California Association of Health Underwriters: California Agents and Health Insurance Professionals

California’s Governor recently signed into law SB 770, which is a bill aimed at obtaining federal financing from Medicare and MediCal funds to be directed into a state-run single payer healthcare system in California. If a single payer system were to pass into law, we would have no more private health plans, no more Medicare, MediCal, or Covered California. Host Dorothy Cociu discusses SB 770 and Single Payer Healthcare, and what it could mean in California, with Faith Borges, Legislative Advocate for the California Agents & Health Insurance Professionals (CAHIP). Learn about what this would all mean, and the heavy tax burdens this would place on employers and individuals, if this type of legislation were put into place. Listen to this very informative podcast!

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In part two of this two-part series, CAHIP member Dorothy Cociu continues her interview with Marcy Buckner, Senior VP of Government Affairs of NABIP. We discuss the CMS Proposed 2024 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP), ACA Employer Reporting Deadline permanent extension, the Transparency in Coverage (TiC) Guidance that clarifies Public Disclosures, and the Good Faith Effort provisions for employer CAA Prescription Drug Reporting, which has been very difficult for employers, TPAs, PBMs and others. In addition, we discuss the top issues that NABIP has working on in Washington, including preserving the employer tax exclusion and employer reporting under the ACA. We also discuss updates on Single Payer/Medicare for All discussions in Washington and Medicare Updates. Join us for the conclusion of this informative podcast!

In this episode, CAHIP Member Dorothy Cociu interviews Marcy Buckner, Senior VP of Government Affairs of NABIP. They discuss the current state of affairs in Congress after the November, 2022 elections, the end of the year Omnibus Package, the Inflation Reduction Act, the ACA Family Glitch resolution, Medicare Marketing Final Rule and Proposed Rule, and the proposed Notice of Benefit Payment Parameters. This is part 1 of a two-part series. Join us for this informative podcast!

In this special podcast, Host Dorothy Cociu interviews Maggie Stedt and Rosamaria Murrajo from CAHIP’s Medicare Committee, on the Medicare updates needed for 2023 enrollments. We discuss the important things consumers need to know, the new rules that affect agents, and the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare provisions. In addition, we discuss what seniors themselves need to know, their most common questions, hints on how to enroll, as well as the differences in stand-alone prescription drug plans, Medicare supplement plans and more!

CAHIP VP of Communications Dorothy Cociu interviews Faith Borges, Legislative Advocate for the California Agents and Health Insurance Professionals (CAHIP) and Dawn McFarland, VP of Legislation for CAHIP, on the latest and most serious threat to our current health care system in California, with the recent single payer healthcare bill, AB-1400, and the companion Assembly Constitutional Amendment, ACA 11. This was the second serious scare of single payer in 5 years for California, but this one was a double threat, as it included the funding source to pay for Single Payer in a constitutional amendment with nearly $290 Billion in new corporate and individual taxes. What happened, why did it happen, and why did it fail? Learn why this is a continuing threat in California; how we could lose our employer sponsored coverage, individual coverage, Medicare, Medi-Cal and all other forms of healthcare coverage in California!

Host Dorothy Cociu, CAHU V.P. of Communications, interviews Maggie Stedt, CAHU Immediate Past President and Medicare Agent, and David Garcia, CAHU Medicare Chair and Medicare expert, on the important information that agents need to know during this Medicare Open Enrollment season. Bruce Benton, CAHU V.P. of Public Affairs, is also on hand. In this episode, we discuss what it’s like serving seniors, recommendations on how to respond to TV or radio ads that may be misleading, the differences between Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement coverage, Part B give-back, drug coverage updates, coverage postponements and penalties, the top 3 things agents need to know this Medicare season, and more! Join us for this informative podcast.

In Part 1 of a 2-Part Podcast Series on Medicare Open Enrollment for 2021-2022, Dorothy Cociu, CAHU VP of Communications interviews Maggie Stedt, CAHU Immediate Past President and Medicare Expert, and David Garcia, CAHU Medicare Chair, about the current open enrollment period for Medicare for 2022 enrollment, and how it affects Medicare Enrollees, Consumers and Employers. We discuss the most important things to know for 2022, what seniors can do during open enrollment, the most common questions seniors have when signing up for Medicare, and needed information about prescription drug plans, Medicare Supplement plans, the pros and cons of dropping off of a group health plan, and how agents can assist them. Join us for Part 1 of this 2-Part Podcast!

