Healthcare Happy Hour

President Biden signed a resolution on Monday ending the COVID-19 national emergency earlier than scheduled… but the public health emergency is still set to expire on May 11. What’s the difference? On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Vice Presidents of Congressional Affairs John Greene and Michael Andel review what the end of the national emergency means, in addition to reviewing some NABIP-supported legislation that we need your help getting passed.

On Wednesday evening, CMS released the 2024 Medicare Advantage and Part D Final Rule, which contains several provisions that are directly relevant to our Medicare members. We discussed the regulation back when it was just a proposed rule in late December and – on this week’s Healthcare Happy Hour – NABIP’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Marcy M. Buckner is back to discuss the final rule and what you need to know!

Do you own your agency? Are you interested in selling your business, or is there a potential acquisition in your future? Last week, Rick Israel joined us to discuss the importance of succession planning in your business. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are joined by NABIP Past President Beth Ashmore, whose agency in Lubbock, Texas, was acquired not too long ago. She is on the podcast this week to discuss the acquisition and important factors to consider before selling.

Do you own your agency or business? Have you thought about succession planning – even if you are young? On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are joined by Rick Israel – principal of South Florida Affiliated Health Insurers, Medicare adviser and NABIP member – to talk about the perpetuation of his father's business (now his business). Rick’s story serves as a poignant reminder to all independent agents on the importance of having a plan for your business in the unfortunate event that something happens to you.

Under Section 204 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, employer-based health plans must submit certain information about prescription drugs and healthcare spending. This data submission is known as RxDC reporting. During yesterday’s Compliance Corner webinar, NABIP Compliance Corner members Barb Gerken and Samantha Malovrh discussed RxDC reporting, who is responsible for this reporting, and how to maintain compliance. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are providing a snippet of the 60-minute webinar! But RxDC reporting is not the only topic that the compliance gurus covered - we are just a couple of short months away from the official end of the public health emergency that was prompted by the pandemic. What happens when the emergency period ends? Watch the rest of the webinar to find out at www.nabip.org!

As we talked about during last week’s Capitol Conference recap with Greg Stancil, NABIP had some amazing speakers at this year’s conference. Many of them took questions, but unfortunately time constraints prevented us from asking those questions. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, NABIP’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Marcy M. Buckner reviews some of the questions that we were not able to get to.

This episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour was recording live at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, on the last day of NABIP’s 2023 Capitol Conference, where hundreds of insurance professionals showed to make their voices heard! In our official Cap Con recap, NABIP's Marcy M. Buckner and Dan Parker are joined by Legislative Council Vice Chair Greg Stancil - who also served as this year’s Cap Con chairperson - to discuss the event.

NABIP’s Capitol Conference is just a few days away! Will you be attending this year? We certainly hope you are. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, NABIP’s Husni Abdelaziz and Dan Parker review what you need to know about the event before you go. If you are interested in learning more about our federal talking points, please listen to the February 10 edition of the Healthcare Happy Hour.

We hope you’re looking forward to NABIP’s Capitol Conference from February 26 through March 1! We will cover everything you need to know before you go on next week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour. But today we have another topic to discuss: At the end of December, we discussed a new proposed rule on policy and technical changes to the Medicare and Medicare Advantage programs. There were a few provisions in this draft regulation that directly impacted independent Medicare agents. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Marcy M. Buckner returns to talk about the comment letter we just submitted to the administration with our questions and concerns with this proposed rule.

President Joe Biden delivered the 2023 State of the Union on Tuesday evening. As usual, healthcare and the administration’s healthcare priorities were a large part of the presidential address. Hey, speaking of addresses in DC, are you ready to come to 400 New Jersey Avenue NW? Because that’s where NABIP’s 2023 Capitol Conference will be hosted! We know listeners have been anxiously awaiting the association’s talking points for members’ meetings with their lawmakers. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Marcy Buckner returns to discuss our legislative priorities for Capitol Conference as well as the State of the Union Address.

This week NABIP submitted two comment letters and one response to a request for information to HHS and CMS. One of these comment letters is in response to the proposed 2024 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters, which contains provisions directly impacting agents and brokers. Here to discuss our comments on this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour is none other than Marcy M. Buckner!

We are just one month away from our annual Capitol Conference, and the first Capitol Conference as the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals! As folks who have already been to Cap Con know, it’s the responsibility of each chapter's delegation to make their appointments for Congressional lobbying visits during Cap Con. But how? On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Director of Government Affairs Husni Abdelaziz joins us to walk you through the process

On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are providing an audio preview of a significant resource for those interested in Medicare M&A. In this three-part panel, the most knowledgeable M&A minds in our industry -- Brett Rosen, Dan Mangus and Jennifer Borislow -- review what you need to consider if you are selling your Medicare business. In the first section that you can listen to here now, the trio discuss the emotional aspects of selling your business and what you need to mentally prepare for before, during and after the process. In the remaining two parts that you can watch on NABIP.org, the panel discusses the operational and financial considerations you must take into account when selling your Medicare business. Interested in watching the panel and accessing the other two parts? Check out NABIP’s Agency M&A portal now at https://nabip.org/mergers-and-acquisitions-portal/agency-mergers-acquisitions.

Kevin McCarthy is officially speaker of the House after a turbulent series of votes late last week, allowing the House to conduct official business and begin solidifying Congressional members’ committee assignments. To discuss all the happenings of this new Congress, on this week’s episode of the NABIP Healthcare Happy Hour are Vice President of Congressional Affairs John Greene and – making his podcast debut – our new Vice President of Congressional Affairs Michael Andel!

Happy New Year, and welcome to the NABIP Healthcare Happy Hour! On this week’s episode, NABIP’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Marcy M. Buckner is here to review some items that were released over the holidays, including the end-of-year omnibus package, a delay on certain CAA reporting requirements, and a new report on surprise billing.

Welcome to the last podcast of the year – and the last ever NAHU Healthcare Happy Hour, because next time you listen, we will be the NABIP Healthcare Happy Hour, the official podcast of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals! Last week the agencies released a host of relevant regulatory content, including a new Medicare Advantage and Part D proposed rule that would impact independent agents. On this week’s Healthcare Happy Hour, NAHU’s Marcy Buckner is back to discuss this proposal as well as several other proposed and final rules impacting the employer-sponsored and individual markets.

Businesses need to find, hire and keep the best employees. They also need to simplify HR processes and make compliance and legal requirements easier. That’s where isolved comes in. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Director of Benefit Services Carla Adams joins us to discuss isolved’s 2022 employee benefit surveys, and provide insight on workplace trends, the changing needs of the workforce and the value benefits play in helping meet employee needs.

Health insurance professionals, particularly those who work on the employer-sponsored end of things, are acutely aware of health reimbursement arrangements, or HRAs. But exactly how many and what types of employers are adopting and utilizing their HRAs? And what about the growth of other types of HRAs, including the relatively new individual coverage HRAs, or ICHRAS? On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are joined by special guests Mark Mixer and Robin Paoli of the HRA Council to discuss the Council’s inaugural report on growth trends for ICHRA and QSEHRA.

NAHU is happy to announce that a bill has been introduced that would exclude Medicare agents from the recent, burdensome Medicare Advantage marketing requirements. Here to discuss this – as well as to provide a midterm election update – on this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, is NAHU’s John Greene and Marcy M. Buckner.

On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are joined by special guests and Long-Term Care Advisory Group members Lori Martin and Steve Cain to discuss LTC in health policy. Lori, president of Envision Benefit Specialists LLC, and Steve, director at LTCI Partners, discuss the importance and execution of long-term care needs for people over 65 during LTC awareness month.