HAFA Summit Hits In The Midst Of Health Bill Collapse

ORLANDO, Fla. - Health Agents for America meet for their fifth annual Agent Summit this week, and it couldn’t come at a more interesting time for those who are following health care reform.

HAFA members are gathering just days after Senate Republicans pulled their version of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.

It’s not the first time HAFA members had an event that was overshadowed by a major development on the health care front. In May, the organization met in Washington for their mini-lobby day on the same day that the House passed its version of health care reform.

“It’s kind of uncanny, our sense of timing on this,” said HAFA’s political analyst, Michael Keegan.

HAFA was founded in 2012 as a nonprofit trade association exclusively for health insurance agents. Its mission is to provide a leading voice and to be an advocate for independent agents by keeping them apprised on pertinent federal and state legislation. Its vision is to preserve and enhance the role of the independent agent.

HAFA members have taken a financial beating as the ACA has slashed and frequently eliminated agent commissions. But commissions are not members’ only concern, Keegan said.

“Our concern is always having affordable products that we can offer to our clients. When we look at the landscape, we are concerned that so many carriers are exiting the marketplace, so many areas where there is little to no competition,” he said.

As the Republican efforts toward repealing and replacing the ACA continue to move forward and backward, HAFA members “are probably a bit confused,” Keegan said.

“When you look back to January and President Trump saying he would have an Obamacare repeal bill ready to sign on day one – and now you see here in July that the Senate is in effect saying the effort is dead for now – you have to ask how did this happen.”

Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at Susan.Rupe@innfeedback.com.

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