Full Newsletter - Silicon Valley Association of Health

IN T UCH
The Silicon Valley Association of Health Underwriters, California’s Benefits Specialists, is an organization of insurance professionals
committed to promoting the ethical interest of our industry. We do this by providing continuing education for our members and their
clients and act as consumer advocates with legislative leaders at both the Federal and State Level.
January 1, 2013
Vol. 13, No. 36
News for and about
members of the Silicon
Valley Association of
Health Underwriters –
California’s Benefits
Specialists
Upcoming
Events
SVAHU Board Meeting
January 11, 2013
1:30pm-2:30pm
Sly McFly’s, Monterey
SVAHU Town Hall Meeting
January 11, 2013
Sly McFly’s
700 Cannery Road
Monterey, CA
2:30pm-6:00pm
SVAHU Board Meeting
February 7, 2013
8:00am-10:00am
Word & Brown
SVAHU Mixer
February 13, 2013
California Cafe
Los Gatos, CA
Busy Times for SVAHU: From 2012 into 2013
By Oly Storz, SVAHU President
2012 was a year most of us won’t soon forget. The ever-changing healthcare landscape
along with an emotionally-charged election created an environment of uncertainty and
anxiety. Your association, SVAHU, was kept very busy keeping up with events, lobbying
on your behalf and preparing a variety of programs designed to advance and protect your
careers.
2012 began with our Monterey meeting on Cannery row. Many attendees stayed
overnight to enjoy the Monterey Aquarium, golf and other nearby attractions. John Nelson
and Alan Katz were featured in a town hall meeting followed by a social hour. The venue,
Sly McFlys, became a night club in the evening with live music. This year, the meeting is
scheduled for January 11th and will offer the same kind of format featuring John Nelson
and Chuck Rosen.
April of 2012 presented a panel discussion featuring several small, start-up type ventures
that related to healthcare. Another panel discussion is planned for this April. It is
expected to focus on preparing agents and brokers for the ACA changes coming in 2014.
May brought the annual charity golf tournament which presented a terrific opportunity for
all industry members to network. The tournament at Cinnabar Hills was the largest in
several years. For 2013 the tournament will move to the beautiful Palo Alto Hills course
on May 13th. Watch for the flyer soon and be sure to sign up early. We expect a sold out
event.
Last June the membership meeting presented several speakers who introduced ideas on
how to grow sales and profits through change. June, 2013 will also provide a program
designed to enhance the grow books of business. CE credits are anticipated.
The annual Sales Expo in late September was a great success at the new West Valley
College venue. We received many positive comments on the program that featured Don
Goldmann, Michael Lujan and Larry Gerston. Healthcare reform, the SHOP Exchange
and California politics were the topics addressed. We plan to stage another great Expo
this September.
December featured a Holiday Party with wine tasting. $7,500 was distributed to three
charities and toys were donated to the Santa Clara County Sheriffs toy drive. We expect
to make a much larger donation this year with funds raised at the golf tournament.
SVAHU
4747 N. First St., Ste. 140
Fresno, CA 93726
877-748-0815
Fax: 559-227-1463
info@svahu.org
WWW.SVAHU.ORG
None of this would be possible without our sponsors. We owe a huge “Thank You” to
Word and Brown for their Diamond Sponsorship and to LISI and SeeChange for their
Sapphire sponsorships.
Likewise, we could accomplish little without our members. Please join SVAHU if you don’t
belong. Our lobbying would have little impact without your PAC dollars. Please sign up
for a contribution. And, absolutely nothing would be accomplished without our dedicated
Board of Directors and dependable volunteers.
SVAHU’s Annual Budget and
We look forward to 2013. Our objectives will be much the same. We will work to protect
Financials are available online at
the role of the agent, advocate for a vibrant, free-market health insurance marketplace,
www.svahu.org
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provide valuable information (including CE where possible), provide networking
opportunities and bring the insurance community together.
