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First of all, I am a little frustrated with BlueCross and BlueShield. With the new Obama administration coming into office and the threat of a government ran health care system, BlueCross and BlueShield are all the sudden worried about being pushed out of business. We as agents have been defending them for year and now they are considering doing away with the rating system. Why have they not done this sooner. We all have been waiting for rate releif. I am 100% against a government ran anything, but these private companies are killing us with their greed.  
 
 
 
Making health insurance manditory for every body will help us as agents and customers. With more health people paying into the pool, it would help to lower premiums. As agents of coarse it help build our books of business and provide opportunities for other poeple to start a new career in the health insurance industry. 
 
 
 
Thank you, 
 
Mike

If all people were required to maintain health coverage (without declines) it would help Agents. However, a government run system finds us unnecessary. We would be lucky to get a finders fee. I hope for our sakes it doesn't happen.

I have been selling insurance since 1981 and I believe this idea has a lot of merit. Automobile insurance has been mandatory for years. There are thousands of agencies that are built around this fact. I see no reason why health insurance should not be mandatory as well. When one considers the populations that already have a government subsided health plan, the number of people that are left to acquire a health plan shrink to a manageable size. Many of the poor and disabled have either Medicare or Medicaid. All people over sixty-five qualify for Medicare. Most institutions in the United States including the Federal, State and Local governments provide health insurance for their employees. Millions of children in the U.S. have health insurance through their state’s Health and Welfare program. 
 
 
 
It appears to me that the population with the highest medical expense is those people over sixty-five and those who are disabled. Most of that group is already covered by Medicare and/or Medicaid. During the last few years, I have been having people in this group apply for a zero premium Medicare-Advantage program. The benefits that are offered by private insurance companies are greater than the benefits than original Medicare. This is so much true that many who switch no longer need a supplement of any kind. Those who elect to do this are not required to be underwritten for health. Why can’t a Medicare Advantage plan be required of everyone that does not have health insurance? People from age eighteen to sixty-four are much healthier than those on Medicare so their premiums would be lower. If everyone were to pay the same premium, those who are younger would subsidize those who are older. The young would feel that it would not be fair but we all pay for their education whether we have children in school or not. As a nation we are providing easy access to education through student loans and other programs. This is another part of Obama administration’s goals- providing the education needed, so young people are able to secure good jobs. Good jobs provide more tax revenue which would be used to subsidize health insurance premiums. 
 
 
 
The other problem that needs to be solved is controlling health care cost. Private companies that have been in the health insurance for years have the better tools to do this. However at the same time things like tort reform for medical malpractice and fraud protection must be done at the national and/or state level. Health insurance reform will take the help of everyone not just one entity. 
 

I'm glad to see some effort by companies to make insurance affordable but the problem is medicare not private companies however lots of frivaless charges are sent by doctors to medicare and medicare is dumb enough to pay. 
 
my soultion would be to have a age scale put in groups such as group a-0-6 ages pay$$group b-6-12 pay and so on all seniors who collect social security pay the rate of 64 old for thier life time. 
 
 
 
so we could have the govement regulate the plans 
 
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j 
 
look familer? we then could have same product same age scale it would come down to the risk pools for each company like it is now for medigap plans

I have been a life and health agent for 25 years. I feel there is a place for private health coverage in our country. When I hear people say "we don't want universal health care" I say we already have it. It is called Medicare. Private health insurance provides supplemental coverage and most people are extremely pleased with their benefits. I know that the Medicare program needs to be solvent and I feel there are many ways to achieve that goal. My greatest fear is that the greed and avarice involved currently in our industry may ultimately lead us to the same fate as our friends in the banking industry (i.e., nationalization or more extreme regulation by the government). Almost every week I speak with someone who, like millions of others in our country, are in their senior years (just under the age of 65) who are struggling with the high cost of health care. Invariably many make the statement "if I were only a couple of years older and on Medicare". Think about that for a moment. We have millions of our citizens wishing to be older so that their health care costs are affordable. There is something substantially wrong about this. My greatest hope is that we will find a partnership with our government and be able to continue to provide private coverage for our citizens. I truly believe this would continue to provide a profitable and growing private sector in our insurance industry saving the jobs of not only agents but management, underwriters and all integral parts of a profitable insurance company reaping continued rewards for stockholders and policyholders alike.

Very good comments. It is nice to see agents sharing their perspective on this subject.

I think it is a step in the right direction. If everyone has medical insurance, the premiums would be affordable.  
 
 
 
Anytime the government gets involved in insurance, it creates a lucrative market for agents.  
 
 
 
I've been in the business for 30 years and associated with the business for 40.  
 
 
 
I remember when IRA were introduced....wow! And then Medicare with the need for highly commissionable supplemental plans (before standardization)....and so on and so on.  
 
 
 
Agent will not be hurt and the overall result will be positive. 
 
 
 

I FEEL THIS IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

After almost 40 years in the insurance business, I have learned there ae two things you cannot trust.....The Federal Government to run things and a BCBS franchise to assist them. With either of these options, the agent and client gets the short end.