New Broker Compensation Disclosure Requirements

Under The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 signed into law by President Trump in December 2020, new compensation disclosure requirements related to health insurance agents and brokers will shortly be coming into effect.

Final regulations are still pending. Given the outstanding questions on how the requirements will work in practice, NAHU is hosting a webinar to help agents and brokers understand the new requirements:

• Wednesday, November 10 at 11:00 am PT
• Presented by Stacy H. Barrow, Partner, Marathas Barrow Weatherhead Lent

Register today to ensure you are well informed of the new disclosure requirements.

Carrier Broker Bonus Programs

Earn bonus dollars on new CaliforniaChoice small group members who enroll in Cigna + Oscar, Health Net, and Kaiser Permanente health plans. Best of all, you can earn more than one bonus on a single case.

Cigna + Oscar Bonuses

• Case Bonus
  Earn $500 per case with 3+ employees when you sell new small groups through CaliforniaChoice. Unlimited number of accounts. October 1 to December 1, 2021 effective dates. 
• Early Submission Bonus
  Submit your groups early and earn up to a $700 bonus for groups with 4+ enrolled employees when you sell new small groups through CaliforniaChoice. Unlimited number of accounts. January 1, 2022 effective date.

Health Net Bonus
Earn $100 per member when you sell new small groups through CaliforniaChoice. October 1 to December 1, 2021 effective dates.

Kaiser Permanente Bonus
Earn $100 per enrolled subscriber when you sell new small groups through CaliforniaChoice or Covered California for Small Business (CCSB), December 1, 2021 – January 1, 2022 effective dates. This bonus is on top of your regular commission and standard broker reward programs.

Get the details.

Survey: Small Business Attitudes Toward Healthcare
and Benefits

A recent Cigna + Oscar survey of small businesses revealed valuable insights about the types of health benefits companies now need to offer as they look to rebound from the pandemic and also respond to new healthcare demands from current and prospective employees.

Key Survey Insights Include:

• Small businesses are struggling to compete for talent during the labor shortage.
• 47% of small business owners said they felt their company would lose out on the best workers if they couldn't offer competitive benefits.
• A little over one-third of employees said they had considered leaving for better health insurance or benefits alone.

Learn more about the Cigna + Oscar survey.

Cigna + Oscar now offers PPO plans utilizing the full Cigna Open Access Plus Network, very competitive rates in several rating regions, and more flexible underwriting.

With rates comparable to Kaiser, and networks that include Dignity Health, UCSF, Stanford, and Sutter, Cigna + Oscar brings together the power of Cigna’s nationwide and local provider networks, and Oscar’s member-focused tech-driven experience, to deliver small group health insurance that meets the unique needs of California small businesses and their employees. Learn more.

Contact us today for a Cigna + Oscar quote.

CAHU Submits Testimony to Single-Payer Commission

Last month CAHU submitted testimony to “Healthy California for All,” California’s single-payer commission.

The “Healthy California for All” commission, launched by California Governor Newsom in December 2019, is developing “a plan for advancing progress toward achieving a healthcare delivery system for California that provides coverage and access through a unified financing system, including, but not limited to a single-payer financing system.”

CAHU’s testimony represents the collective experience and expertise of its membership of well over 2,000 California health insurance agents, brokers and other healthcare professionals.

Summary of CAHU's Testimony

• CAHU supports the goal of universal coverage and opposes a single-payer system. A single-payer system would be counterproductive and create additional problems. There are many other viable options that better achieve the goal of universal coverage.
• CAHU reminded the commission that health insurance is expensive because healthcare is expensive.
• CAHU opposes government price-setting. There are other types of legislation that would better reduce the costs of healthcare. One example would be a requirement for providers to bill based on Medicare reference based-pricing, in a similar way to how many self-insured plans operate.
• CAHU recommended that the state strengthen the ACA individual marketplace by fixing the “family glitch,” a weak spot in the ACA structure that NAHU is also working on at the national level.
• CAHU also reminded the commission that Equality is not Equity, the reality of the Social Determinants of Health, and the importance of independent health insurance agents and brokers.

Read CAHU's testimony for the full details.