2013 Jewel Sponsorship
2013 Jewel Sponsorship Opportunities are available!
Don’t miss the chance to be involved and get your company that extra exposure with our annual sponsorship package! Our distinguished
Jewel Sponsors have a significant role in supporting our chapter and provide us with means to present our
membership with great programs. For more information & to get your 2013 Jewel Sponsorship Package,
contact: Diane DeSena at dianedesena@yahoo.com.
THANK YOU To Our 2012 Jewel Sponsors
Without your support, we would not be able to bring the quality events and programs to our
members that they have come to expect from us. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!
DIAMOND SPONSORS
Word & Brown
RUBY SPONSORS
SAPPHIRE SPONSORS
Our Sponsors support us…We support them!
SVAHU PAC GEM STONE CONTRIBUTORS
Five Star Diamond Level ($5,000 annual or $417 monthly) SVAHU
Two Star Diamond Level ($2,000 annual or $170 monthly)
Oly Storz
Diamond Level ($1,000 annual or $85 monthly)
Daniel Bodmann
Terry Harris-Hickey
Jeffrey Kane
Marilyn Leonard
Jan Mesa
Paul Mifsud
Drew Miller
John Palladino
Proinsurance
Rick Shelton
Mika Storz
Sapphire Level ($720 annual or $60 monthly)
Ki Cotter
David Garcia
Christine Petrocelli
Emerald Level ($500-$719 annual or $42 monthly)
Sandra Bealu
Dennis Jarvis
Susan Spackman
Paul Bever
Cynthia Kane
Rhonda Velez
Marla R. Forcht
Allan Liu
Matthew Watson
Richard Hemmerling
Lucille Marvilla
Art Young
Jeff Bader
Theresa Bennett
Steve Brauer
David Candelario
Charles Carey
Brian Cecy
Allan Eckmann
Ruby Level ($250-499 annual or $21 monthly)
John Geoghegan
Tami Glover
Fritz Kraft
Betty Lindstrom
Daniel Moran
Philip R. Skarlanic
Kirk Stoddard
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Denise Vance
Robert Vinal
Steven Walker
Warren Willsey
Tyler Wolfklain
Make the Most of These Health Insurance Changes in 2013
Health insurance can get complicated since there seems to be a lot of changes. Watch out for these notable changes
next year and use these tips from Kiplinger to take advantage of them.
The National Business Group on Health conducts an annual survey of health benefits offered by many of the largest
employers nationwide, and it always provides a first glimpse at health-plan changes for the coming year. The big
headline is that employers expect benefit costs to rise by an average of seven percent in 2013 — on top of increases
of about seven percent in both 2011 and 2012. Sixty percent of employers say they plan to pass along a portion of the
increase in the form of higher premiums in 2013; in general, premiums will increase less than five percent. Large
employers still subsidize a big portion of premiums, typically covering about 80 percent, leaving employees to pay the
remaining 20 percent. The premium split for dependent coverage is usually 70 percent for employers and 30 percent
for employees. Smaller companies generally pay a smaller proportion of costs. Employers are making other
adjustments to costs and incentives that may make a big difference in your expenses. Here are some changes to look
out for and strategies for making the most of them.
Extra out-of-pocket expenses. Many employers are shifting additional costs to employees: 40 percent plan to
increase in-network deductibles, 33 percent plan to increase out-of-network deductibles, and 32 percent plan to boost
their out-of-pocket maximums. Also, 13 percent of employers plan to increase the co-payment for buying drugs at a
retail pharmacy (with a smaller increase for mail-order prescriptions), and about eight percent plan to increase the
coinsurance rate for primary and specialist care (coinsurance is the percentage of the bill you pay yourself). Compare
overall costs — premiums, coinsurance rates and deductibles — when picking a policy. And be careful to choose
providers and pharmacies that participate in your plan; otherwise, your deductibles as well as your co-payments could
be higher. Read on for more.
