Greetings!
Welcome to the August edition of "The Producer's Advocate". IABAC is dedicated to defending producer's rights in the state of California. We hope that you enjoy our newsletter - which we intend to fill with vital information designed to help you grow and prosper in California's tough regulatory environment.
Your feedback is welcome and we invite you to join IABAC by visiting www.iabac.org. Thank you for your partnership in these critical times. |
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Obamacare Watch:
Another Unelected Czar
One of the biggest concerns and most discussed topics right
now is the impact that ObamaCare will have on all American citizens including
employers. One of the lesser known details revealed in government-run
healthcare was the appointment of a "healthcare czar". As the
American people sat and waited anxiously to discover the nominations for what
was to be an extremely powerful position, the appointment came and went-
literally. In July, President Barack Obama bypassed the Senate and appointed
Dr. Donald Berwick, a Harvard professor and patient care specialist, to run
Medicare and Medicaid. The questionable appointment process by the
Administration was anything but an actual "process." The situation speaks volumes
about Dr. Berwick and raises serious questions about the amount of authority an
individual in this position would ultimately have.
The White House has said that the act was necessary because
Republicans were planning to "stall the nomination." This is impossible because
Republicans, not to mention the entire nation, were waiting to hear why Dr.
Berwick was suited for the job as they rushed him in through the back door. The
New York Times even reported, "The recess appointment was somewhat unusual
because the Senate is in recess for less than two weeks and senators were still
waiting for Dr. Berwick to submit responses to some of their requests for
information."
The suspect nomination goes a step further on the devious
scale with Dr. Berwick's unabashed approval of Britain's socialized healthcare
policies. In May he had this to say about healthcare, "Any healthcare funding
plan that is just, equitable, civilized and humane must, must redistribute
wealth from the richer among us to the poorer and the less fortunate. Excellent
health care is by definition redistributional." (the video footage can be seen
here.)
Thanks to the White House's decision, questions regarding
Berwick's stance on healthcare in the United States will never be answered.
Given the above statement, holding him accountable for his past statements and
understanding his future intentions regarding the healthcare industry would
have been helpful.
According to writer Ed Morrissey, Dr. Berwick told a British
audience in 2008, "I am a romantic about the [British system]; I love it."
Unfortunately, the degradation of the world's most preeminent
health care system is already underway. Although the Obama Administration has
and continues to claim that government run healthcare would not result in
rationing - picking and choosing who gets care - the truth is pretty evident.
Just as Obamacare opponents predicted, the government is going to struggle
trying to balance cost and drug/treatment accessibility to patients. Currently,
the FDA is considering pulling a critical breast cancer drug, Avastin, due to "cost
concerns." Now that we have Obamacare the issue of cost is now a part of the
FDA process. (HotAir.com)
Also, according to the Ovarian
Cancer National Alliance, "The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) statute states that Medicare must cover therapies that are reasonable and
necessary, while the FDA is instructed to approve drugs that are safe and
effective. Because of the conflicting Federal coverage and approval
requirements, there are some non-FDA approved drugs (called off-label drugs)
that are paid for by CMS. However, with respect to Provenge [a vaccine to
treat the recurrence of prostate cancer], it appears that CMS is arguing that
while the treatment is safe and effective, it may not be reasonable and necessary."
Dr. Donald Berwick has not answered even basic questions
about his views, now he is one of the most powerful unelected officials in
America. As our new unconstitutionally appointed chief of CMS and unrepentant
fan of Britain's National Health Services fantasizes about morphing our country
into something we've never seen before, he is quietly assuming the position
where his radical policy views will ultimately affect the lives and health care
of every American.
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Businesses Will Pay Under Obamacare
Large companies will get hit with 9% increase in health costs.
By Ed Morrissey- August 18, 2010
Douglas Holtz-Eakin discusses a new survey on the impact of ObamaCare
on large companies in this clip from Fox News. This survey of employers
with five thousand employees shows that executives are planning for a
sharp increase in health-care costs, mainly from new mandates in
ObamaCare and the lack of control over the actual costs in providing
health care. Those costs will get passed to employees in part, but it's
also likely to reduce their impulse to expand jobs in the next couple
of years. The former CBO director also predicts that companies will
look at shedding their retiree coverage programs, as predicted during
the ObamaCare debate - and will end up pushing more people onto
Medicare and Medicaid: video
Some of these costs were expected, but Democrats argued that the tax
breaks in the plan would offset the damage, especially for smaller
businesses. The Orange County Register reports on another analysis of the bill that determined that less than
half the number of small businesses predicted by ObamaCare advocates
will actually qualify:
Fewer than 2 million of the nation's 6 million companies
with employees qualify for the small-business tax credits included in
the new health insurance reform law, says the National Federation of
Independent Business.
The law's supporters had projected that twice as many small
businesses would qualify for the tax credit. NFIB has joined a lawsuit
challenging the constitutionality of the health care law.
