Newsletter Draft Jan.pub
Transcription
Newsletter Draft Jan.pub
www.svahu.org IN TOUCH January 2009 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 2009 Vol. 13, No. 13 State of Our Healthcare 2009 News for and about members of the Silicon Valley Association of Health Underwriters – California’s Benefits Specialists. Upcoming Events February 11, 2009 Membership Meeting Mariani's Inn & Restaurant Santa Clara, CA Details Inside! March 30, 2009 - April 1, 2009 Capitol Conference JW Marriott Hotel Washington, DC April 9, 2009 Membership Meeting Mariani’s Inn & Restaurant Santa Clara, CA Look for Details Soon! WWW.SVAHU.ORG Our Role in Forging Healthcare Policy for the Year Ahead Submitted by Oly Storz, PAC Chair During the weeks leading up to the November election, the CAHU Board of Directors wrestled with some difficult decisions. Of prime importance among those decisions was the question of how best to spend our limited resources, our PAC contributions, in order to have the greatest possible impact on our industry, our future livelihood and the very survival of the private healthcare system. An unprecedented decision was made to contribute a huge amount of money ($100,000) to a ballot measure, Proposition 11. It was determined that a change in the method of redistricting was essential to our long-term survival since the current method has resulted in our legislators being utterly unresponsive to the wishes of the people since they nearly all represent carefully-crafted districts that almost guarantee reelection. As you know, Proposition 11 passed by a very narrow margin. Our contribution was one of the largest and played a critical role in passage of the measure. It got the attention of people in Sacramento. It signaled that we were a player in the game and not to be ignored, as witnessed by the accompanying photo. The Governor made Proposition 11 a personal project and campaigned throughout the state for passage. Three of our PAC Diamond-level contributors were invited to the small, private reception with the governor where the photo was taken. The photo opportunity is a symbol indicating that we now have a voice in the healthcare debate. Our lobbyists will find it easier to present our point of view to key legislators. The governor will be more likely to ask for our input because we helped him win an important battle. “Why is this so important?” you may ask. It is important because we face a daunting task for the next two years before redistricting takes effect. We must fend off deter- Former SVAHU President Tom mined efforts to institute “universal care” which is Magnus, Governor Schwarreally socialized medicine. After that, a gradual zenegger & SVAHU PAC Chair process will emerge as legislators face a new real- Oly Storz ity of accountability and we should have more influence than we have today. Think of socialized medicine as a potentially fatal virus. There is no cure but there is a vaccine. Absent the vaccine, symptoms can be treated and reduced to some extent. Our vaccine is the redistricting to be conducted by an impartial panel which should provide a significant degree of immunity, like a flu vaccine. The treatment is represented by our efforts to prevent damaging legislation until the vaccine becomes widespread. However, our efforts depend upon our ability to help fund the campaigns of sympathetic legislators which we CANNOT do without YOUR PAC CONTRIBUTIONS! WON’T YOU PLEASE JOIN PAC? TODAY?! Even $10 per month charged to your credit card will help. Your future is at stake! Stop and think about that for a moment! Won’t you complete the PAC CONTRIBUTOR FORM included in 1 LIST of contributors today? this newsletter andPage join our www.svahu.org IN TOUCH Page 2 January 2009 IN TOUCH www.svahu.org January 2009 SVAHU 2008-2009 Board of Directors Abraham Phillips President (408) 437-5929 aphillips@wordandbrown.com Reshmi D. Prasad Membership Chair (408) 487-3515 reshmi_prasad@phs.com Marilyn Leonard, RHU, REBC Immediate Past President (408) 528-9170 marilynleonard@sbcglobal.net Susy Spackman Secretary (408) 452-6906 susy.spackman@blueshieldca.com Cindy Kane Treasurer (408) 977-1213 cindy@teifeld.com Jeff Bader Communications/Public Affairs Chair (650) 302-8535 jlbader@sbcglobal.net Nicholas Massei,, Jr. HUPAC Liaison (408) 732-2920 nick@masseiinsurance.com David S. Bauer, LUTCF Legislative Chair (650) 