More high-deductible health plans and health savings accounts. In 2013, more than half of employers plan to
offer a consumer-directed health plan (usually a high-deductible health plan paired with a health savings account),
which is similar to the numbers offering such plans over the past five years. But a big change is in the number of
employers that plan to offer a high-deductible plan as their only option — 19 percent in 2013, up from seven percent
in 2009. Employers are also making larger contributions to HSAs to encourage people to pick these plans: 43 percent
of employers contribute a fixed amount to the HSA for each participant (average: $500), 40 percent make
contributions based on completing a wellness program (average: $400), 21 percent put seed money into new
accounts, 12 percent make matching contributions, and 10 percent make contributions based on progress toward a
health goal. Only 14 percent make no employer contributions. Don’t leave free money on the table. Find out what
you’d need to do to qualify for employer contributions, and factor in your employer’s contribution to an HSA when
picking a plan. See What to Know About Health Savings Accounts for more information.
Better tools to compare health care costs. It has always been difficult to compare prices for medical procedures,
especially because each insurer has different deals with providers. But as insurers boost deductibles and coinsurance
to help reduce their expenses, you have more of an incentive to become a savvy health care consumer. And more
health plans and employers are providing tools to help you research how much each provider under their plan will
charge you for a procedure. Sixty-five percent of health plans now provide online price-transparency tools, and 14
percent offer the information through a third-party provider. Only 21 percent provide no tools to help you compare
costs. Make the most of these resources when choosing a provider, hospital, or facility for medical tests and urgent
care.
Stronger incentives to participate in wellness programs. Nearly half of employers are using incentives to encourage participation in wellness programs, and 29 percent reward specific health outcomes (such as achieving certain
goals for body mass or cholesterol levels). The incentives for participating in wellness programs have increased over
the past few years, with maximum payouts averaging $450 for employees and $375 for dependents in 2013, up from
$250 for employees and $203 for dependents in 2011. It may not have been worth the hassle to participate in a wellness program in the past, but the bigger rewards may now make them worth a second look. On the flip side, you
could lose by choosing not to participate. About one-fourth of employers plan to apply surcharges to employees for
not participating in certain programs.
Reduced flexible-spending limits. Ninety-four percent of the companies said they will have to lower their medical
flexible spending account ceilings to comply with the $2,500 maximum for 2013 written into the health care reform law
(many employers currently let employees contribute $3,000 to $4,000 to these tax-advantaged accounts).
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CAHU Healthcare Summit & Awards
Universal City, CA
Member of the Year - Ryan Neace
 Executive Board Member of the Year - Jeff Bader
 Lloyd M. Baum Leglisative Excellence - Dan Webb
 Chapter of the Year - Golden Gate
 Outstanding Local Chapter Website - More than 150 Members - Los Angeles
Outstanding Local Chapter Newsletter Award - Small Chapter - Silicon Valley
 Outstanding Local Chapter Newsletter—Large Chapter - Orange County
 Outstanding Individual Membership Recruiter - Ross Pendergraft, LPRT
 Outstanding Chapter Membership Growth—North Valley
 Special Award of Appreciation—William Robinson
 CAHU Presidential Citation Award - Jason Andrew
 Membership Retention Cup - Central California


SVAHU’s Jason Andrew (Left) and CAHU
President Chuck Rosen converse with Speaker
of the Assembly John A. Perez at the 2012
Health Care Summit where this year’s CAHU
award winners were announced.
As part of the Health Care Summit, SeeChange
Executive VP Alan Katz (Left) moderated a panel
discussion featuring Michael Lujan from HBEX,
Warner Pacific’s John Nelson and Suzie Shupe,
Executive Director, California Coverage and Health
Initiative.
