The health-care law, formally called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is also the target of a concerted lobbying push. While the full repeal proposed by House Republicans and recently approved in the House is unlikely to succeed, given opposition in the the Senate and the White House, several provisions of the law face a significant challenge.
Insurance brokers, who help companies purchase insurance and are paid through commissions, are lobbying to change a provision they view as threatening. The law requires that no more than 20 percent of health insurance premiums be spent on administrative costs, and brokers are pushing a bill that would exempt their fees from that cap.
The legislation, sponsored by Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and John Barrow (D-Ga.), has drawn support from 58 other lawmakers.
“If the brokers win, consumers lose $1.4 billion in rebates,” said Ethan Rome, the executive director of Health Care for America Now, a coalition of groups that supported Democrats’ health-care proposals. “Brokers fees from our perspective are clearly an administrative expense, and Congress intended to categorize them as such.”
Brokers argue that the law has gone too far and would severely restrain their revenue. The president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Terry Headley, said in a recent speech that many of the brokers are small businesses that will be driven under unless the law is changed.
“Consumers will not benefit if agents are forced out of the market and individuals are left without service,” Headley said.
The main trade associations pushing for that change are spending roughly the same amount on lobbying that they spent last year when the full bill was under consideration.
Other parts of the law targeted by industry include a tax on medical devices as well as the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a key component of efforts to rein in costs. Device maker Medtronic spent $1.3 million in lobbying last quarter, up 22 percent from a year earlier. The company declined to comment.
Loading...
Comments