An employer with 17 workers and an average wage of $39,000 will not
qualify for a tax credit, NFIB says. Also, none of the 23 million-plus
self employed Americans can get the tax credit either.
In California, only a third of the state's employers will wind up
qualifying, thanks to the high salary level in the state. That won't do
anything to boost the economy, of course, but instead will give
employers more reason to give up insurance benefits altogether. Cost
increases that far outstrip inflation cannot be borne without either
eliminating the source of the increase, reducing compensation, or
raising prices. All of those options spell trouble for California's
economy - and that of the rest of the nation.
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Speaking of Insurance...
Worker's Comp Board
Proposes 30% hike in Employer-Paid Premiums!
The Worker's Compensation
Insurance Ratings Bureau has proposed an enormous rate hike on the amount
employers pay into the fund for their employees' work related injuries. The
bureau has been seeking rate increases ever since Governor Schwarzenegger
pushed through major reforms rolling back premium costs in 2004.
The WCIRB must file the
request with Commissioner Steve Poizner, who along with Schwarzenegger has
opposed previous requests to raise employer-paid worker's comp premiums.
IABAC President Joe Jimenez
was quick to respond to the WCIRB, "At a time when our economy is in total
disarray and employers are not hiring, closing their businesses or leaving
California, our state is proposing yet another increased cost on the job creators
in the state. It's just an incredibly foolish thing to do and IABAC is opposed
to any additional barriers to hiring people in California, particularly while
the state faces record unemployment rates."
As the Sacramento Bee
reports, the WCIRB request is just one attack on the worker's comp changes of
2004. Labor unions, medical providers and trial lawyers have been demanding
changes to worker's compensation and Democrat victories in the Governor and
Insurance Commissioner races this November would likely boost their efforts to
unravel worker's comp reforms.
You can read the entire WCIRB
rate increase request here.
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Join IABAC Today!
IABAC- A Real Advocate for Our Industry
There is strength in numbers and by joining
IABAC you are gaining a proactive partner in California's tough regulatory
environment! IABAC is unlike any producer association
in the state as we are completely managed by fellow agents & brokers - not
by paid staff members.
We will be an aggressive advocate for the agents and brokers trying to do
business in California. IABAC is an all-inclusive non-profit insurance trade
association dedicated to protecting the rights of all P&C producers -
independent and captive - from regulation, legislation and litigation that
could potentially harm your business and your customers.
- We are a pro-active organization that will aggressively seek
legislative or legal remedies when necessary for the common good of our members
and their customers.
- We are a group that will bring critical products and services
that will help your business, at substantial discounts, which you may not be
able to obtain on your own.
- We are not a managing general agency or an aggregator that
competes with our carrier partners.
- We are a group that will proactively monitor the political and
regulatory environment in the state and forcefully advocate for our members.
We invite you to join us in advocating for our shared businesses, our employees
and our customers. It is time for producers to come together and protect our
right to operate freely and fairly in California. Our membership dues are very
competitive and gain you a truly aggressive industry advocate! Become a member
by visiting:
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The Race for Insurance Commissioner:
Dave Jones speeds downhill
As mentioned in previous
newsletters, this race is of obvious importance to our industry and we will
regularly update our members regarding developments in the campaign to elect
our next Insurance Commissioner this November. Assemblyman Dave
Jones, the Democratic nominee to head up the Department of Insurance, continues
to demonstrate an affinity for over-regulation,
political posturing, and lobbying for more power vested with the state
government bureaucracy. Having
already tackled the insurance demands of dogs and cats, Jones has taken his
regulatory zeal to the ski slopes, introducing a bill to not only require that
children wear helmets while skiing but would dictate that the ski resort's employees
helmet up as well. In addition,
the bill would mandate the facilities' safety plans be updated annually for
government scrutiny, further crippling the skiing industry in California while
at the same time fining parents $25 (to start) if their children are caught
skiing without a helmet by a government bureaucrat out on the slopes. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15831122?nclick_check=1 This is hardly
the time to place more mandates on California businesses but Dave Jones cannot
seem to help himself as he panders to voters and puts the "nanny" in
nanny-state. IABAC board members
last week received an in-person update from the campaign of the alternate
choice for voters, Republican Mike Villines, also a current member of the state
Assembly. Having owned a
small business focused on public relations prior to being elected, it appears
thus far that Villines has a greater understanding of the very real challenges
faced by employers and business owners in California. We will continue to
update our fellow agents and brokers on this important race and the positions
taken by the two candidates. You may want to visit www.mikevillines.com for more
information. Stay tuned...
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The
Insurance Agents and Brokers Association of California (IABAC)
aggressively defends insurance producers' rights to operate freely and
fairly in California by providing effective regulatory, legislative and
legal representation, as well as protection against potential abuses by
any other group, company or organization.
A Non-Profit Mutual Benefit Corporation
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