508-0756 zeke02db@comcast.net Ulrich “Oly” Storz PAC Chair (408) 395-3303 oly@creativehealthins.com Art Young Sponsorship Chair (650) 838-1080 ayoung@artyounginsurance.com J. David Van Nest Education Chair (408) 725-8777 dvn@vnvinsuranceservices.com Cynthia Downing Executive Director (877) 748-0815 cdowning@pesc.com Leslie Perez Awards Chair (408) 437-5929 lperez@wordandbrown.com Akayla Ruiz SVAHU Staff (877) 748-0815 aruiz@pesc.com Bill Verbrugge New Membership Chair (408) 293-8900 William_Verbrugge@us.aflac.com 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. Correspondence or letters to the editor should be addressed to IN TOUCH, c/o Jeff Bader, Health & Life Associates, P.O. Box 7123, Menlo Park, CA 94026; Ph: (650) 302-8535; fax (253) 541-6488; email jlbader@sbcglobal.net. Email correspondence is preferred. Advertising correspondence should be addressed to IN TOUCH, c/o Cynthia Downing, SVAHU, P.O. Box 1071, Fresno, CA 93714; telephone (877) 748-0815; fax (559) 227-1463; email: cdowning@pesc.com. 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. 2009 Jewel Sponsorship 2009 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 2009 Jewel Sponsorship Package, contact: Art Young at (650) 838-1080, or e-mail him: ayoung@artyounginsurance.com. THANK YOU To Our 2009 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 SAPPHIRE SPONSORS Anthem Blue Cross Beere & Purves Our Sponsors support us…We support them! Page 3 IN TOUCH www.svahu.org January 2009 2009 Calendar of Events To RSVP for any of the following events, please call: (877) 748-0815 EVENT DATE LOCATION SPONSOR Membership Meeting February 11, 2009 Mariani’s Inn & Restaurant Santa Clara, CA Word & Brown 2009 Capitol Conference March 30, 2009 - April 1, 2009 JW Marriott Hotel Washington, DC NAHU Membership Meeting April 9, 2009 Mariani’s Inn & Restaurant Santa Clara, CA Beere & Purves Word & Brown 2009 Annual Golf Tournament May 4, 2009 Cinnabar Hills Golf Course San Jose, CA TBD 2009 Day At the Capitol May 12, 2009 Sheraton Grand Sacramento, CA CAHU Membership Meeting June 11, 2009 Mariani’s Inn & Restaurant Santa Clara, CA Word & Brown SVAHU PAC GEM STONE CONTRIBUTORS Diamond Level ($1,000 annual or $85 monthly) Lisa Hughes Zain Jeewanjee Tom Kaufman Marilyn Leonard David Long Tom Magnus Nick Massei Jan Mesa Emerald Level ($500-$719 annual or $42 monthly) David Bauer Sandra Bealu Daniel Bodmann Clifford Der Allan Eckmann Howitt Insurance Andrew Kerr Allan Liu Susan Spackman Rhonda Velez Robert Vinal Ulrich Storz Michael Watson Paul Mifsud Drew Miller John Palladino Todd Scheuer Ruby Level ($250-499 annual or$21 monthly) Linda Akins-Benevento Shawn Balsdon Bayside Insurance Marketing Jeff Bader Theresa Bennett Diane Borrison David Candelario Ki Cotter William Cross Marla Forcht Kevin Hannah Richard Hemmerling Cynthia Kane Jennifer Lapava Mary Ann Magnus Monique Mills Daniel Moran Milly Morelan Thank you for your support of the PAC! Page 4 Gracie Palacios Leslie Perez Elona Pertica Abraham Phillips Mika Storz Jean Sukovez Kathleen Vaillancourt Rolando Veloz Arthur Young www.svahu.org IN TOUCH Page 5 January 2009 www.svahu.org IN TOUCH January 2009 Have a Happy and Prosperous New Year! Submitted by Dave Van Nest, SVAHU Education Chair A new year gives us New opportunities to know what we don’t know. Keeping up with the latest products and marketing opportunities is what makes us both professional and separated us from the “average insurance agent”. New will be a key word for 2009. We will be kicking off the 2009 with our first major event February 11th at 8:15AM at a New venue the Mariani Inn on El Camino in Santa Clara. (See page 7 for details.) We have taken your feedback from past meetings. The meeting on the Feb 11th will center on new opportunities in the Long Term Care Industry. We have two experts on LTC in California Barry Fisher and Susan Blais. Attend and earn two CE credits! Also, learn even what your kid’s don’t know about Web 2.0 Have you ever been invited to Join LinkedIn or Facebook? What is this social networking all about? Learn something New! And gain a great overview on Web 2.0. How you can avoid mistakes and get more sales. New Pricing! Please Notice and tell your friends. We want all SVAHU members and potential members to come. Pricing for members has dropped to $15 and only $25 for guests. GA and Carrier Reps- Notice the value you