Last week, NAHU spoke with CMS officials from the Division of Surveillance, Compliance and Marketing about a recently finalized rule from the agency regarding marketing requirements that are set to begin in October. Additionally, the Commonsense Reporting Act of 2021 was introduced in the House early this week, mirroring the language included in the Senate bill. Here to discuss these items on this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour are NAHU’s Marcy M. Buckner and John Greene.

For self-funded employers, navigating the world of health insurance can be complex and often overwhelming. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are joined by special guest Mark Lawrence, president of HM Insurance Group, to discuss the challenges that self-insured employers face, specifically regarding large, unpredictable claims and how stop-loss coverage can help them.

Law now requires that agent, broker and consultant compensation be disclosed for arrangements entered into, renewed or extended on or after December 27, 2021. But the nature of compensation in our industry, both direct and indirect, can be complex, making compliance with broker-compensation disclosure difficult. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Brand Manager Kelsey Rosauer and Product Manager Kayleen Homewood from NAHU partner and agency-management company AgencyBloc join us to discuss broker-compensation disclosure and how their tools and services can assist you.

Earlier this week, CMS released a proposed rule aimed at minimizing gaps in coverage for Medicare beneficiaries and the Medicare-eligible population. The proposed regulation would implement a few policy changes that were a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, most notably new special enrollment periods that would be triggered in certain situations. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, NAHU’s Marcy M. Buckner and John Greene are here to discuss the proposed rule.

For several plan years now, NAHU has had the opportunity to submit comments and suggested edits to CMS regarding the next plan year edition of the “Medicare & You” handbook. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, president of The Brokerage Inc. and chair of the Medicare Advisory Group Mike Smith and NAHU’s John Greene join us to discuss the handbook and our suggestions.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been officially confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States – but she has not been sworn in quite yet. Judge Jackson was confirmed by the Senate last Thursday, April 7, cementing her place in history as the first Black woman to be a member of the nation’s highest court. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Marcy M. Buckner discusses Jackson’s appointment, when Jackson will be sworn in, and what it could mean for healthcare moving forward.

Earlier this week, the Biden Administration announced the release of a proposed rule to fix the “family glitch,” an inconsistency in current ACA regulations. Fixing the family glitch has been a legislative priority of NAHU for several years now. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Marcy M. Buckner explains the family glitch and what this proposed rule would do to fix it.

NAHU’s legislative advocacy work takes many forms, one of which is the process of submitting written testimony to Congress. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Marcy M. Buckner and Vice Presidents of Congressional Affairs John Greene and Chris Hartmann discuss two pieces of testimony we submitted this week as well as the overall importance of submitting testimony for the record.

While NAHU staff handle certain crucial duties, NAHU is ultimately a member-driven organization. That means that what we do relies on NAHU members such as you volunteering in various capacities and helping make our association what it is. Did you know that NAHU has a wide array of volunteer committees covering a large swath of areas, from legislative matters to professional development to membership and our Leading Producers Round Table? On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, Chief Experience Officer Farren Baer, Vice President of Leadership Services Brooke Willson, Senior Vice President of Public Relations Kelly Loussedes and Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Marcy M. Buckner join the podcast to discuss the committees and how you can participate in one.

Following Capitol Conference, we are taking a break from policy and politics to talk about the importance of finding the right products and vendors for your agency. On this week’s episode of the Healthcare Happy Hour, we are joined by our friends Kelsey Rosauer and Steve Ogden from NAHU partner and agency management company AgencyBloc to discuss AgencyBloc’s vendor vetting services and more.