NABIP members take concerns about employer-based insurance, health costs to Congress

Members of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals are asking Congress to preserve and strengthen employer-sponsored health insurance, address the cost of health care, and keep Medicare beneficiaries’ access to advisors and brokers during their annual Capitol Conference. NABIP members will visit Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

NABIP members will emphasize to Congress that one of the association’s primary goals “is to do everything we can to promote access to affordable health insurance coverage.”

Preserving the strengthening employer-sponsored coverage

NABIP supports relief for employers complying with Affordable Care Act reporting requirements, stating that the requirements are burdensome and confusing for consumers and employers alike. NABIP supports The Employer Reporting Improvement Act (S. 3204) and The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act (S. 3207), saying those bills will ease the compliance reporting requirements for employers offering health insurance coverage to their employees. The bills would allow employers to substitute certain identifying information, provide a larger window of time for employers to respond to IRS letters and limit the window of time for IRS lookback for prior compliance periods in accordance with regulation.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act was enacted to protect the interests of employee benefit plan participants and their beneficiaries, and NABIP opposes any attempt to circumvent or preempt that law. NABIP emphasizes that maintaining ERISA is essential to effective administration of employee benefit plans nationwide.

NABIP addresses the cost of care

NABIP supports the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act (H.R. 5378), which will enact a site-neutral payment policy to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries are paying the same rates for physician-administered Part B drugs in off-campus hospital outpatient departments as they do in physician offices.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, legislation allowed Health Savings Account-qualified high-deductible health plans to cover telehealth services before reaching the deductible. It also provided consumers the ability to choose and purchase telehealth services outside their HDHP without impacting their eligibility for an HSA. These flexibilities will expire at the end of 2024 unless action is taken. NABIP supports The Telehealth Expansion Act of 2023 (H.R. 1843 and S. 1001), which would make these flexibilities permanent.

Medicare

NABIP opposes restrictions that impede seniors’ access to licensed and certified agents and brokers. The association supports legislation to explicitly exclude independent agents and brokers from the current marketing requirement to record calls with beneficiaries, in addition to any future regulations related to recording calls with beneficiaries. NABIP recognizes the increase in unscrupulous actors in the Medicare market; however, the association believes the regulations released last year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services do not adequately address these entities and inappropriately target licensed and certified agents and brokers committed to acting in the best interest of Medicare beneficiaries.

Recent proposed regulations by CMS would effectively eliminate the existing model of servicing agents working with and through field marketing organizations. These regulations would deny the marketplace of the benefits that FMOs provide to agents, brokers and Medicare beneficiaries. The proposed rule would also further cap enrollment compensation and reduce fees for certain “administrative services.” NABIP opposes proposed changes to the Medicare agent and FMO existing model, saying that without licensed agents assisting in enrollments, Medicare beneficiaries will have fewer choices. Without FMOs providing services to agents, carriers will need to create the infrastructure to provide those services, and increased premiums could result.

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]. Follow her on X @INNsusan.

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Susan Rupe is editor in chief, magazine, 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].