can bring to the table. Invite as many non-SVAHU members as you wish for free as your guest. It gives you an opportunity to spend time with your potential clients and also give your guest a taste of what SVAHU can do for them. Have a look at the New 2009 SVAHU. We’re hoping to see 150 guests at our first meeting. Do you SVAHOOO? The Year Ahead for Legislators Article by David Bauer, SVAHU Legislative Chair We had several new Legislators sworn into office Monday December 1st, 2008. These excited, motivated and inexperienced men and women were thrown into special session later that day to solve our state’s largest ever deficit. The Governor called these folks into a special session about twenty minutes after they concluded their business in each House. So they didn’t have time to bask in their glory. (That’s the good news.) Should we be worried? Damn straight! I was invited to swearing in ceremony of newly elected State Assemblyman, Jerry Hill ( D ), of the 19th district. As you might remember, Mr. Hill was the candidate we, SVAHU, contributed to last year at his kick-off. This was a good thing. How, you may ask? Firstly, I’ve known Jerry now, going on nine years. Worked with him for four of those years on County commissions and special projects as I served on City Council. So we’ve developed a good working relationship. Other than serving my community and enjoying working with Jerry, I never envisioned how this could work out down the road. A positive for both of us. All of us. I’ve come to discover that I served with Jerry Hill’s Chief of Staff, the Former Mayor of Millbrae, as well. At the reception, I reacquainted myself with many former and current elected officials. It gave me the opportunity to kibitz (chat) with many of the Assembly members and Senators in a very relaxed atmosphere. In fact many of these folks, we visited with while in Sacramento last May. I also met a couple new Assembly members. More importantly, I was introduced to a couple other Chiefs of Staff, which should help us gain at least a warmer reception when we call on them. Page 6 www.svahu.org IN TOUCH Page 7 January 2009 www.svahu.org IN TOUCH January 2009 Joint Meeting of the CAHU Legislative Council and CAHU Public Affairs Committee As reported by Jeff Bader, SVAHU Communications Bill Robinson, CAHU VP Legislative chaired the meeting and first addressed the need for us all to subscribe to the CAHU Blog. Go to www.cahu.org and register (upper left) specifically for leg updates. “I charge all of you to better motivate members”, said Bill, including telling EVERYONE you talk to in the next 2 weeks to vote for Prop 11. In review, he stated that “our bills mostly passed or were vetoed because of budget issues”, and further that he would like to see efforts towards re-writing a bill to rescue the risk pool. John Lovell, CAHU Legislative Advocate, also reviewed the year just ending and looked ahead to 2009. “If this election goes badly, the legislature could be in more liberal, democratic hands” warned John, and could put them one vote shy of a 2/3 majority. This “underscores the importance of adopt-a-leg” he stressed. “If your not at the table, you’re on the menu”. He also noted that Sheila Kuehl leaves her chair of the Senate health committee next year. Jim Brulte, former Republican Senate Leader, gave a compelling presentation of “The History of Political Parties”, which addressed the polarization at the capitol. Redistricting is a step in the right direction, although not the sole reason for ideological partisanship according to the senator. Socioeconomic factors can also adjust the political mood, some scheduled, like elections, some unscheduled, like the current financial crisis. “We’re no longer fighting culturally, now we fight for the center”, says Brulte, those socially tolerant, small government voters. A student of history, he claims “what should happen, usually does”, and was clear that he expected O’Bama to win, and waste little time in attempting to advance his health care agenda. Steve Lindsay, CAHU Legislative Advocate, closed out the meeting with insight on the voice that CAHU has attained in Sacramento. It is important that we all take responsibility to reach out to membership and stay abreast of our organization’s efforts to know the issues as well as speak as one voice. SVAHU Legislative Chair Dave Bauer with former Republican