Health agents ‘optimistic’ as a new administration takes charge

The National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP) is “optimistic in the uncertainty” of a new administration, the organization’s CEO told InsuranceNewsNet.

NABIP will gather Sunday through Wednesday for its annual Capitol Conference, with a long list of issues its members will discuss with their representatives in Congress.

NABIP’s CEO, Jessica Brooks-Woods, said her association’s top priority issues for 2025 are issues that carried over from the previous year “but need some longer-term solutions.” Among those issues are pharmacy benefit manager reform and passing a bipartisan health care package that includes extending telehealth benefits for those enrolled in high-deductible health plans and Medicare.

“That will be our focus – transparency and drug pricing and equitable access to care. That shouldn’t be partisan at all,” she said.

NABIP members also will advocate for protecting the preferred tax treatment of health insurance.

ACA tax credits a 'talking point'

“Extending the premium tax credits for the Affordable Care Act marketplace will be a legislative talking point for our members. With nearly 20 million middle-income Americans impacted by not having a long-term solution around whether those tax credits will be extended, that will be a significant priority for us,” Brooks-Woods said.

Preserving employer-sponsored health benefits “is a big macro goal of ours,” she added.

“We want to expand small business health care business deductions to support independent agents and employers. Employer-sponsored coverage remains the backbone of American health care, and we want to protect these benefits. We believe it's essential for workforce stability and economic growth.”

Another of NABIP’s priorities in the coming year is defending Medicare access for older Americans, “and that means defending the agent,” Brooks-Woods said.

'Preserving the role of the agent'

“We've been in a battle to prove that we should exist in this health care ecosystem and prove our value,” she said. “Part of that is preserving the role of the agent, to ensure access to care, to ensure affordability in our health-care delivery system, to ensure health literacy and health insurance literacy.

“We want to make it clear that we are not merely people who are transactional, but we understand the unique needs of the people we serve. To eliminate or villainize the role of the agent is no longer acceptable and it’s harmful to Americans.”

NABIP also wants to see the establishment of a second annual enrollment period for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage and for reintroducing a bill that would allow seniors enrolled in COBRA coverage to transition to Medicare Part B without a penalty.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was recently confirmed as the nation’s newest Health and Human Services Secretary and Dr. Mehmet Oz awaits confirmation as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“We want NABIP to be a partner with them and we want to be a conduit to turning their dreams into reality,” Brooks-Woods said.

Kennedy appointment 'will be interesting'

Kennedy’s appointment to lead HHS “will be interesting,” she said because it will mark a turn in focus from funding health care to improving Americans’ health status.

“We want to be a proven infrastructure to help him executive how you improve that health status while also figuring out how it must be financed,” she said. “How do you educate people on what it means to get to an optimal health status – for example, losing weight or managing your diabetes or other chronic condition – while also having an economic lens on this to make sure it’s affordable?”

NABIP members are in a unique position to help the Make America Healthy Again movement set the standard for health care transformation, she said.

“[Washington] needs to fully understand that brokers help consumers access diabetes solutions in the marketplace, we help the population understand direct primary care or other care models to help them deal with chronic conditions, with mental health being part of that.

“So I think collaborating with that agenda makes so much sense. Our members work in local communities, and that’s where health care decisions happen. I’m hopeful that Dr. Oz and RFK Jr. will open themselves to fully realizing the role that our members play that can help aid their agendas and get access and education to the consumer.”

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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 [email protected].