TAHU recommends revision of proposed healthcare plan

The Texas Association of Health Underwriters (TAHU) released a statement on behalf of more than 1700 insurance agents from across the state of Texas outlining their recommendation for a revision to the proposed healthcare plan. The recommendation included a bulleted list of criteria for a plan that TAHU members would support, stressing their stance against a government run healthcare option.

"We believe that an insurance agent should always be included in the delivery system which is not included in the Federal government plan. Reform should not eliminate individual plan options or reduce Medicare in any way and also must retain the pre-tax incentive for employers and employees," TAHU president Rusty Rice said. "Reform of any kind should not be funded by raising taxes to only a certain portion of the population; it should address the escalating healthcare costs and not add to the Federal deficit."

The statement was released during the August recess after TAHU's Board of Directors met to discuss future efforts and legislation of healthcare reform activists. The outline went further to state that TAHU will not support a reform plan that includes a government run option because of the possible elimination of the sale of individual insurance policies and TAHU will only support a plan that leaves Medicare funding intact.

"We felt the views and opinions of the health insurance industry and industry professionals were not being heard by media and politicians," Rice said. "TAHU chose to outline the type of healthcare reform proposal that we would support and encourage based on our professional expertise. The outline acts as a guideline for something we hope politicians and policy makers will take to heart."

TAHU agents are also committed to continue addressing the issues of providing coverage to the uninsured through existing government programs and the Texas high risk insurance pool.