Senate Leader Jim Brulte at the recent 2008 CAHU Symposium in Los Angeles The Year Ahead for Legislators Continued... To think I wasn’t going to make the drive. Never, never miss this type of opportunity. It is certainly worth the time and effort. More good news!! The Feds, our Governor and many of our legislators are looking at The Massachusetts Health Plan. Examining its working parts (numerous and very complex). Watching how it’s progressing, etc. So we’ll have our work cut out for us in this next year. The year after that and so on until something is done. Hopefully with plenty of our input, (troops on the ground). It is my humble opinion, that no matter what our State might design for health care reform, even if it’s the panacea of health plans, NOTHING will move forward in a meaningful way UNTIL we solve our budget crisis. Did I say CRISIS!! It is a critical time for our State finances. In a short period of time ( 30-60 days ), our State will begin a process of prioritizing who and how much we pay whom. Until we run out of $$$. Then I don’t know what. Except a whole lot of people won’t receive any salary. For the moment, I believe we are fortunate to be allowed this time to plan, offer ideas and suggest legislation. To wait until the appropriate time avails itself for CAHU/NAHU to help craft the future of healthcare in our state and for the entire country. Page 8 www.svahu.org IN TOUCH January 2009 zMember of the Year - MD Sam Smith, CFP zExecutive Board Member of the Year - Alan Katz, RHU zOutstanding Individual Membership Recruiter - Ross Pendergraft zMembership Cup– Retention Cup - Ventura AHU zOutstanding Local Chapter Website - Ventura County Association of Health zOutstanding Local Chapter Newsletter- The SAHU Sentinel Large Chapter: Sacramento Association of Health Underwriters zOutstanding Local Chapter Newsletter- In Touch Small Chapter: Silicon Valley Association of Health Underwriters Barry Fisher, CAHU PAC Co-Chairman and Oly Storz, SVAHU PAC Chair zChapter of the Year - Central California Association of Health Underwriters zOutstanding Local Membership Growth - Orange County Association of Health Underwriters CAHU PAC Awards- Local Chapter PAC Contribution zGoal Attainment Award, 1st Place - North Coast Association of Health Underwriters In recognition of the local chapter with the highest percentage goal attainment for the year. zGoal Attainment Award, 2nd Place - Silicon Valley Association of Health Underwriters In recognition of the local chapter with the highest percentage goal attainment for the year. zHeavy Hitter Award, 1st Place - Golden Gate Association of Health Underwriters In recognition of the local chapter with the highest amount contributed per Chapter Member. zHeavy Hitter Award, 2nd Place - Los Angeles Association of Health Underwriters In recognition of the local chapter with the highest amount contributed per Chapter Member. zOutstanding Service - Ulrich Storz Silicon Valley Association of Health Underwriters Neil Crosby, CAHU Immediate Past President and Jeff Bader, SVAHU Media Relations Chair Page 9 www.svahu.org IN TOUCH January 2009 Inauguration: The Coming Challenges and Opportunities By Janet Trautwein Dear NAHU Members, After a long and hard-fought campaign season, on November 4th Americans exercised one of our most fundamental rights: choosing a new president and Congress. NAHU wishes to congratulate President-elect Obama and the incoming members of the 111th Congress. We pledge to work with them on the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for our health care delivery system. As the nation's pre-eminent trade association representing professional agents, brokers and benefit specialists, NAHU occupies a unique role in the health insurance marketplace. On a daily basis, our members work with individual and corporate health insurance consumers to help provide them with the type of coverage that best serves their needs, and to service that coverage to help get issues solved quickly and efficiently. With health care being such a dominant issue in the presidential and congressional elections, we know there will be renewed efforts, particularly at the federal level, aimed at improving access to affordable health insurance and improving the quality of care delivered to all Americans. From our perspective, there are "right" ways to improve the system and "wrong" ways. We