2010-The Year We Make Contact
For those of you old enough to remember, the above title was a movie sequel to the 1968 epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Futuristic movies traditionally have overestimated mankind’s accomplishments technologically. However, we’re not here to talk about movies-I have taken the above title and made it a personal mission to incorporate it into CCAHU’s future development. Indeed, our collective livelihoods may depend upon it.
Everything leading up to this New Year has thrust us and our chosen profession into the national spotlight. When I first moved to Nevada, then-President Clinton was trying to re-engineer the health insurance industry. This time around, it seems the reigning party has learned from its mistakes-health reform is nearly a reality going into 2010. The fact that it is not entirely a done deal is a testament to the opposition and scrutiny that opponents to the President’s plan have mounted. Think about it-President Obama has enjoyed near celebrity-worship status on the heels of an unpopular president, yet time and time again, he has been thwarted from implementing his health care reform ‘overhaul’. The fact that his party holds a majority in Congress underscores the effort that has gone into defeating poor reform designs. We all know that the current system needs to evolve into something that is better than it is – we have too many uninsured and cost-prohibitive premiums. Having intimate knowledge of how the markets work, the problems our clients face daily, the impact of misguided reform efforts demand that we remain faithful stewards in the reform arena for it to be done correctly.
2009 saw CCAHU leadership doing just that-from Washington, to New York, to Carson City, your CCAHU has had a hand in shaping reform efforts. The dreaded, “public option” or as I like to call it “public enemy #1” has all but disappeared due to intense pressure (believing we educated legislators on the damage it would do is probably just wishful thinking). 2010 will be a prime time to continue our education and lobbying efforts, not only nationally, but state-wide as well. This year is when we elect Nevada’s legislature and Washington representatives. Many entrenched legislators will be replaced due to term limits. We want to make 2010 the year that we make contact with the incoming representatives so that they know who we are and what we stand for.
Lastly, we need to reconnect with our membership. I personally would like to hear what YOU, the membership, think and want out of your association to help you in the coming year. Having an impact on reform costs money, however. We need membership’s help as well, either monetarily or through volunteerism. Top corporate sponsors like Anthem, United HealthCare and Word & Brown can only do so much—we need everyone to “step up” and help us to overcome the misguided efforts in Washington. The wrong reforms will cost us much more than a $10 or $20 a month HUPAC contribution.
While 2010 the movie may have a ways to go to match reality, ironically, the year 2010: The Year We Make Contact was released was 1984-the same year that George Orwell examined in his book of the same title. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it details society’s decline into a ‘big brother’ state. I’ll leave it to you to see the similarities between the book and our current national path. Let’s keep science fiction from becoming fact.
Dan M. Heffley
President
For those of you old enough to remember, the above title was a movie sequel to the 1968 epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Futuristic movies traditionally have overestimated mankind’s accomplishments technologically. However, we’re not here to talk about movies-I have taken the above title and made it a personal mission to incorporate it into CCAHU’s future development. Indeed, our collective livelihoods may depend upon it.
Everything leading up to this New Year has thrust us and our chosen profession into the national spotlight. When I first moved to Nevada, then-President Clinton was trying to re-engineer the health insurance industry. This time around, it seems the reigning party has learned from its mistakes-health reform is nearly a reality going into 2010. The fact that it is not entirely a done deal is a testament to the opposition and scrutiny that opponents to the President’s plan have mounted. Think about it-President Obama has enjoyed near celebrity-worship status on the heels of an unpopular president, yet time and time again, he has been thwarted from implementing his health care reform ‘overhaul’. The fact that his party holds a majority in Congress underscores the effort that has gone into defeating poor reform designs. We all know that the current system needs to evolve into something that is better than it is – we have too many uninsured and cost-prohibitive premiums. Having intimate knowledge of how the markets work, the problems our clients face daily, the impact of misguided reform efforts demand that we remain faithful stewards in the reform arena for it to be done correctly.
2009 saw CCAHU leadership doing just that-from Washington, to New York, to Carson City, your CCAHU has had a hand in shaping reform efforts. The dreaded, “public option” or as I like to call it “public enemy #1” has all but disappeared due to intense pressure (believing we educated legislators on the damage it would do is probably just wishful thinking). 2010 will be a prime time to continue our education and lobbying efforts, not only nationally, but state-wide as well. This year is when we elect Nevada’s legislature and Washington representatives. Many entrenched legislators will be replaced due to term limits. We want to make 2010 the year that we make contact with the incoming representatives so that they know who we are and what we stand for.
Lastly, we need to reconnect with our membership. I personally would like to hear what YOU, the membership, think and want out of your association to help you in the coming year. Having an impact on reform costs money, however. We need membership’s help as well, either monetarily or through volunteerism. Top corporate sponsors like Anthem, United HealthCare and Word & Brown can only do so much—we need everyone to “step up” and help us to overcome the misguided efforts in Washington. The wrong reforms will cost us much more than a $10 or $20 a month HUPAC contribution.
While 2010 the movie may have a ways to go to match reality, ironically, the year 2010: The Year We Make Contact was released was 1984-the same year that George Orwell examined in his book of the same title. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it details society’s decline into a ‘big brother’ state. I’ll leave it to you to see the similarities between the book and our current national path. Let’s keep science fiction from becoming fact.
Dan M. Heffley
President
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