Coastal Association of Health Underwriters April Newsletter

September Meeting: September 25, 2003

Location: Alleigh’s 4925 New Centre Drive Wilmington, NC

Speaker:

Sponsor:

President's Message:
David Hill

Greetings to all CAHU members. It is hard to believe that the 2002-2003 year has come to a close. If you have been following our progress this year you know we have had a very successful year! It could and would not be possible

without the support of our chapter members, our board of directors and our sponsors. I would like to thank our sponsors for their contributions this year and

years past. I especially would like to thank our major sponsors this year United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield. The generous contributions toward the golf tournament and our meetings that these companies have contributed

account for over half our budget! The next time you see an employee of either of these companies, please remember how much they support our organization and say thank you.

I will be leaving this week for the National Convention with the hopes that we will bring home the coveted Pacesetter award. This award is given to only 5 chapters in the nation. We were close last year and I feel certain that Hughes Waren, our awards chair, has gotten us there this year. We will let you know soon!

In closing I would like to say that it truly has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your president this past year. I am pleased to announce that I will be leaving everything in very capable hands with Tim Walsh as president for 2003-2004. Tim has assembled a fine board and I believe that they will surpass the successes we had this year.

I wish you all a very safe and happy summer and remember...CAHU...Catch the Wave...an Ocean of Possibilities!

David Hill President 2002-2003 Coastal Association of Health Underwriters

Incoming President's Message:
Tim Walsh

Dear CAHU Members,

As New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner said to each of his managers, “I won’t keep you long….”

Thank you for the confidence you have instilled in me to carry the torch this year for CAHU. David Hill and the rest of the board have done a fantastic job this past year and with many members returning I am confident that we can keep the momentum going. Thanks to those who are giving of their time and talents to further the success of CAHU.

I joined NAHU in October, 1997 at the urging of Tom Getz but was content to just “ride the pines” (sorry for another baseball reference) until last year when David Hill asked me to chair L&L for our chapter. My elevated state of involvement was undertaken with apprehension but was quickly transformed into a greater appreciation for the association on all three levels: local, state and national. This is an association that is worth your time and effort. I guarantee that if you give just a little, you’ll get back a lot. When you are asked later this year what committee you would like to help with, please volunteer to help those who have so kindly offered to serve as chairperson.

I am looking forward to my second Leadership Conference later this summer and will be excited to share new ideas and goals with you at our first meeting in September. David Hill brought us the motto last year of “CAHU… Catch the Wave…an Ocean of Possibilities.” This year I would like to add …“Take the Plunge!”

Tim Walsh

timwalsh@bellsouth.net

Legislative News:

Tim Walsh

L & L Notes

Medicare
The House Ways and Means Committee approved legislation to create a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries by a 25-15 vote on Tuesday, June 17. H.R. 2473, the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003, would create a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries, provide a drug discount card for all seniors, and make substantial reforms to the Medicare program including the addition of new health plan choices. The bill is estimated to cost $413 billion over 10 years. Participating beneficiaries would pay an approximate monthly premium of $35. After an annual $250 deductible, prescriptions would be covered at 80% up to $2,000 in expenses. Coverage would begin again if a beneficiary's out-of-pocket expenses were $3,500 in a calendar year at which time drug costs would be paid at 100% for the rest of the year. Beneficiaries with incomes greater than $60,000 annually would have a higher out-of-pocket maximum before catastrophic coverage would begin, depending on their actual income. H.R. 2473 also makes new types of comprehensive plans available to all beneficiaries. These plans would be compensated and regulated differently than Medicare+Choice plans have been in the past and would have much more incentive to participate in and remain in the program than before. A large number of major insurance carriers have indicated their interest in participation. The legislation also includes new access to preventive care and disease management not currently provided under the Medicare program. Medicare supplement coverage would continue to be available for those who chose to continue with the current Medicare program.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which also has jurisdiction over Medicare began debate on H.R. 2473 as described above and approved the bill by a 29-20 vote on Thursday, June 19. Both committees passed amendments to the bill and the two committees will present a combined and agreed upon bill for a vote on the House floor next week.

The Senate Finance Committee approved S. 1, the Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003, on June 12. Debate began on the Senate floor this week and will continue next week. As you may recall from the last update, S. 1 would create a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries and add new comprehensive coverage options through a new Medicare Advantage program. Beneficiaries who choose to remain in traditional fee-for-service Medicare would have access to drug coverage through private prescription drug plans with a $275 annual deductible, followed by 50% coverage until expenses reach $4,500 in a calendar year. If a beneficiary's out-of-pocket costs reach $3,700 in a calendar year, catastrophic coverage would pay 90% of remaining costs for the year. People who participate in Medicare Advantage would receive drug benefits through that program. Beneficiaries would pay an estimated $35 monthly premium for drug coverage. A discount card is also included in S1. On Thursday, the Senate approved an amendment to S 1, amendment 945, which would eliminate the Hatch-Waxman loophole and allow generic pharmaceuticals to enter the market faster by eliminating the 30-month patent stay. The amendment was approved by a 94-1 vote, with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) opposing. A final vote on the Senate floor is expected before the Senate adjourns on Friday for the July 4^th recess.

Votes on both of these bills next week will be followed by a conference to work out the differences in the two bills. We expect that conference to move quickly followed by signing of the legislation by President Bush.

