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State insurance task force votes to protect brokers from healthcare law
State insurance commissioners should support federal legislation protecting agents and brokers from the healthcare reform law, a task force voted Thursday.
By voice vote, the task force called on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to endorse legislation by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) that would exclude fees paid to agents and brokers when calculating how much health plans are spending on administrative costs versus medical care. The healthcare law requires plans that spend more than 15 percent or 20 percent on administrative costs to give consumers rebates.
The task force vote was called by its chairman, Kevin McCarty of Florida. He has said consumers would lose access to useful agents and brokers if their fees are counted against plans' medical loss ratio requirement.
Consumer advocates immediately panned the move.
"There is no guarantee that the Rogers bill will help agents and brokers," they said. "It is clear, however, that it will hurt consumers and taxpayers."
Added Carmen Balber, Washington director for Consumer Watchdog: "This plan is a broker pay bonus and insurance industry profit boost that will come straight from the pockets of consumers and taxpayers. The insurance regulators who voted for this plan sold consumers in their states down the river by endorsing higher health insurance premiums and millions in lost rebates to benefit their friends in the insurance industry."
Consumer Watchdog said West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline voted no, while North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin abstained. Other regulators present for the vote included representatives from Alaska, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Correction: This post was updated at 6 p.m. to reflect that federal legislation was introduced by Rep. Mike Rogers, not Hal Rogers.