In Part 2 of our 2-Part Series on Surprise Billing Legislation, host Dorothy Cociu, CAHU VP of Communications, interviews Ryan Day, President, and Collen Dempewolf, Director, Strategic Product Development, of HS Technologies, a Referenced Based Pricing Vendor, on the No Surprises Act’s impact on health plans. They discuss how plans without networks will be treated under the Act, how referenced based pricing plans are impacted, and how communication and cooperation with claims administrators will be required. They also discuss how the Qualifying Payment Amount and Independent Dispute Resolution process will work, whether RBP payment amounts to providers may need to change, and if possible “one-off” agreements, direct provider contracting and other options may be more common for RBP plans due to the Act.  CAHU VP of Public Affairs Bruce Benton and CAHU VP of Professional Development join Dorothy in providing this informative podcast.

CAHU’s VP of Communications, Dorothy Cociu, VP of Public Affairs, Bruce Benton, and VP of Professional Development, Jack Holder, are pleased to share this podcast with CAHU members and the public. Host Dorothy Cociu and special guest Marilyn Monahan, of Monahan Law office, discuss the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) interim final rule for the No Surprises Act, Part 1. This act focuses on surprise billing for emergency services, as well as billing practices in certain non-network situations by limiting the amount payable to the network rate. Marilyn and Dorothy share the employer plan sponsor concerns, administrative concerns and many new obligations for health plans and issuers. This is a must-listen podcast for health agents and their plan sponsor employers! (Modified from it’s original recording for CAHU use).

In Part 2 of this 2-Part Podcast, CAHU V.P of Communications Dorothy Cociu continues her discussions with Ted Mayeshiba and Ted Flittner, Principals of Aditi Group, an IT Security/HIPAA Security/Cybersecurity firm, and Bruce Benton, a life and health and P&C agent, and Vice President, Public Affairs of the California Association of Health Underwriters on how to be better protected against Cyber Attacks. We discuss how to stay safe while traveling, working from home risks, potential new cybersecurity regulations, the importance of proper training, and we look at Cyber Liability Insurance and why it’s so important today.

In Part 1 of this 2-Part Podcast, CAHU Vice President, Communications Dorothy Cociu interviews Ted Mayeshiba and Ted Flittner, Principals of Aditi Group, an IT Security/HIPAA Security/Cybersecurity firm about the importance of Cybersecurity and how employers can protect themselves. Bruce Benton, a life and health and P&C agent, and Vice President, Public Affairs of the California Association of Health Underwriters is also on-hand. In Part 1, we discuss the growing trend of electronic hacking and cyber attacks that have affected nearly every type of industry, and more specifically, on recent attacks that have had a serious impact on consumers and our infrastructure. We discuss what happened in some of the cases that hit the news, and we talk about what companies can do to stay safe and try to avoid these types of attacks. We will focus heavily on the “weakest link” – your own employees or employees of your employer clients, and how to protect your company’s critical data.

CAHU VP of Communications interviews Marcy Buckner, VP of Government Affairs of NAHU on the legislative successes in 2019, COVID-19 Legislative Updates, Trump Executive Orders, the Biden-Harris democratic ticket, and her thoughts on whether Harris’ liberal views on healthcare will sway Biden’s health care policy. This is Part 2 of a 2-Part podcast.

CAHU VP of Communications interviews Marcy Buckner, VP of Government Affairs of NAHU on the legislative successes in 2019, COVID-19 Legislative Updates, Trump Executive Orders, the Biden-Harris democratic ticket, and her thoughts on whether Harris’ liberal views on healthcare will sway Biden’s health care policy. This is Part 1 of a 2-Part podcast.

This podcast will update our members and the public on current State of California legislative activities, including the upcoming elections and the election process in California. We’ll also delve into a recent report prepared by the Health California For All Commission, which looks into a “Unified Financing” system for California, which many believe is a road map to Single Payer health care. CAHU VP of Communications Dorothy Cociu interviews Brad Davis, CAHU VP Legislation, and Faith Borges, CAHU Legislative Advocate, on the important legislative updates our members and the California consumer public should know about.

Host Dorothy Cociu interviews Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters, who provides a frank outlook on the current state of health care reform in Washington. Janet provides a mini glossary of terms, the differences between Universal Coverage, Universal Access to Health Care, Medicare-for-All, other single payer proposals, public options, and a look at Presidential Candidates and what health plans would look like if elected.

Host Dorothy Cociu interviews Faith Borges, Cal-Advocates and Jim Morrison, V.P. of Legislation of the California Association of Health Underwriters, who update employers and consumers on state issues such as AB-5 (Independent Contractor Law), Surprise Billing Bills and other state legislation.