NU Online News Service, June 9, 4:06 p.m.EDT

Five insurance trade groups from the property-casualty and lifeand health insurance businesses said they will meet next month inWashington to discuss health insurance reform concerns and lobbylawmakers.

The organizations, said the session for producers and advisorswill be held July 14-15 and includes representatives from TheCouncil of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), the IndependentInsurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA), AHIA-NAIFAHealth and Employee Benefits (AHIA), the National Association ofHealth Underwriters (NAHU), and the National Association ofInsurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA).

With both the House and Senate poised to consider health carereform legislation in late July, the event is an opportunity forthe health insurance producer community to discuss their concernswith their representatives, the group's said.

Collectively, the organizations represent more than 500,000professional health insurance advisors, agents, brokers,consultants and employee benefit specialists, according theirstatement.

Joel Wood, senior vice president of government affairs for theCIAB, said plans call for a briefing with attendees on the issuesfacing them followed by producers visiting their legislativerepresentatives to discuss the issues and their potential impact onproducers.

Mr. Wood said a draft bill from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.,who is chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensionscommittee, is very troubling and would "do great violence to theemployer group market place," substantially diminishing the role ofagents and brokers and have a negative impact on maintainingprivate health plans.

Part of the bill, said Mr. Wood, would eliminate creation ofself-insurance health programs for businesses with 250 lives orless, instead putting them into government backed plans. He saidunder the Kennedy plan, producers would not be allowed to marketthe government plans because of a perception of conflict ofinterest.

For CIAB members alone, representing 270 member firms that areeither major regional or national brokers, a significant part oftheir business involves employee benefits, and while all of theirincome is not derived from health insurance plans, it does form thebasis for the marketing of their services, he said.

"This is a loaded gun pointed to our heads," complained Mr.Wood, adding the Kennedy plan is a "fast track to a single payerplan."

Charles Symington, senior vice president for Government Affairsfor the IIABA said, his organization, "strongly supports reform ofthe nations health care system, both to deal with the issue of theuninsured as well as to find a solution to the drastic increase inhealth care costs."

IIABA, he said "is very concerned with Congressionalconsideration of a government run plan to unfairly compete with theprivate market. We believe that if a government run plan werecreated, in the long run, such a mechanism would lead to a singlepayer system that would harm consumers."

Underscoring the stake IIABA members have in the plan, he notedthat on average, benefits plans represent 14 percent of their book,a figure that can not be ignored especially in the currenteconomy.

The event will be held on Capitol Hill and the Grand HyattWashington in Washington, D.C.