Single Payer Update—March, 2019
By: Dorothy Cociu, RHU, REBC, GBA, RPA, OCAHU V.P Communications and Public Affairs
We’re well into 2019 now, with a new California Governor, a new Insurance commissioner (both democrats supporting Single Payer), a blue wave (or tsunami!) in Sacramento, and now, in the House in Washington, DC. We’re pretty much used to the Blue in Sacramento, but the Congressional elections were a shock to most, with Republicans losing the House Majority and sending shock waves through our industry.
On the federal side, we have Medicare For All heating up. We all know that the Democrats picked up a lot of Congressional seats in the house this past November. Even my own Congressional District, formerly a republican strong-hold until the retirement of Ed Royce, resulted in a very close race, with Democrat Gil Cisneros beating out Republican Young Kim; the result was a lot of newly elected democrats into the House of Representatives, and Nancy Pelosi taking over as Speaker of the House. The Senate, however, maintained its Republican majority.
NAHU and CAHU refuse to let this discourage them, however, and instead want to focus on the opportunities this brings… Opportunities to become important educators to the new Congressional members, and to catch them while they are new, to encourage them to learn more about the role of the Agent, and how we are advocates to our clients, who are individuals, small and large groups, and Medicare enrollees. (see Capitol Conference article, page 13).
Key issues from the November elections in Congress showed that healthcare was the #1 cited issue among voters, beating the economy for the first time. A clear majority of voters perceived Democrats as stronger on pre-existing conditions and voted accordingly, according to Janet Trautwein, CEO of NAHU.
We all know Medicare for All is heating up in Washington. The good news is, despite the media narrative on Medicare-For-All, voters signaled they wanted pragmatic, bipartisan solutions to the challenges in the healthcare system.
According to NAHU’s recent webinar on the election recap (Live From NAHU, featuring Janet Trautwein, CEO), among competitive elections, 71% of Democrats who won (32 of 45) did not support Medicare For All. Among Democrat pickups from Republicans, 86% of Democrats (30 out o f 35) did not run on Medicare for All. Only 2 of 967 ads run by Democrats in competitive House races since Labor Day mentioned Medicare-For -All. So that’s something to build on.
Medicare for All is a looming threat, but according to Janet Trautwein and NAHU, is largely undefined.
A recent NAHU Operation Shout asked for NAHU members to participate in communicating with your legislators about Medicare-for-All. According to this operation shout (see below), proponents of government-run healthcare, including single-payer and Medicare-for-All, will be on Capitol Hill advocating for programs that could threaten the private health insurance system. NAHU stated that it strongly opposes these efforts and is working with the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future to promote employer-sponsored health coverage and preserving Medicare, Medicaid, and other existing health programs. We are calling on all NAHU members to join us in our efforts to urge Congress to oppose any efforts to implement government-run healthcare.
NAHU’s message is that we, as an association, are committed to ensuring that every American has access to affordable, quality health coverage. We believe that the free market and public programs can bring down the cost of care and expand access to high-quality care for every American. But a one-size-fits-all healthcare system would lead to less choice and control over doctors, treatments, and coverage, and result in higher taxes for families, longer wait times, and lower quality of care for patients. We believe that instead of considering single-payer healthcare proposals, Congress should focus on bringing costs down for everyone, no matter where they get their insurance.
As Congress heard from advocates during the Medicare for All Week of Action from February 9-13, NAHU wanted to ensure they also hear from voices throughout the country who support access to affordable private health insurance choices.
NAHU asked that we all Contact our Senators and Representatives by sending an Operation Shout, urging lawmakers to oppose efforts to implement a single-payer healthcare system. Hopefully, you all did that. On Feb. 25-27, several of us were in Washington, DC sharing this message. (See Capitol Conference coverage, page 13).
So that is the federal side. On the state side, our new Governor started his new role fast and furiously after he was inaugurated. One of his first actions was of course signing a letter asking the federal government’s permission to mingle federal dollars and state funds into a single payer system. According to CAHU’s President, Dave Fear, Jr., “This was a ceremonial request. We know the Trump administration is not going to approve this request.”
With a Democratic Super Majority in Sacramento, and every state-wide office filled by Democrats, a lot can happen in a short time. Therefore, we have to remain vigilant, and be ready to act quickly when NAHU or CAHU asks us to.
With the governor’s top priorities announced immediately, California could be the first state to expand ACA’s financial assistance to middle-income families, and our state could create state buying power to purchase prescription drugs in a collaboration with the pharmaceuticals industry. Of course, what is on the mind of all agents in California is that Governor Newsom’s highest priority long-term is some sort of Medicare-for-All, Universal Coverage or a public-private partnership for health care.
AB 2472 in 2018 created an independent body charged with developing a plan by October 1, 2021, including options for advancing single payer in California.
While we don’t expect specific legislation to be introduced in 2019, it’s definitely on the horizon… estimated time of arrival unknown at this time….
At every OCAHU meeting, I get the same questions… Do we need to worry about single payer now? When? What can we do to stop it or change it? What is CAHU doing to protect our industry?
CAHU remains a active part of a coalition to fight the single payer fight. We urge members to sign up for the latest developments at https://protectcahealthcare.org/coalition-sign-up/.
What should members do? According to Dave Fear, Jr, CAHU President, members should “support efforts that move towards universal coverage, not single payer.” We should actively “support legislation that improves access for ALL Californians and continue efforts to improve transparency and reduce costs.”
“The best thing that all of us can do is to become a member, and if one already, be sure to renew your membership, start or increase contributions to CAHU PAC, and sign up for and participate in CAHU voter-voice efforts and Adopt-A-Leg programs,” said Dave Fear, Jr.
Overall, the main thing is that we believe “Our industry is alive and well,” said Dave Fear, Jr. “Medicare-For-All is a more realistic approach, but it is still a ways off in the future, if at all, and a more favored approach than true single-payer models like SB 562, both in the state and nationally. If Medicare-for-All does become a reality, agents have been a huge part of a robust Medicare market and would be essentially applying the model more broadly.”
Another thing you can all do, which is something that is inexpensive and fun, is to join us on Thursday, March 14th at JT Schmids in Anaheim, starting at 5 pm, for the OCAHU March Sports Trifecta, which is a fund-raiser for CAHU PAC, to help us raise money to fight single payer and other negative legislation in California! See the ad for this on page 6, and register now! ##
