The Benefits Brief

The 2022 midterm elections are just around the corner, and important primary elections have taken place across the country over the last few weeks. Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Alaska, Minnesota, Georgia and Alabama held various primary elections for federal and gubernatorial offices. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, NAHU’s Chris Hartman...

Last week, NAHU spoke with CMS officials from the Division of Surveillance, Compliance and Marketing about a recently finalized rule from the agency regarding marketing requirements that are set to begin in October. Additionally, the Commonsense Reporting Act of 2021 was introduced in the House early this week, mirroring the language included in the Senate bill. Here to discuss these items on this...

For self-funded employers, navigating the world of health insurance can be complex and often overwhelming. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are joined by special guest Mark Lawrence, president of HM Insurance Group, to discuss the challenges that self-insured employers face, specifically regarding large, unpredictable claims and how stop-loss coverage can help them.

Law now requires that agent, broker and consultant compensation be disclosed for arrangements entered into, renewed or extended on or after December 27, 2021. But the nature of compensation in our industry, both direct and indirect, can be complex, making compliance with broker-compensation disclosure difficult. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Brand Manager Kelsey Rosauer and...

Earlier this week, CMS released a proposed rule aimed at minimizing gaps in coverage for Medicare beneficiaries and the Medicare-eligible population. The proposed regulation would implement a few policy changes that were a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, most notably new special enrollment periods that would be triggered in certain situations. On this week’s episode of the Hea...

For several plan years now, NAHU has had the opportunity to submit comments and suggested edits to CMS regarding the next plan year edition of the “Medicare & You” handbook. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, president of The Brokerage Inc. and chair of the Medicare Advisory Group Mike Smith and NAHU’s John Greene join us to discuss the handbook and our suggestions.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been officially confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States – but she has not been sworn in quite yet. Judge Jackson was confirmed by the Senate last Thursday, April 7, cementing her place in history as the first Black woman to be a member of the nation’s highest court. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Marcy M. Buckner discusses Jackson’s...

Earlier this week, the Biden Administration announced the release of a proposed rule to fix the “family glitch,” an inconsistency in current ACA regulations. Fixing the family glitch has been a legislative priority of NAHU for several years now. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Marcy M. Buckner explains the family glitch and what this proposed rule would do to fix it.

NAHU’s legislative advocacy work takes many forms, one of which is the process of submitting written testimony to Congress. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Marcy M. Buckner and Vice Presidents of Congressional Affairs John Greene and Chris Hartmann discuss two pieces of testimony we submitted this week as well as the overall importan...

While NAHU staff handle certain crucial duties, NAHU is ultimately a member-driven organization. That means that what we do relies on NAHU members such as you volunteering in various capacities and helping make our association what it is. Did you know that NAHU has a wide array of volunteer committees covering a large swath of areas, from legislative matters to professional development to membersh...

Following Capitol Conference, we are taking a break from policy and politics to talk about the importance of finding the right products and vendors for your agency. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are joined by our friends Kelsey Rosauer and Steve Ogden from NAHU partner and agency management company AgencyBloc to discuss AgencyBloc’s vendor vetting services and more.

This week’s episode was recorded at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill during the last day of NAHU’s annual Capitol Conference, where hundreds of agents, brokers and health insurance professionals showed up both in-person and virtually to make their voices heard. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Marcy Buckner is joined by Legislative Council Vice Chair Misty Baker, who also serv...

This past Friday, NAHU senior vice president of government affairs Marcy M. Buckner reviewed everything you need to know about our 32nd annual Capitol Conference before you go. Today, as promised, we are discussing our tailored legislative talking points – the list of legislative priorities and why we support or oppose them - that you will utilize in meetings with your lawmakers. Returning to disc...

Calling all Capitol Conference attendees and those curious about this year’s event: In just a little over one week, NAHU members from across the country will attend NAHU’s premier legislative event, both in-person and virtually. On this week’s episode, NAHU’s Marcy M. Buckner is here to preview this year’s conference. We break down the agenda and the can’t-miss speakers, provide a preview of the b...

We are just a little over two weeks away from NAHU’s 32nd annual Capitol Conference, where health insurance professionals from across the country will be able to meet with their legislators, in-person and virtually, to advocate on behalf of our industry. Recently, NAHU’s government affairs staff learned of a new potential threat to the employer exclusion, a tax benefit that serves a crucial role i...

January 31 was the last day for the California Assembly to pass bills introduced in 2021, including AB 1400 – a bill that would have established a single-payer healthcare system for all California residents… had it passed. Thankfully that bill did not pass, due in large part to the efforts of our guests this week. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are joined by the legislativ...

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced this week that he will be retiring, setting the stage for President Biden to make the first Supreme Court nomination of his term. What does Breyer’s retirement mean for the Supreme Court moving forward? In addition to that piece of news, NAHU submitted comments to CMS this week regarding the proposed Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters for the 2...

NAHU’s 32nd annual Capitol Conference is going to be held in-person once again, from February 27 to March 2 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill here in the nation’s capital. This unique and inspiring meeting has the potential to be a game-changer this year. We’re sure you have plenty of questions before you register, so on this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Marcy M. Buckner is here...

On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, NAHU CEO Janet Trautwein sits down for a discussion with Managing Director of Business Consulting at The Alera Group Perry Braun. This is the fourth annual conversation between the two. They discuss health insurance industry trends of the last year as well as potential trends to watch in 2022, including challenges that employers, employees, and...

Happy New Year! We hope you had a fun and safe holiday season and we’re happy to be back in your feed wherever you listen to podcasts. As you all know, the Consolidated Appropriations Act’s broker compensation disclosure requirements apply to contracts entered or renewed on December 27, 2021. Late last week, the Department of Labor finally issued guidance, in which they announced a new temporary g...

Surprise billing is the focus on this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, as NAHU submitted comments to the Biden administration last week with our commentary on the latest surprise-billing interim final rule. This much-anticipated IFR, considered “Part 2” of the administration’s surprise-billing-ban regulations, was published in October. In addition to discussing some of NAHU’s comments...

While the Senate continues deliberation on the Build Back Better Act and lawmakers await decisions from the parliamentarian on what can be included in the reconciliation package, we are taking a break from that conversation to discuss public polling and Medicare for All with very special guests from the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Ho...

Welcome back to the podcast everyone! We hope you had a safe and fun Thanksgiving with your friends and family. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are catching you up on several things that transpired over the break, including a new IRS notice that impacts ACA reporting requirements, the status of OSHA and CMS vaccine mandates, and an update on the Build Back Better Act reconc...

The Healthcare Happy Hour and Washington Update will be taking a break next week as we get together with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving. In light of the holiday, on this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Marcy M. Buckner, John Greene and Chris Hartmann review everything that we at NAHU have been thankful for so far this year, between certain COVID-19 relief, a historic Cap...

The House of Representatives passed the INVEST in America Act last Friday, the $1 trillion bipartisan legislative package that is comprised of “pure” infrastructure provisions. Since the Senate already passed the package in August the bill is ready to be signed into law by President Biden, which is expected to occur next week. This bill is separate from the Build Back Better Act, Democrats’ reconc...