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National Coverage Washington Report
Republicans Introduce Health Care Reform Plan
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ongressional Republicans unveiled a health care reform plan they hope will compete with what Democrats are planning to offer. U.S. Sens. Tom Coburn, M.D., of Oklahoma, and Richard Burr of North Carolina, along with U.S. Reps. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Devin Nunes of California, introduced legislation that shares the goal of the opposite party: the promotion of universal access to quality, affordable health care. But the Republican plan promises to achieve this universal access without creating any new government-sponsored insurance plan, an idea that many Democrats support, and without raising taxes. The public option has been opposed by health insurers, agents and conservative groups. Democrats have not yet unveiled a final plan, although many features including a public option and an individual mandate have been discussed in hearings over the past few months. Some of the other features dis-
cussed by Democrats are adopted in the Republican plan, such as the concept of a health insurance exchange, assistance for low income insureds and building on the existing employer-based system. In its major features, the Republican bill, dubbed The Patients’ Choice Act of 2009, would: • Create state health insurance exchanges to compare different private market health insurance policies. • Guarantee the same standard health benefits and choices as members of Congress now enjoy. • Ensure no individual would be turned down by an exchange insurer based on age or health. • Create a non-profit, independent board to risk adjust among participating insurers to penalize companies that “cherry pick” health patients and reward insurers that encourage prevention-
wellness and cover patients with preexisting conditions. • Gives states the ability to band together in regional pooling arrangements, as well as risk pools, reinsurance markets, or risk adjustment mechanisms to cover those deemed uninsurable. Republicans said their Patients’ Choice Act of 2009 would utilize the tax code to give every American, regardless of employment status, the ability to purchase health insurance by providing an advanceable and refundable tax credit of $2,300 per individual or $5,700 per family. It would also seek to improve the operation of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) by allowing health insurance premiums to be paid with HSAs without a tax penalty and raising the amount of money HSA owners may annually contribute to their account. IJ
National Insurance Producer Licensing Bill Reintroduced in Congress
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ederal legislation designed to streamline licensing for insurance agents and brokers operating in multiple states has been reintroduced in Congress. The legislation, HR 2554, the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2009, or NARAB II as it is known, was introduced by Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., and Rep. Randy Neugebauer, RTexas. The bill would establish a national organization, NARAB, which producers could join that would be responsible for establishing one set of licensing, con-
tinuing education, and other insurance producer qualification standards that would be applicable in all states in which they do business. While establishing a national licensing system, it would still allow states to license, supervise, discipline, and establish licensing fees for insurance producers. Similar legislation, H.R. 5611, passed the full House in Sept. 2008 but never attained a Senate vote. Agents, who otherwise support state regulation, are backing the creation of the NARAB national licensing organization in part out of frustration with the efforts by
N4 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION June 1, 2009
state insurance departments and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to achieve reciprocity in licensing rules and procedures. Robert Rusbuldt, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s CEO and president, said his organization believes the state system can’t effectively address certain regulatory problems and there is a role for Congress to play in helping to modernize state regulation. “The NARAB Reform Act is such targeted reform as it only relates to marketplace entry and would not impact the day-to-day state regulation of insurance.” IJ
Surplus Lines Regulation Reform Legislation Reintroduced
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egislation aimed at making access to the surplus lines market more efficient and help standardize state insurance regulation has been introduced again in the U.S. House of Representatives. Reps. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., and Scott Garrett, R-N.J., members of the House Committee on Financial Services, reintroduced the Non-Admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2009 (NRRA), or HR 2571. The measure has 20 other cosponsors. Senators Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Mel Martinez, R-Fla., members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, have also announced that they plan on introducing a version of the bill in the Senate. The bill would establish national standards for how states regulate the surplus lines market and reinsurance, and would create a uniform system of surplus lines premium tax allocation and remittance, one-state compliance on multi-state surplus lines risks, and direct access to the surplus lines market for sophisticated commercial purchasers. The bill also would reduce overlapping, multiple-state regulation of both reinsurer financial conditions and credit-forreinsurance on the balance sheets of ceding insurers, supporters of the legislation say. The insurance industry remains virtually unanimous in its support of the bill. IJ www.insurancejournal.com