DALLAS ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH UNDERWRITERS NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 DALLAS ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH UNDERWRITERS NEWSLETTER Come Together National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), Dallas Association of Health Underwriters (DAHU), and Region VI (of eight NAHU regions), are all having membership contests to boost membership. We are in a turbulent political time where agents and company representative SHOULD be coming together and circling the wagons to protect health insurance interests of our clients, not to mention our livelihood. We all know that there is power in numbers and the larger the organization, and the more consolidated the message, the greater the political influence. And sadly, politics is what our fight boils down too, not logic. Those economic purists that adhere to the Adam Smith Theory of Economics know that government intervention in a market system increases cost. Politicians and politics place greater weight on perceived need of voting constituents than pragmatism and logic. The squeaky wheel of a vocal minority will always get the grease. That said, it s time to get squeaky and increase our numbers and our voice. We are 100,000 agent members representing 220,000,000 insured Americans who are currently getting the shaft from a distorted delivery system of perverse incentives that increase costs. In this issue: Next Meeting: October 18th After Hours Social: October 26th September Meeting Photos Newsletter Sponsor Spotlight Kemper Insurance Book Review Motivate your colleagues and fellow employees to join NAHU and support an organization that fights for a practical system that benefits a majority of Americans. Be part of a movement to change our distorted healthcare delivery system into something more cost effective and outcome oriented. My message should be your message to non-members: Spend the relatively small amount of money to become a member of an organization whose goal is to protect your livelihood. You sell insurance to protect clients, buy insurance (NAHU Membership) to protect your industry. PS: Read my book review of Ralph Webers book, Rigged How Insurance Ruined Healthcare, for a better understanding of perverse incentives and cost drivers in the healthcare delivery system. Sincerely, Jay A. Huminsky, RHU, REBC President, Dallas Association of Health Underwriters 1

2 September 20th Luncheon 2

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4 Book Review: Rigged How Insurance Ruined Healthcare, by Ralph Weber By: Jay A. Huminsky, RHU, REBC Mr. Ralph Weber is a Canadian immigrant that fled the restrictive and inefficient government run healthcare system in 2005 for something better here in the United States. As a health care consultant, he has considerable insight of both the Canadian and American health care delivery systems. His, and co-author Dave Racer, factual and chronological analysis of the interplay of health care, insurance, managed care, and health care providers, and the government (he labels Medicrats ), illustrates a system of perverse incentives that increases the cost of health care for the benefit of the Medicrates Even after I wrote and read back the last paragraph, it sounds like a radical, left wing commentary of an evil capitalist system. Please understand that this reviewer is a political conservative and 32 year veteran of the health insurance industry. As a student of the industry, as Ralph is, we know better than anyone, the problems and cost drivers within the insurance industry and healthcare delivery systems. Ralph is one of many writers* that effectively identifies the cost drivers of both health care and health insurance and lays blame on the real culprit(s) of high medical and insurance cost. I ll not spoil the content of this easy 188 page read but it is well worth your time. The book is available at Amazon as a Kindle copy or in print from Ralph will speak at one of our monthly membership meetings first of next year. His books will be for sale there. *Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated, Regina Herzlinger, How Killed Healthcare, Dr. John Goodman, Priceless Curing the Healthcare Chrisis. 4

5 October Monthly Meeting Benefits Continuation: COBRA & FMLA, The Common and Costly Mistakes CE # Krista Palmer October 18th 11:15 am 1:30 pm The Clubs of Prestonwood Do you want to get your name out there to our membership? Consider sponsoring a DAHU After Hour Social! All you have to do is pay for appetizers and we will advertise the event that you are sponsoring! Still looking for an October 26th sponsor! Contact Jenna for details - jennaw@cxcnetwork.com Dallas Association of Health Underwriters Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 9 Editor: jennaw@cxcnetwork.com 5