TAHU Update Volume No. 5 Issue No. 6 February 2004

Next Meeting

Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Brier Creek Country Club
Main Clubhouse
11:45 am, Luncheon Meeting

Please RSVP before Friday, February 6, 2004
to Mike Alexander, at
Jmalexander@nc.rr.com or 919-544-5681

GUEST SPEAKER
Susan Nestor
North Carolina Department of Insurance

With a Master’s Degree in Nursing from UNC-G, Susan is Director of the Healthcare Review Program in the NC Department of Insurance. The purpose of the Healthcare Review Program is to provide for the independent medical review of health plan coverage denials that North Carolina law grants its citizens. Susan is responsible for all division operations, including management and administrative functions, policy development, long and short-range planning and budgeting.

Prior work experience includes Exective Director, Western North Carolina Health Alliance; Director of Network Development, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina; VP of Managed Care Development, Vantage PatientCare Systems; Contract Specialist, Kaiser Permanente NC; and Assistant Chief Nurse, Veterans Administration Medical Center.

SPONSORED BY

BenInsLaw
and
Pacific Life

Click on the above ad to see a larger copy

President's Message:
Nancy Gibson, HIA, MHP

We have a number of opportunities for participation coming up in the next couple of months. What you gain from membership in the Association is directly proportional to the amount of time and effort you put into it. This is certainly not a new concept nor is it something that most of you don’t already know.

Please keep these dates and opportunities in mind:

· February 10th – Regular Meeting, Brier Creek CC – Susan Nestor from DOI speaking
· February 10th - CE session immediately following meeting (3 Hrs.)
· March 17-18-19 – North Carolina Health Underwriter’s State Symposium, High Point
· March 28-29-30 – Capitol Conference, Washington, DC

If you attend both days of the State Symposium you will receive 12 CE credits – all that you need for the year for a Life and Health License. The Board has voted to reimburse members who attend the Capital conference $500 towards expenses. Sign up early and make this reimbursement work for you. You will come back more committed to working within the Association and for the industry of which you are a part.

This is also the time of year when we begin to look forward to the coming year. Have you considered participating on the Board? Do you have suggestions to make our meetings more worthwhile?

Check out "TAHU Talks" on our website – a forum to exchange ideas and information. Try it out and give us your ideas to make your experience in TAHU more meaningful.

See you in February!

Nancy Gibson, HIA, MHP
Principal Financial Group
1616 East Millbrook Road, Suite 210
Raleigh, NC 27609
919-783-7790
919-783-9748 Fax
gibson.nancy@principal.com

Awards:
JoAnn Davis

Honor Council
North Carolina Association of Health Underwriters

If you can answer yes to the majority of the following questions (not necessarily all), please email JoAnn Davis at jodavis@ameritas.com. JoAnn will take only a few minutes of your time and help you qualify for nomination to the NC Association of Health Underwriters Honor Council.

1. Have you been active in local or state association for the past 2 years?
2. Have you served on the local or state board OR on a local or state committee?
3. Have you received the LPRT Award from NAHU?
4. Have you recruited at least one new member to NAHU per year?
5. Are you currently pursuing or do you currently hold a professional designation from RHU or REBC?
6. Do you meet the ethical codes as set forth in NAHUs bylaws?
7. Do you contribute at least $100 to HUPAC or NCPAC annually?
8. Have you attended any of the following events?

· National Convention
· Capitol Conference
· Regional Leadership Conference
· Date on the Hill
· NCAHU Symposium
· Leadership Conference

NOTE: There is a printable Honor Council application form available on our website’s Awards page. Or click here.

JoAnn Davis
Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.
3732 N. Roxboro Road, #200
Durham, NC 27704-1729
919-477-9199
919-477-8867 Fax
jodavis@ameritas.com

Continuing Education:
David Smith

SINK YOUR TEETH INTO DENTAL AND VISION.

This is a three-hour course reviewing the various Dental and Vision plan options available to agents. The course covers a comprehensive review of the dental plan, plan designs, options available and carriers who provide this product in our area.

We will also be covering the topic of stand-only and integrated vision plans to allow participants to get a better appreciation for how the vision plan can offer an integral part of an employer's benefit plan for its employees.

This is a three hour CE class and will cost $3 for TAHU members and $30 for non-members.

David C. Smith
BenInsLaw
2530 Meridian Parkway, Suite 200
Durham, NC 27713
919-806-4481
919-882-9745 Fax
davidcurtissmith@yahoo.com

Here's an announcement that arrived from the national association:

If you still need a new year's resolution, here's one to make and keep. Take your professional performance to the next level by enrolling in The American College's self-study courses leading to the Registered Health Underwriter (RHU) or Registered Employee Benefits Consultant (REBC) designation. In today's economic environment, knowledgeable and up-to-date financial service professionals are more valuable than ever.