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IN TOUCH
www.svahu.org
19th Annual Golf Tournament
Palo Alto Hills Golf Club
3000 Alexis Drive
Palo Alto, CA
SVAHU 2012-2013 ~ Board of Directors
Ulrich “Oly” Storz
President
(408) 395-3303
oly@creativehealthins.com
Ulrich “Oly” Storz
Immediate Past President
(408) 395-3303
oly@creativehealthins.com
Denise Vance
President-Elect
(408) 317-8081
deniseavance@gmail.com
Denise Vance
Treasurer
(408) 317-8081
deniseavance@gmail.com
Susy Spackman
Secretary
(408) 452-6906
susy.spackman@blueshieldca.com
Mika Storz
PAC Chair
(408) 395-3303
mika@creativehealthins.com
Diane DeSena
Legislative Chair
(925) 296-8805
dianedesena@yahoo.com
J. David Van Nest
Education Chair
(408) 725-8777
dvn@ihot.com
Diane DeSena
Membership Chair
(925) 296-8805
dianedesena@yahoo.com
Tyler WolfKlain
Communications Chair
(650) 631-2460
tyler@dvins.com
Media Relations
Open position
Jason Andrew
Member at Large
(650) 419-2403
jason@smbinsure.com
David Bauer, LUTCF
Member at Large
(650) 508-0756
zeke02db@comcast.net
Ashleigh Servadio
SVAHU Staff
(877) 748-0815
info@svahu.org
IN TOUCH is a bi-monthly newsletter of the Silicon Valley Association of Health Underwriters. It is written and published by the Board of Directors of the Association and is mailed to
health, life and P/C insurance professionals throughout the Bay Area. Permission is required to reprint original material, and it will usually be given upon request. Advertising correspondence or letters to the editor should be addressed to IN TOUCH, c/o SVAHU, 4747 N. First St., Suite 140, Fresno, CA 937269; telephone (877) 748-0815; fax (559) 227-1463; email:
info@svahu.org. Subscription is free with membership. SVAHU is a non-profit professional association affiliated with the National and California Associations of Health Underwriters. All
rights reserved.
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Silicon Valley Association of Health Underwriters
2012-2013 Calendar of Events
Upcoming SVAHU Events
To RSVP for any of the following events, please call: (877) 748-0815
EVENT
DATE
LOCATION
SPONSOR
January Board Meeting
January 11, 2013
Sly McFlys, Monterey
January Town Hall Meeting
January 11, 2013
Sly McFlys, Monterey
Warner Pacific Ins.
Blue Shield of CA
Word & Brown
February Board Meeting
February 7, 2013
Word & Brown
Word & Brown
February Mixer
February 13, 2013
California Café
Member Contact Update
Are you receiving
SVAHU emails?
1. NAHU’s website: www.nahu.org
2. Call SVAHU at (877) 748-0815
3. Email SVAHU: info@svahu.org
There is a lot of information that is
sent to SVAHU members via email.
Send us your email address today
at: info@svahu.org
Don’t miss out on AHU news!
We need your help to
We want to hear from you!
What topics or speakers
do you want at meetings
or in the newsletter?
info@svahu.org
Visit our website at
www.svahu.org
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Website Advertising
available! Contact
SVAHU for details!
Smart Benefits: 5 Healthcare Trend Predictions for 2013
By Amy Gallagher, GoLocalProv Business/Health Expert
The uncertainty of healthcare reforms dictated trends for 2012; what does the future hold for healthcare in 2013?
Last year’s uncertainty of healthcare reform’s future, the pending presidential election, and continued healthcare
increases impacted 2012 trends. How? Insurance carriers launched new versions of HMOs, along with valuebased plans; more employers offered wellness programs; and new purchasing arrangements for small businesses like Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) grew in popularity. What about next year’s trends?
Here are my five predictions.
1. Private Exchanges will Outpace Public Ones.
The federal government assumed that when offered the choice of setting up healthcare exchanges, or having the
federal government establish them, most states would jump at the chance to take the control. To the contrary,
thirty states have said no. The problem? The federal government may not be prepared to take this task on, possibly delaying start-up January 1, 2014, of the public exchanges. In the meantime, private exchanges have been
cropping up all around the country. Why? Private exchanges offer greater flexibility than their public counterparts:
 Private exchanges might be offered by a single insurance carrier, a joining of multiple insurance carriers, or
even third parties like benefit advisors or associations.
 Private exchanges market to individuals, small businesses and even large employers, whereas most public
exchanges will focus on the uninsured, individuals, and maybe small business, at least in the beginning.
Private exchanges can offer a choice of plan designs and products like dental, vision, life, disability and voluntary,
allowing employers to offer a new level of consumerism to employees, who can choose plans that fit their lifestyles and wallets.
