America's Benefit Specialist March 2023

LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES NABIP’S T he National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals advocates on behalf of benefits and insurance professionals. The health insurance and benefits landscape has evolved, and so has NABIP’s role in supporting our members and their clients. Over the years, our membership has grown to encompass professionals who sell traditional health insurance products and those who offer non-traditional coverage options. The association has expanded its capabilities to respond to new marketplace dynamics, offering its members a growing selection of professional educational opportunities, network-building conferences and business-development tools. While our name has changed, our mission and vision remain the same: We believe that all Americans should be empowered to make wise healthcare and benefits decisions and have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare and related services. Here are NABIP’s legislative priorities for 2023 and beyond.

One of the single most important things Congress could do is ensure that the cost of a service does not vary based on where it is delivered. The price of the same X-ray, MRI or phy sician’s visit should not differ if it is delivered in a free-stand ing facility vs. an outpatient hospital setting. NABIP supports building on site-neutral rules to deter location-based gaming of coverage. Surprise medical bills—which have financially impover ished millions of Americans—have been addressed prelimi narily by enactment of the No Surprises Act. With constant legal challenges to the final rules, consumers are left in limbo as to how the law will be enforced, which is leading to increasingly large requests for arbitration and a backlog in the system to resolve surprise bills. NABIP supports action that would stabilize the enforce ment of the No Surprises Act so that the process can be more predictable. The present and growing cost of pharmaceutical and biological therapies is as much a threat to both private and

ADDRESS THE COST OF CARE Rising healthcare costs are the greatest challenge in health care coverage today. Rising costs mean higher health-plan costs. Small-business owners have cited this as a leading challenge for more than 30 years. Medical care from doc tors, hospitals and other medical providers has grown more expensive, as have prescription drugs and biologics. One of the most significant items contributing to high er costs today is consolidation of providers, whether it is merging hospital systems or hospital systems’ purchase of physician practices and other ancillary services providers. Numerous studies have shown that when these mergers occur, prices go up. This drives up costs in all markets, includ ing Medicare, leading to an increase in federal spending for covering these higher-cost services. NABIP strongly supports greater Congressional over sight of the Federal Trade Commission review of hospital and physician practice consolidation.

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