem supporting the creation of the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plans which had no funding mechanism to support the new entitlement program.
Health insurance taxes levied directly on all consumers
- 2.3% tax on the premium amount of all health plans.
- $5.25 transitional reinsurance tax per member per month from 2014 – 2016.
NAHU fighting for carriers not consumers
NAHU’s 2013 Government Relations Priorities look like they were written by the insurance companies rather than health insurance agents fighting for their clients.
- Increase the age rating band from 3:1 to 7:1. This makes health insurance exceedingly expensive for older workers forcing employers to favor hiring only young employees.
- Eliminating the new $2,000/$4,000 deductible cap for small businesses. Health plans with $5,000 and $10,000 are of little value to low and moderate wage employees and a disincentive to actually see a doctor.
- Reviewing, with the goal of reducing, the mandated Essential Health Benefits. Do we really want to go back to plans that don’t include coverage for maternity? Those plans are not family friendly but save the health insurance companies money.
- Eliminating new national premium tax on health insurance. These taxes fund and make health insurance affordable to all Americans, kept the ACA from adding to the national debt and are program specific. The point of repealing the taxes is to crash the ACA, not support the millions of families that can’t afford health insurance or who have been denied because of pre-existing conditions.
Another puppet of insurance companies lends support
Another sponsor of the website is the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). The very taxes on health insurance that will support the increased membership and revenue for health insurance companies are being attacked. Health insurance companies want a Part D Prescription Drug model where they collect and pay no taxes and the American public subsidizes their profits. No! We need to subsidize the affordable health insurance for families not the salaries of corporate CEO’s.
NAHU and AHIP: no friend of working families
I dropped my membership in NAHU years ago as they did all they could to lobby against and undermine the implementation of the ACA. It pains me that I must pay AHIP $100 for yearly certification in order to represent Medicare Advantage Plans. It is amazing that Medicare allows a subversive organization like AHIP to profit from government subsidized programs while that very group is trying to destroy health insurance programs.
Vertical integration
The health insurance companies have already begun vertical integration to leverage the new members for profit. Anthem Blue Cross announced that members will be able to purchase contact lenses from 1-800-CONTACTS. The parent company of Anthem Blue Cross, WellPoint, bought 1-800-CONTACTS last year. Health insurance companies want all the gravy without having to cook the meal. Wellpoint supports its own anti-Obamacare website called Health Action Network.
Truly playing both ends against the middle
The ACA bonus for the health insurance companies is the ability to sell dental, vision and life insurance products to their new members. These ancillary products don’t fall under the Medical Loss Ratio regulating that they must spend 80% or 85% of the insurance premiums on member care or quality improvement. Health insurance companies are out to exploit the individual mandate of the ACA to increase their membership while they enlist their front organizations like NAHU and AHIP to fight against taxes that make the whole program work.
What is the agenda of NAHU agents?
Your agent or broker may be a stupendous person. But if they belong to a state affiliate of NAHU, then they belong to the national organization. Ask him or her if they support the efforts to sabotage the ACA by any means possible. Ask if they think all Americans should have access to affordable health insurance. Ask them if the tax payers should subsidize the profits of the insurance carriers and health plans they represent. Health insurance agent associations along with trade groups like AHIP continue to fight against affordable health insurance for all American’s which in turn guarantees quality health care for all Americans. Agents and insurance companies continue to put profits before people by working to cut the roots of the ACA before the flower has had a chance to bloom.
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