With private exchanges first to market, they’ll have a competitive leg up over the public ones.
2. Innovation will Drive Benefit Plan Design.
Insurance carriers will continue to revamp their products. Since healthcare reform places emphasis on the physician-patient relationship, the carriers are meeting this demand with HMOs that require physician designation and
referrals to specialists. Another growing option are plans that organize provider selection into tiers based on cost
and efficiency. If consumers choose doctors in preferred tiers, they pay lower deductibles than seeking care from
those in less preferred tiers.
3. Limited Provider Networks Will Become the Norm.
All the carriers are readying to roll out limited provider networks for 2013, which shrink the number of providers by
excluding some based on cost or quality to drive down premiums. These plan designs are expected to become
the norm so consumers will need to begin evaluating providers differently than in the past by leveraging tools and
technologies that lead them to smarter decisions.
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Continued on page 11
Smart Benefits: 5 Healthcare Trend Predictions for 2013
By Amy Gallagher, GoLocalProv Business/Health Expert
Continued from page 10 ….
4. Consumer Engagement Will Increase.
Until now, there has been very little pricing transparency with providers – and little ability for consumers to do
comparative shopping. That will all change. Insurance carriers are releasing powerful price estimators which allow consumers to shop services by setting (i.e. how much an MRI costs in a hospital setting versus a free standing facility), or how much the same prescription is at one pharmacy versus a competing retail chain. And, all of
these price comparison tools, along with other resources, are available through savvy new apps, compatible with
most smart phones.
5. Wellness Will Get Serious.
Employers who were hesitant to offer wellness programs are quickly jumping on board. That’s because wellness
makes sense: if you give employees activities, tools and resources, with meaningful incentives, they are more
likely to modify lifestyles. The result? Healthier and happier employees, better morale and workplace satisfaction,
and a slowdown of medical claims costs. To further drive engagement, insurance carriers and stand-alone wellness providers are adapting their programs to encourage team-based activities and gaming on smart phone,
where most employees will focus their attention. They’re also making incentives more meaningful and personalized for employees.
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Why Join SVAHU!
Here are some top reasons you can share with your business associates to join SVAHU!
Professional Development
Certification programs, professional designation courses, online resources and conferences are just
a few ways SVAHU helps members develop professionally as well as personally. Local chapters
also host regular meetings where continuing education opportunities are provided.
Legislative Advocacy
NAHU’s legislative efforts strive to educate officials on both the federal and state levels about the
health care system and the vital role of the health insurance agent as a consumer resource and
advocate. Through a network of key contacts, SVAHU cultivates relationships that allow members to
clarify issues before bills are written and votes are taken. These relationships are strengthened
through actions undertaken by the Health Underwriters Political Action Committee (HUPAC).
Networking
Interacting with other insurance professionals may be the most beneficial aspect of SVAHU
membership. Being able to reach out to other professionals, asking questions, meeting sales
representatives and learning about products are all invaluable opportunities that membership
provides.
These are just a few reasons why SVAHU is so important to insurance professionals. Working
together we have a voice in the future of healthcare!
For membership information please call: 877-748-0815 or email info@svahu.org.
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www.svahu.org
IN TOUCH
January 2013
Knowledge is Power! The Value of Professional Credentials….
NAHU makes it Easy!
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Increases confidence and professionalism
Accelerates career advancement
Increases respect with clients and peers
Helps advisors earn a larger share of their clients’ business
Reduces liability
Facilitates succession planning with a consistent level of industry knowledge
Those surveyed were asked how their RHU/REBC designation has benefited
their career?
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78% claimed to have seen an increased credibility in their practice
68% claimed it provided additional expertise, as well as contributed to them
being able to open new markets
Your NAHU membership entitles you to a wealth of resources, courses, certifications and
training either through online, webinar or direct presentations. Find out more about all
the Professional Designation opportunities available what they are and how to obtain
them at on CAHU’s website at: http://www.cahu.org/education/rhu-rebc and exercise
your power today!
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