BIP Winter 2024

Make the ask, carry the PAC forward It all goes back to that one question that can change everything. But you have to ask it. “My favorite thing to say when you talk about contributions and how to ask people for them: You have to ask,” says Gray. “You can't send emails and texts. You've got to look people in the eye and ask them.” This time of year, as new legislators get acclimated to Capitol Hill and NABIP members descend on Washington

For instance, ACA subsidies for those earning over 400% of the federal poverty level expire at the end of 2025. “Let's talk about how to take care of the people who, just because they make $1 too much, don't suddenly have an extra $20,000 to spend on health insurance. The cliff is absolutely brutal,” says Haberman. “So, how are we going to do that? Our purpose is to ensure elected members and

To learn more about the PAC, including how to become a member, visit nabippac.org.

regulatory bodies that do a lot of the implementation understand the impact of the things they intend to do.” Haberman, Gray and Magnuson agree: NABIP needs to

for Capitol Conference, is the perfect time to get involved, adds Magnuson. “It is so important to contribute to the PAC, strengthen it, get on the Hill and start working with and educating all of these new legislators,” he says. “We have a lot of new ones coming in this year. We're going to have a whole new administration. And if there's ever a time to get involved and get up on the Hill with both our wallets and our shoes, now's the time.” Magnuson acknowledges he is likely preaching to the choir among NABIP members already registered for CapCon. “We have always said that

THE PAC RAISED $424,250.96 FROM INDIVIDUAL AND CHAPTER DONATIONS

speak with one voice when meeting with legislators and their representatives. “The expectation is that I go into a meeting saying, ‘Hello, my name is Joshua Haberman. I'm a member of NABIP, and I care a lot about access to healthcare and its affordability.’ I'll speak from the talking points of NABIP,” Haberman says. “When they look at their notes after the meeting, they go, ‘Hey, this guy's been here for eight years now. He's invested,

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CapCon is the hook in NABIP. So it's important to take that message back home with us,” he says. “What we have to do is increase our PAC participation. I'm not as focused on the dollars and cents. We will worry about how much you contribute down the road. Just become a member of the PAC and participate, even if it's as little as $15 per month.” When you’re a member of the PAC, “you meet people, you learn things, you're involved and you're invested,” says Haberman. “We at NABIP have, for a very, very long time, been trying to ensure people have access to affordable care. It's hard to imagine something more important to people. The work that we do is tremendously important, and I'm super excited to be able to carry on that legacy through the PAC.”

55 CHAPTERS CONTRIBUTED A TOTAL OF $82,000

interested and helped us understand things. He can give us access to consumer stories.’” Often, the real work begins after legislation passes. It’s another essential time for NABIP to have access to regulators. “We can help pass all the legislation we want. But it's how that legislation is interpreted by the people who will implement it that matters,” says Gray. “NABIP has access to those regulators and can really help craft implementation because passing it is one thing; regulating it is another. And I think we have strength in both of those areas.”

INDIVIDUAL DONORS REPRESENTED 139 chapters

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