RHU
The RHU designation lets your clients know that you are able to help them understand and choose the right health insurance plan. RHU courses (depending on the elective courses selected) cover the following kinds of insurance programs: (1) medical benefits, including managed care; (2) long-term care; (3) disability income; (4) supplemental benefits, including specified disease, critical illness, and Medicare supplement; (5) ancillary benefits, including dental, vision, and hearing; and (6) voluntary/worksite benefits.

Course assignments also encompass: cafeteria plans; self-funding; social security; Medicare and Medicaid; wellness programs; employee assistance plans; and insurance programs for government employees such as the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and TRICARE.

REBC
The REBC designation tells your clients that you can help them understand and select the right group benefits plan. REBC courses build on the RHU courses, especially in the areas of group health insurance and managed care, and (again, depending on the elective courses selected) also cover (1) planning for retirement; (2) pensions and other retirement plans; (3) executive compensation; and (4) personnel management.

Join the more than 8,000 of you colleagues (frequently your competitors) who hold these premier credentials in the health insurance and employee benefits fields. Contact The American College's Office of Student Services to enroll or obtain further information: online at www.amercoll.edu or by phone at 888-amercoll (263-7265).

Golf Tournament:
Mike Alexander

Mark your calendars for Monday, May 17th to play in TAHU's annual golf tournament. This year's event will return to the beautiful & challenging Brier Creek Country Club, a private Arnold Palmer designed layout. The captain's choice format will begin promptly at 11:00 A.M. with a cookout & awards ceremony to follow. Registration information will be provided on the TAHU website soon. Please contact Mike Alexander @ #544-5681 for registration, sponsorship & volunteer opportunities.

J. Michael Alexander
Magellan Benefits Group
#4 Haycox Court
Durham, NC 27713
919-544-5681
919-806-8455 Fax
jmalexander@nc.rr.com

HUPAC/NCPAC:
Sam King, CHC

ALOHA, Will be the cry of Mike Alexander, hopefully, as he awaits the drawing to be held at Capital Conference for the trip to MAUI. Mike was the winner of 7 tickets for the raffle. But if you want to be the winner and disappoint Mike and his surfing instructor, you still have a chance.

Tickets are still Available. Donations of $20 per ticket are requested. Tickets can be obtained at the next meeting or by sending me the $20 (in a check or MO made out to HUPAC) b/4 the February Meeting.

I am proud to say we raised $140 at the January Meeting for HUPAC. Note if you want to contribute directly to HUPAC and bypass the HULA Lessons (possible opportunity) you can do such by making a check to HUPAC and forwarding it.

ALOHA!

NOTE: There is a printable HUPAC contribution form available on the Links page of our website. Or click here.

Archie Samuel King
1711 Mohegan Drive
Durham, NC 27712
919-815-0433
SamKingTAHU@aol.com

Law and Legislation:
Bill Hendrickson

CAPITAL CONFERENCE WAITING FOR YOUR REGISTRATION!

This year’s conference is from March 28-30 and is the only conference of its type available to TAHU members. And to make a meaningful event more enticing, TAHU and NCAHU will help offset your expenses up to at least $500.00. What more could you ask? Hob-nobbing with NAHU members from the 50 states; becoming acquainted with our terrific NAHU staff; listening to enlightening messages from both the White House and Congress; meeting with your very own Congressional representative or their staff and telling them what we know is good for health care and health insurance issues across the land. Washington is an easy trip by auto, train, bus, or airplane.

HEADLINES

NC General Assembly studies rising health care costs
Health Savings Accounts Preventive Medicine Against Government run Health Insurance
NAHU featured on “100 Most Powerful” List
Obesity a Major Cause of Rising Disability among Young Americans

The House Select Committee on the Rising Cost of Health Care heard testimony from several witnesses concerning this sensitive issue. As expected, most witnesses presented testimony from their proprietary points of view. For example---

Jeff Peterson of GlaxoSmithKline said that of the total cost increase in health care, prescription medicines contributed only 21% of that increase, while hospital costs contributed 50% and physician costs contributed 28%. He also disputed the claim that Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) advertising adds to the cost of prescription drugs. Large scale advertising encourages more use of a drug and therefore spreads the cost over a larger portion of the population, keeping costs down. He also said that pharmaceutical companies spend 10 times more on research than on DTC. According to Mr. Peterson, about 1 in 5000 products that are in development make it to the market, and that about 1 in 3 recover their development costs.