AHPs
The House voted 226-162 to approve H.R. 660, the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2003, or Association Health Plan bill, on June 19. As we have advised earlier, this passage was expected. The bill's fate in the Senate is uncertain, since support there is significantly less than in the House. Several improvements were made to the bill before it went to the floor, primarily regarding clarification of which state laws were and were not preempted. We are preparing a new chart that illustrates the current provisions of the bill and will notify you when it is on the Website. We would like to thank the more than 1500 NAHU members who responded to our request to contact legislators - in spite of the final vote, your voice was heard and made an impact.

Long-Term Care
NAHU participated in a Fathers Day lobby day on June 11 to increase awareness on the importance of long-term care insurance. A press conference was held in the morning with Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and Congressman Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), sponsors of H.R. 2096, the Long-Term Care Retirement and Security Act of 2003. The press conference was followed by an afternoon of visits with members of Congress to increase the number of cosponsors on the Johnson/Pomeroy bill. A number of NAHU members came to Washington to participate in the event. Their presence was very helpful and appreciated by those participating in the event.

HSAs
The House Ways and Means Committee approved H.R. 2351, the Health Savings Account and Availability Act of 2003, on Thursday. During the committee mark-up of the legislation, a substitute was offered and approved that would change the minimum required deductible to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families. This would basically allow an HSA to be available in conjunction with most health plans and to be portable throughout an individual's lifetime. The bill allows up to $2,000 to be deposited for individuals and $4,000 for families each calendar year with additional amounts allowable for those over age 50 as a sort of "catch up" allowance. It also allows up to $500 each year to be rolled over from FSAs and deposited into the HSA. The rules for withdrawals are similar to IRAs. The tax deduction would be limited to individuals earning up to $45,000 and joint filers earning up to $65,000. The Joint Tax Committee estimates that the bill will cost $72 billion over 10 years, and would have cost much more without the income limits that were added.

H.R. 2351 does not amend MSA statutes. MSAs continue to be available without income limits. HSAs if passed by the Senate will be another way for consumers to become more in touch with the cost of health care. They will be particularly important to low and moderate income individuals who are asked to pay greater portions of their health care costs. Since they are portable over a person's lifetime, they will also prove very useful in the funding of long term care insurance and other items needed to prepare for and fund retirement related medical costs.

Operation Shout
We want to thank everyone for their overwhelming support on H.R. 660, the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2003. Over 1,560 members sent e-mails or sent letters to their member of Congress! This is the most members we have had respond to an alert. You can now view how you member of Congress voted through the Key Votes feature on Operation Shout! Thank you for your support!

We also wanted to let you know that Congress has been working at a feverish pace, which is why you have been receiving so many e-mails over the past several weeks. There should be a break in alerts after the July 4^th recess as Congress should have voted on the Medicare/Prescription drug package. Thank you again for you continued support! Please keep checking for more alerts and check out Operation Shout! through NAHU's website at www.nahu.org. Thank you again!

Other News
The House approved H.R. 1528, the Taxpayer Protection and IRS Accountability Act of 2003 on Thursday. A provision was included in the legislation that would create temporary purchasing flexibility in states that have not elected a qualified health plan for TAA eligible individuals. NAHU had advocated strongly for this flexibility to ensure that those eligible for the 65% tax credit had a place to spend it. The bill passed by a 252-170 vote.

It's been a busy week. We had three mark-ups of bills, two bills on the floor, and debate on the Senate floor, all at the same time, and all on bills of great interest to NAHU members. Stay tuned for next week, which promises to be equally busy.

Calendar of Events

June 29-July 2, 2003 NAHU Annual Convention

San Diego, CA

HUPAC/NCPAC:

Brownie Cordell

I want to thank each of you for your support of HUPAC/NCPAC during the pass year. We achieved our chapter goals and have laid a good foundation for growth next year. I encourage each of you to be contributors to HUPAC/NCPAC as this is the revenue sources for our lobbyist and political friends. Our contributions have been very important in some recent bills that favor our interest. We are seeing more Legislative Alerts that require our response to let our legislators know what is important for our clients and industry.

As I close out the year I will leave this for you to ponder until we meet again: There is not a reason that I can think of as why not to personally support HUPAC/NCPAC! It can make a different in mine/yours/our future.

Brownie

Brownie Cordell rbcordell@mindspring.com 910-579-8075

Website www.cahu.info
Dennis G. Stokley, RHU

Remember to Use the
CAHU Website

Golf Photos are now on the local website. Take a look.

Have you had a chance to look at the new directory for the state website yet?

State www.ncahu.org

In the event you need to change your contact information, please go to the national website or click on this link www.nahu.org/member/index.cfm The state webpage will now update their list from the national site.

Take a look at some of our state chapter websites and see what they are doing for their local associations.

Triad www.tahu-net.org

Western www.wncahu.org

Coastal www.cahu.info

Triangle www.nctahu.org

Western Piedmont www.wpahu.org

Dennis G. Stokley, RHU

Email: gstokley@bellsouth.net

Membership Update:
Benton Blalock

New members should call Benton Blalock, toll free, at 888-455-0674 x204.

Public Service:
Continuing Education:
Connette Bradley

Ideas and feedback can be sent to bradleych@worldnet.att.net.

Awards: