The health care battle in Washington could affect many insurance producers outside the benefits field, Dennis Sunderman said today.
Sunderman talked about the potential scope of health legislation today during a conference call organized by National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Falls Church, Va. Sunderman is an agent himself and the state Insurance and Financial Advisors Political Action Committee chair in California.
When NAIFA and other groups organized a Washington "fly in" earlier this summer, to spread producers' views on health reform on Capitol Hill, "we felt that we couldn't afford not to go," Sunderman said. "We want to be part of any decisionmaking process."
One reason is that health insurance and other benefits programs continue to be big revenue generators for many NAIFA members, and another reason is that a health bill could have direct and indirect effects on lines of business other than health insurance, Sunderman said.
If a health reform effort expanded government programs, that could put even more pricing power in the hands of government plans, and that could shift even more costs onto the shoulders of the remaining private plans, Sunderman said.
A long term care insurance program proposal included in some versions of the health bill also could cause huge problems, by creating a poorly designed, poorly funded LTC program that would give Americans a false sense of security about LTC expenses, Sunderman said.
