WAHVE “Hello”

Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC (WAHVE) is an interesting concept. Essentially, it is a domestic remote staffing service for insurance firms. There are some firms which provide for staffing and for services outside of the U.S. In this case, WAHVE employs the services of retired, semi-retired, or outside consultants to assist organizations with the services that their clients demand increasingly in this economy. Dick Poppa  has just joined WAHVE s advisory board. Dick is President and Chief Executive of the I.I.A.B.N.Y.  His presence on that board may very well signal an interest in this service for independent insurance agents who are members of the group. Other board members include Martin (Mell) L. Vaughan III , former chairman and CEO of Hilb, Rogal and Hamilton Co .; Cynthia Young , former president of Encompass Insurance , a personal lines division of Allstate Insurance ; Edie Weiner , president of Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc ., a futurist consulting group; Rick Morgan , senior vice president of Aartrijk , an insurance branding firm; Sheldon Czapnik , former director of editorial services for Time. Inc . and a writer and editor developing books for publication. In all, this seems like a very reasonable prospect for agencies but as equally interesting for those who are looking to retire yet stay somewhat active. As the average age for retirement and as longevity figures change, this may be a very useful way for people to stay active in the “bullpen” without having to pitch a full game. We salute Sharon Emek, Ph.D.,  CEO & President and the leadership team and wish them the best of luck… Speaking of the IIABA , the group has just pushed for the modifications in the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act  particularly in MLR requirements. “The Big ‘I’ and the thousands of independent agents and brokers it represents are pleased with the developments on H.R. 1206 the past two weeks,” said Charles E. Symington , Big ‘I’ senior vice president for government affairs. “However, the window of opportunity for the bill to become law this year is quickly narrowing. The Big ‘I’ commends the bill’s sponsors, Congressmen Mike Rogers  and John Barrow , for their diligent work on this issue and asks Congress to build on recent momentum to pass this crucial fix.” The bipartisan H.R. 1206, sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers  (RMich.) and Rep. John Barrow  (D-Ga.), would clarify that agent compensation is not part of the Medical Loss Ratios (MLRs) formula as enacted in the health care overhaul law. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) established MLR requirements for insurance carriers, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2011. The law mandates that at least 80% (individual and small group) or 85% (Large group) of premiums collected by the carrier must be spent on claims payments or “health care quality improvement.” In other words, no more than 20% or 15% may go towards “non-claims costs” such as profits, advertising, administrative costs, etc. If a carrier does not meet these rations, rebates are due to the consumer. The PPACA did not statutorily address how to classify independent agent compensation under the MLR formula. However, through the regulatory process not only was agent compensation included in the MLR formula but it was included as a part of the “non-claims costs” category. The Rogers-Barrow bill corrects this by specifically excluding agent compensation from the MLF formula, since this compensation is a pass-through payment from the consumer to the agent. “If the MLR calculation is not quickly corrected to exclude agent compensation, consumers are at risk of losing the professional, licensed guidance of insurance agents during this time of great change in the health insurance market,” says Ryan Young , Big “I” senior director of federal government affairs. “This erroneous regulation has already had an incredibly harmful impact on our industry and consumers.” Since the MLR rules went into effect they have created problematic disruptions in the marketplace. The effect on agents and brokers in particular has been damaging as many insurance carriers have significantly cut their agent compensation in an effort to comply with these new regulations. This has in turn reduced consumer access to agents and brokers, leading to a detrimental effect on essential services provided by producers such as guidance in claims processing and tailoring health plans to fit the needs of individuals and businesses…. On a final note, we congratulate the new leadership of the PIANY  which continues to get excellent service from its volunteers and staff and look to a successful year ahead.