have and will continue to put forth many tools and proposals, such as our Healthy Access Plan, our studies on "connectors" and our discussion of the tax treatment of health insurance. NAHU has been actively engaged in the policy discussions on health care reform in official Washington and in campaign circles, and we will continue to play a strong role in such discussions and in promoting the principles that are aligned with the best interests of consumers, employers, providers and our important industry. NAHU believes strongly in ensuring that all Americans have access to a health care system that delivers both world-class medical care and financial security. We believe the time is right for a solution that controls medical spending and guarantees access to affordable coverage for all Americans. We believe this can be accomplished without limiting people's ability to choose the health plan that best fits their needs and ensures them continued access to the services of independent state-licensed counselors and advocates. In the next year there will be many competing ideas on how best to "change" our health care system. Presidentelect Obama put forth many proposals on which many particular details have yet to be determined, all of which must be considered by Congress. Page 10 www.svahu.org IN TOUCH January 2009 The sort of change that may be considered and how it will affect our professional industry and the availability of affordable private health insurance options will depend in large part to how dedicated and unified we are in having our voices heard in Washington, DC, and other centers of government. Rest assured, NAHU staff will be working harder than ever on behalf of you in the government advocacy arena. But is more important than ever for members to be engaged in NAHU in as many ways as possible, particularly on the "grassroots" level. You can develop relationships and serve as resources to elected officials and other policymakers on what we do as a profession, and tell them what works (and does not work) in different health care markets. Participation in our Operation Shouts on issues that are front and center is also an integral way to stay involved in grassroots activities. It is also extremely important to keep in good contact with NAHU staff about any "grasstops" relationships you may have. A grasstop relationship is when one of our members has a personal connection with a member of Congress, governor, state legislator or insurance commissioner (or one of their key staff) that extends to a level beyond normal constituent interaction. For example, if you have a longstanding relationship with a congressional staffer with whom you trade e-mails and phone calls about health policy issues, that qualifies as a grasstop connection. If you have just received an e-mail or two in response to an Operation Shout or had a meeting at Capitol Conference, that does not. In addition, more unique personal relationships also qualify. If your neighbor is now a state assemblyman or if you are a top fundraiser for a congressional candidate, NAHU needs to know about it! Another item we need your help with during the next few months is the collection of home addresses. About half of NAHU members only provide us with their work address when they sign up for membership. Since many people work in a different congressional or state legislative district than the one in which they reside, our grassroots database isn't as accurate as it could be. Considering the possible challenges ahead, we need to make sure our grassroots machine is well-oiled. Please help us by updating your member record to include your home address, and by encouraging other members of your chapter to do the same. Adding your home address does not mean that you will start to receive NAHU information at home – unless you specifically choose that option – but it does mean that our grassroots information will be much more accurate! Here's how you do it: If You Know Your Password Log in to the My NAHU section of the website at and select "My Information" to update your home address. If You Do Not Know Your Password You may reset it here. A new password will be e-mailed to you, then you can go to the link above and select "My Information" to update your address. I also urge you to attend our 2009 Capitol Conference here in Washington, DC. It takes place in late