State insurance officials' panel seeks protection for insurance brokers

The Hill: State Insurance Task Force Votes To Protect Brokers From Healthcare Law
By voice vote, the task force called on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to endorse legislation by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) that would exclude fees paid to agents and brokers when calculating how much health plans are spending on administrative costs versus medical care. The healthcare law requires plans that spend more than 15 percent or 20 percent on administrative costs to give consumers rebates (Pecquet, 6/30).

Kaiser Health News: Brokers Win A Round
Insurance brokers won a round in their battle over the future of sales commissions on Thursday when a key committee of state insurance regulators voted to endorse a controversial bill now before Congress. The task force of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners said they would endorse the bill — sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. — which would remove sales agent fees from administrative costs insurers must report under a provision in the federal health law (Appleby, 6/30).

CQ HealthBeat: NAIC Task Force Backs Insurance Broker Bill
A National Association of Insurance Commissioners task force went on record Thursday to support bipartisan legislation aimed at providing relief to insurance agents and brokers who say their livelihoods are threatened by a consumer protection provision in the 2010 health care law, to the disappointment of consumer groups (Attias, 6/30).