TAHU Update May 2005

Next Meeting

Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Brier Creek Country Club
Main Clubhouse
11:45 am, Luncheon Meeting

Please RSVP before Friday, May 6, 2005
to David Smith, at
david@beninslaw.com

GUEST SPEAKER
To be announced

Continuing Education:
Judy Fourie, LUTCF, CSA

There may be some confusion about the CE class on May 10th.

The class is free to TAHU members and $30.00 for non-members.

Topic: HSAs & HRAs: Creative Options
for Controlling Health Care Costs

Instructor: Cheryl S. Elkin from Elkin & Associates, LLC
Date: May 10, 2005

Time: 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM

Location: Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh, NC

Contact Judy Fourie - information below.

Presented by the Triangle Association of Health Underwriters

Judy Fourie, LUTCF, CSA
J. Fourie & Company
975 Walnut Street, #218
Cary, NC 27511-4216
919-481-1815
919-380-8660 Fax
judyfourie@jfourie.com

Law and Legislation:
Bill Hendrickson

Things are popping on Capital Hill, Raleigh. The North Carolina Legislature is taking direct aim at a number of health issues. Here are a few examples:

H 654---This bill, approved by the House allows the Department of Insurance (DOI) to keep confidential market analysis, financial analysis documents, and other documents arising from market conduct action. Working papers, information and documents relative to any market conduct action may be retained on a confidential basis by the DOI. This means that consumer complaints and investigations of the practices of insurance companies may be held as confidential by the Department.

H-737---This bill makes issues some underwriting regulations, such as:

Accident and Health policies issued to members of an association should be rated as a single group when not employer-based.
A person’s health status may not be considered when establishing a renewal rate for an accident and health policy.
If a sole proprietor of a large group provides health insurance, he/she would be exempt from full-time or minimum workweek requirements.

S-686---This bill passed by the Senate takes direct aim at methamphetamine, a controlled substance. Cold and allergy pills which contain pseudoephedrine that can possibly be converted into “meth” must be regulated in that photo ID’s must be presented proving the purchaser is at least 18. The purchase without a prescription must be limited to no more that 9 grams within any 30 day limit. With a near epidemic of “meth” users, this legislation will at least slam the brakes on those who convert one basically harmless pharmaceutical into a more volatile substance.

H-1303---This interesting bill, the Consumer Health Freedom Act, still in committee, is designed to promote the use of complimentary and alternative health care services which include traditional healing practices, dance, music and art therapy, energy modalities, folk practices, therapeutic touch, Native American medicine, Reiki, Tibetan practices, and Qigong. Isn’t that quite a list? Individuals providing these services would be protected from being considered as practicing medicine without a license, unless they practiced surgery, took x-rays, prescribed drugs, or held themselves out as a physician or surgeon.

This is merely a sampling of happenings in Raleigh, so please stay tuned to your local paper and follow the local news on television to see how all these bills progress.

A frightening wake-up call was issued in a "Fortune" magazine article of May 2 in which North Carolina was singled out as an example of a state with a sadly under funded health insurance plan for retirees. An employee who puts in just five years of permanent employment for the state receives FREE retiree health insurance for life. So a 35 year old employee can work for the state for merely five years, jot off then into the private sector, and at the retirement age of the state receive that FREE health insurance for the remainder of life.

Under present accounting rules no American municipality is required to disclose the value of such unfunded retiree liability. North Carolina’s time bomb is ticking throughout the country in cities, towns, counties, and states with similar retiree practices. But in budgets for fiscal years closing after December 2006, all of these governments will be forced to disclose the cost of these unfunded liabilities and also they will be forced to include in current budgets enough money (meaning much higher taxes or no more free insurance) to take care of these liabilities over a 30 year period.

As for North Carolina, the estimate is that, when disclosed, this unfunded liability will be about $13 billion—about 40 times what the state currently spends on retiree health insurance each year. According to Sherry Melton of the State Employees Association of North Carolina, “Our health plan is in a death spiral, and the lawmakers are under funding it.”

Anyone for Costa Rica?

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

Media Relations:
Elizabeth Barnard

Monthly meetings are the 2nd Tuesday of each month starting at 11:45 AM

The next meeting will be held on May 10th, 2005 at the Brier Creek Country Club, Main Clubhouse.

Come enjoy the food, fellowship, and presentation.

Featured Speaker: TBD

Subject: TBD

Sponsor: United Healthcare

All members and their guests are invited to attend.

Member Lunch: $12.00
Guest Lunch: $16.00

Guaranteed seating for the luncheon meeting is by reservation only.

RSVP to: david@beninslaw.com

Elizabeth Barnard
Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
Eastowne 600 3d Floor
5901 Chapel Hill Road
Durham, NC 27702
919-765-4686
919-765-3819 Fax
elizabeth.barnard@bcbsnc.com

Public Service:
Fran Richardson
Public Service:
Nancy Gibson

Thank you to each of you who supported the collection for the NC Food Bank. Your generosity netted $150 for this worthy cause. As you see opportunities for support for the food banks in our area this summer, please donate. They are not in people’s minds in nicer weather but the need continues.

We would like to wrap up the year with a request that you bring your donations of small toiletries that you may have accumulated when traveling to our JUNE meeting (Okay, if you bring them in May as well, that would be appreciated). These hotel sample sizes are perfect for the shelters and missions use with those they house.

Again, thank you for your generosity and support!

Frances H. Richardson
4020 Westchase Blvd., Suite 275
Raleigh, NC 27607
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 30995
Raleigh, NC 27622
919-755-3210
919-326-9868 Fax
f.richardson@nmfn.com

Website:
Michele Gregory, MHP, RHU, REBC

Now, if I can just keep this website spinning for one more month, I'll be happy. Doing this for the past four years has been a lot of fun, and we've gotten national recognition twice, but I'm starting to run out of 'thread' to keep it going.

What this means is that you have just one more chance to get me to add or fix or change something on the website. Spiders love to have bugs wrapped up in their space, but webmasters don't. So let me have your changes soon, or the new webmaster will get stuck with them.

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

Special Announcements:

Please remember that the cost of lunch for TAHU members is $12. Guest and non-member lunches are $16.

There will be a $3 charge for lost or misplaced name badges. Please remember to turn in your badge at the conclusion of each meeting.

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
2004-2005

Pfizer Managed Care

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