March and early April, and at this conference our members get firsthand experience in developing and growing relationships in Washington and are kept abreast of the most pressing issues facing our industry. Information about registering for Capitol Conference 2009 will be available soon on www.nahu.org so please check our site in the near future to sign up and be part of an important and exciting year in our industry. The next two years will be pivotal as to the future form and direction of our health care system. There has never been a more important time to be a part of NAHU and to do all we can to defend our important industry. Help us have our voices heard as we participate in the many important policy discussions ahead. Thank you for your time, effort and support. We look forward to working with and serving you. Sincerely, Janet Trautwein Executive Vice President and CEO Page 11 www.svahu.org IN TOUCH January 2009 SVAHU Annual Golf Tournament “Fore!” A Good Cause The Silicon Valley Association of Health Underwriters (SVAHU) Annual golf outing, held on May 4, 2009, will be held at Cinna‐ bar Hills Golf Club. The new location is the Cinnabar Hills golf course in South San Jose, where the San Jose Sharks hold their annual golf tournament. The course is in a beautiful setting of lush greens and a mountain backdrop that belies the challenges of an 18‐hole, wind‐influenced, golfing beauty. This event is known as a fun day on the golf course that includes networking, golf, food and drink. Sign Up Today! Enjoy a Day of Golf The carts are ready and the duffers eager to get going as everyone is preparing to tee off this year. Over 140 hackers and even some near‐pros, are expected to try their skills at winning the very coveted trophy and becoming this years champ! This year's tournament is “Fore!” A Good Cause. Show Your Support! On behalf of the SVAHU Golf Committee, we are seeking participants, sponsors and donors for our Annual Golf Tournament, which will be held on Monday, May 4th 2009 at the Cinnabar Hills Golf Course. Don’t forget to ask your clients for a raffle prize donation. This is a great event and an excellent opportunity for you to market you company and for your clients for market their business! The proceeds from the event will benefit the SVAHU Charity and our legislative efforts. For your spon‐ sorship or donation, your company name will appear in the event materials for all participants to see, will be announced that night as your sponsorship or prize is announced, and will be printed in the SVAHU newsletter thanking all sponsors and donors to the golf tournament. We appreciate your consideration of this request and invite you to join us for this fun and exciting event and/or support this event by becoming a sponsor, by donating a raffle prize or golfing (we will help put together foursomes for individual golfers). For more info on any of these options, please feel free to contact List names posted on the SVAHU website under golf tournament. Sign Up Today! Tournament: Time: 12:00 pm Shot Gun Fee: $150 Tournament Fee Includes: 18 Holes of Golf (Scramble Format) Golf Cart with GPS Lunch After Tournament Banquet Tee & Raffle Prizes Gifts from Sponsors Tee Prizes Sign Up Today! Prizes, Prizes, Prizes Besides the golf competition, there are many valuable prizes to be claimed. Golf Challenged?? Come out and join us for dinner and the conviviality. Lots of fun for all and a very good buffet dinner. And don't forget the raffle prizes; they are always great! Proceeds from this event go to support our legislative programs and our charities. Thank you for your support and throughout the year please continue to support our Golf Sponsors. Sign Up Today! Online Links: 2009 SVAHU Golf Tournament Registration Form ‐ http://www.svahu.org/documents/2009-SVAHU-Golf-Registration-Form.pdf 2009 SVAHU Golf Tournament Sponsorship Form ‐ http://www.svahu.org/documents/2009-SVAHU-Golf-Sponsorship-Confirmation.pdf 2009 SVAHU Golf Tournament Flyer ‐ http://www.svahu.org/documents/2009-SVAHU-Golf-Flyer.pdf Page 12 www.svahu.org IN TOUCH Page 13 January 2009 www.svahu.org IN TOUCH January 2009 This space could be yours! Advertising details for In-Touch can be found at http://www.svahu.org/documents/2009-SVAHU-In-TouchAdvertising-Agreement.pdf Or call SVAHU at 877-748-0815 Page 14
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