NAHU President Says Agents Must Continue To Speak Up

June 30, 2002 at 08:00 PM
Share & Print

NAHU President Says Agents Must Continue To Speak Up
By

Dallas

Eva Jean Fomalont, the new president of the National Association of Health Underwriters, says the health agents group will continue to speak up about major medical insurance issues, even though members are getting an increasing share of their income from the sale of ancillary benefits.

Fomalont, the sales manager for Delta Dental Plan of New Mexico, has spent a total of 16 years selling major medical coverage and other health benefits in New Mexico and Texas. She is a past president of NAHUs Rio Grande local chapter and its New Mexico state chapter.

She succeeded Bynum Tuttle Jr., owner of an independent benefits brokerage in Greensboro, N.C.

Fomalont has emphasized the importance of health agents as the people who understand the health insurers, and empathize with the health insurers, but also speak up for the plan members.

One thing about health agents that has impressed Fomalont over the years is their commitment to the consumer.

"We care," she said in an interview here at NAHUs annual convention. "We really care."

Another thing that has impressed Fomalont has been the biggest, most successful employers commitment to their employees health benefits. Even when the employers were going through mergers, buyouts or other massive changes, the human resources personnel were always worried about the effects of any changes on employees coping with medical crises at home, Fomalont said.

She said health agents ought to join NAHU because it is a group that goes to Congress to explain agents views of the health care system.

"We most certainly need to stay with the free market," Fomalont said.

But agents also have to find ways to come together with insurers, employers, health care providers and others to bring about effective reforms, she said.


Reproduced from National Underwriter Life & Health/Financial Services Edition, July 1, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.


NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Related Stories

Resource Center