Health Care Reform is a topic on which everyone has an opinion these days. There is an overpowering amount of information available—much of it wrong. Many uninsured consumers are anticipating “free” health care while others believe that ultimately they will not be able to get the health care they need. Until the new legislation is “up and functioning,” this confusion is bound to continue. How many of you have almost given up selling health insurance products?
In planning this issue, we hoped to give one important message to you: There are many opportunities still available in the health market, so don’t give up on it too soon.
Alan Katz, a well-known broker, pundit of the health care industry, and owner of “The Alan Katz Health Care Reform Blog,” couldn’t agree more. In his April 8, 2010 blog, “Preparing for Health Care Reform,” he had this to say:
“…brokers need to be thinking about the kind of agency that will survive and flourish in the years ahead. In my mind, this means spending the next few months refining one’s agency so it is both nimble and flexible. This will allow brokers to adapt to a changing environment as new provisions of the law take effect, avoid the inevitable pitfalls created by new government bureaucracies or existing health insurance carriers, and seize opportunities created by those same bureaucracies and carriers.
“Notice I didn’t say ‘quickly avoid’ or ‘immediately seize.’ I’m not convinced victory will go to the swift this time around. Instead, I believe during this time of transition the advantage will go to the prepared, the informed and the thoughtful. Speed is required when change comes quickly. But when it comes to health care reform, regulations will likely be in place six months or more before the legislative elements they refer to go into effect. This relieves brokers from the need to predict the future. Instead, prepared agencies will have at least some time to think about the developments as they emerge and figure out the right response. Given a choice between ‘quick’ and ‘right’ I’m going with the latter every time.
“All of this means now is not the time to panic. Instead, now is the time to take stock of your business practices and determine which ones foster readiness—and which don’t…plug into the vast support network out there, starting with NAHU, who are ready, willing and able to help you understand not just the letter of the new health care reform law, but how it is being brought to life.”
Health care legislation is here, and you must be prepared every day to guide your clients through the confusing maze of coverage options and compliance requirements. Katz’s blog can be found at alankatz.wordpress.com. The National Association of Health Underwriters website is www.nahu.com. The Department of Health and Human Services has a target date of July 1 to get its consumer web portal up and running (required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act). The web portal is intended to improve consumer knowledge regarding health insurance options by providing information in a clear and standardized format. This is another site you should start researching as soon as it becomes available (www.hhs.gov).
It is our hope that the articles which follow in this issue will also provide you with ideas to help you prevail through this time of change.
A campaign to educate the public about the need for long term care insurance is being announced this month. Its purpose is to place a national focus on the importance of long term care insurance. “3 in 4 Need More” is the slogan that will be used for the campaign. This refers to the fact that 80 percent of all Americans will live beyond age 65, and roughly three out of every four of them will need long term care at some point, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Those who are spearheading this campaign include a 12-member advisory board and 3-member executive committee that include association leaders, educators, general agents and trade press representatives. It is their hope that specialists, carriers, vendors, media, policyholders, financial institutions, politicians, employers and associations will join in this effort to broaden awareness and educate consumers.
The goal is for the long term care industry to have an “all in” focused campaign similar to what many non-insurance industries have created. A good example is the “Got Milk” campaign.
This campaign will have many resources available to use in promoting the need for long term care. One that is already completed is “The Seven Essentials for Long Term Care Planning,” a booklet that discusses the urgency of long term care planning in a factual, non-threatening manner.
The “3 in 4 Need More” campaign was launched in 2009 by the Long Term Care Insurance Guild, a social network focusing on the long term care industry and those served by it.
To find out more about the campaign, go to www.3in4needmore.com. To find out more about the LTC Insurance Guild, go to ltcguild.ning.com.
One final reminder: The entire content of BROKER WORLD appears online at www.brokerworldmag.com. In addition, every month there are exclusive online articles.
This month, the final part of the 2010 Fixed Annuity Study is online as well as two articles that will further cover this month’s health insurance focus.
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In fact, call that number if you have any questions. We really want this online version of Broker World to be a useful tool for you. [SAC]