Another witness, Lawrence Cutchin, M.D., President of the North Carolina Medical Society had more to say than can be summarized here, but here are some of his points:

1. Too few insurance companies covering small groups in NC—fewer than 10 companies
2. Too much DOI regulation which caused expenses to rise and force companies to leave the state
3. Inappropriate tax concessions to Blue Cross, giving them a competitive edge
4. Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers have squeezed physician reimbursement so much, that their only recourse is to increase the volume of patients. It’s easier to prescribe “the magic pill” than to spend an extra 15 minutes with a patient and help him understand his condition
5. The whole issue of no controls of medical liability insurance.

The final witness was Tim Rogers, Executive Vice President of the Association of Home and Hospice Care of NC. He recommended that to help solve the rising cost of health care, there should be much more home and hospice care and that the state of NC should help fund that care as opposed to other institutional care.

We wonder what legislation will develop from these and future hearings.

As we all know, Health Savings Accounts are off and running and employers are asking about them. The good news is that the Physicians for a National Health Program fear that “once millions of HSAs are established, it will be almost impossible to reverse the program”. And the U. S. Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Tom Daschle has introduced a bill to repeal HSAs. Sorry, Tom, it just won’t happen!

As a member of TAHU and, therefore, NAHU, you are represented by Kevin Corcoran, NAHU’s Executive Vice President, one of “The Most Powerful People in the Insurance Industry”. He was named in Insurance Newscast, a popular industry publication. Kevin was quick to point out that it is US, the members that kindle this power. With 18,000+ members, NAHU can have a major influence on the future of health care in this country.

Non-legislative, but affecting medical utilization and insurance costs is the increasing number of disabilities among people in their 30s and 40s. A major contributing factor to this increase has been obesity! Several of the most important causes of disability among obese persons were diabetes, musculoskeletal problems such as chronic back pain, and mental illness. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS OBESE, IT’S NOT AN INSULT TO CASUALLY DISCUSS DIETING AND EXERCISE IN THEIR PRESENCE. Most of us know that weight control is a very personal and difficult issue, but Dr. Cutchin said in his testimony in Raleigh that “employees must be educated in life style changes.” Easier said than done, but it’s worth a try!

William Hendrickson
Hendrickson & Company, Inc.
2219 Lawrence Road
Hillsborough, NC 27278
919 644-8636
919 644-6433 Fax
bill2219@mindspring.com

Website:
Michele Gregory, MHP, RHU, REBC

New addition to website beginning February, 2004

“TAHU Talks”

WHAT IS IT?
An on-line forum where we can post important issues, questions, surveys, and requests for help – and where our members can post their replies to be viewed by everyone.

Unlike anything else on our website, this new feature can encourage two-way communication between our members.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Any member will send a carefully-written paragraph to me (don’t send me ideas; send me the finished article, question, or problem in a concise paragraph). I will then post it on the “TAHU Talks” page.

Once an article is on line, anyone visiting the site can post a reply. The reply will show up immediately in a “Comments” window on the site, attached to the appropriate topic.

HOW DO WE MAKE IT USEFUL?
As soon as possible – and on a regular basis thereafter, send me items to be posted. This feature will be only as valuable as the quality of the topics we have on line.

Remember, these topics can be anything for which a response might be useful to an individual member or to the membership at large – for example:

Article – “The national office of XYZ has just announced the following . . . (topic) . . . What do you think TAHU’s position should be on this issue?”
Question – “How many of you think that TAHU should move our . . . (topic) . . . to a new venue? Please give specific reasons and possible new locations.”
Problem – “I’m having trouble locating the form that we use for . . . (topic) . . . Can anybody tell me where to find it?”

HOW CAN YOU SEE “TAHU TALKS”?
There is a link to “TAHU Talks” on every page of our web site.
Or, if you prefer, just click HERE.

Michele Gregory, MHP, RHU, REBC
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
2501 Aerial Center Drive, Suite 200
Morrisville, North Carolina 27560
919-765-4671; 800-228-6216
919-467-2823 Fax
Michele.Gregory@bcbsnc.com

As the success of the Triangle Association of Health Underwriters largely depends upon the benevolence of corporate contributors, we are proud to honor the following organizations for their continued support of our many programs and activities:

Diamond Sponsors
2003-2004

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of NC

Cigna

UnitedHealthcare

Please extend your appreciation to the Triangle members representing these organizations and remember their generosity when placing coverages.

Triangle Association of Health Underwriters
P.O. Box 19177
Raleigh, NC 27619-9177