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Unless you have firsthand experience with an employee-owned company, you’ve likely never heard of the ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) structure. Or, perhaps you’ve heard of it, but don’t completely understand what it is. This month, alongside other employee-owned companies across the country, Scott has been celebrating Employee Ownership Month and recognizing the many unique benefits of being an ESOP company.
Scott Benefit Services has accepted an invitation to join the National Association of Health Underwriters’ (NAHU) Principals Council, a group of elite agencies and brokers with significant influence on legislative and regulatory issues on the federal level. The NAHU focuses on legislative issues that impact health insurance, specifically employer-sponsored coverage. Their advocacy efforts promote affordable and responsible private health insurance market solutions.
The Principals Council includes representatives from some of the top agencies in the country – agencies with significant legislative influence and more sophisticated regulatory concerns. Members of the group attend top-level meetings with White House staff, members of Congress and federal agency leadership.
The White House made two major announcements regarding healthcare yesterday. First, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States” and then late last night it was announced that the CSR (cost-sharing reduction) payments from the government to insurance companies would cease immediately.
Most businesses and individuals in the U.S. are experiencing considerable rate increases on auto coverage due to significant losses in the market. In 2016, carriers experienced a 13% spike in auto losses – their worst underwriting performance for the line since 2001 – and S&P projects that auto losses will increase by another nearly 7% this year, hitting a record high of approximately $154 billion. With the combined ratio at a 15-year high of 110%, it’s no surprise that carriers have been seeking rate increases into the double digits across their entire auto book.
Tuesday afternoon Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that they would not vote on Graham-Cassidy, effectively ending the GOP’s hopes of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this year. Graham-Cassidy, which was thought to be a non-starter just a couple of months ago, picked up significant steam in the last few weeks as GOP lawmakers faced the reality of their time to repeal and replace the ACA running out. Time was short because the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that the current push to repeal and replace with a simple majority (a process called budget reconciliation) had to end with the current fiscal year on September 30. With this short window of time, Graham and Cassidy pushed hard to get their bill to the floor for a vote and GOP leadership worked with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to fast-track a score on the bill (a requirement under budget reconciliation).