House Passes Health Reform

The following is from NAIFA GovWatch.

Action Taken: On November 7, the House of Representatives voted 220 -215 to pass its version of health reform (H.R. 3962). Thirty-nine Democrats voted against and one Republican, Cao of Louisiana, voted in favor of the bill. To see how Members of Congress voted, view the roll call vote here. To see how Members in your state voted, simply click on the “State-by-State” tab.
NAIFA Position: NAIFA President Thomas D. Currey, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF issued the following statement immediately after the vote on Saturday night.

"H.R. 3962 contains many provisions that NAIFA has long supported including affordability credits, wellness and prevention provisions, guaranteed issue and consumer access to professional agent services.

However, there are a number of health reform issues that need further consideration before the bill will meet NAIFA's reform goals, and we are disappointed that the House passed the bill without fully vetting these concerns. In addition to controversial health provisions, we are particularly troubled with the use of health care reform legislation to expand the FTC’s authority over all lines of insurance and to limit the McCarran-Ferguson protection of pro-competitive activities in the medical malpractice and health insurance markets. Excessive authority is unwarranted, and would have negative impact, particularly on property-casualty and life insurers and their consumers.

NAIFA is dismayed by the sweeping changes to the regulation of all lines of insurance in the context of a health reform bill.

We continue to believe that the health care reform challenge can be met by bringing millions of uninsured Americans into the system and reducing the high cost of health care for everyone. We look forward to working with the Senate and the Reconciliation Conferees to address our concerns."
Next Steps: While all eyes will turn to the Senate, don't expect the Senate plan to follow the House on health care overhaul. The House bill will be deemed unacceptable to many in the Senate.

The details of the merged Senate bills will be released after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) releases its analysis of the merged bills. The Senate bill is expected to be more to our liking in achieving affordable coverage for all Americans. All indicators are that it, too, will have specific authorization for agents to participate in the reformed health system. Currently, it contemplates including a government plan with a state opt-out, but indicators are that that provision will drop out during Senate floor debate.

The Senate process will also differ from the House floor vote which allowed limited amendment opportunities. Once the CBO score is released, the Senate debate is expected to last several weeks. Debate will include many amendments and we expect to have a number of our concerns addressed there, including strengthening the balance between penalty and purchase of insurance.

The Senate floor debate will not begin until after Thanksgiving. If the Senate does pass a bill, it will be different enough from the House bill that a lengthy and contentious conference is probable.
Our current strategy is to support health reform that includes a meaningful, fairly compensated role for agents, no tax on workers based on their employer-provided health insurance, meaningful coverage requirements and no public plan. NAIFA will work to improve our issues in the Senate bill as the initiative moves toward final passage.
What You Can Do:
• Meet with Your Senators over Veteran’s Day Recess.
• Urge your friends and colleagues to have their voices heard.
• Engage the Media Members and their constituents pay close attention to their local media. Make the voice of agent heard by sharing your comments with the media.
• Visit HealthChat to read articles, view videos and learn what others are doing. (Note: Please make sure you are logged into the NAIFA website in order to access HealthChat.)