NAIFA submitted a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services urging regulators to permit the extension and continuation of “grandfathered” group health insurance plans that were purchased before enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Without an extension, employers with these plans could be exposed to significant cost increases if they had to purchase an ACA group insurance policy.
Save The Date! 2019 CMS Agent and Broker Summit
CMS is pleased to announce the 2019 Agent and Broker Summit with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):
Agent and Broker Summit
July 1, 2019, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. EDT
Baltimore, Maryland
The summit will provide in-depth discussions on the Administration’s major health care priorities. We’ll cover topics of interests to agents and brokers and offer opportunities for agents and brokers to provide feedback and ask questions of CMS leadership and experts in advance of the plan year 2020 Open Enrollment period.
Can’t make it to Baltimore? Summit events will also be accessible virtually via YouTube and audio connections.
Registration will open soon.
IFAPAC and Website & Social Media Best Practices
Many NAIFA Chapters are embracing social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and integrating these tools into their chapter activities. IFAPAC related information on social media and websites is subject to both federal and state election laws, and these laws require that the federation regulate access to IFAPAC related sections of our sites and social media community pages.
To help all NAIFA members keep IFAPAC legal a “cheat sheet” for proper social media and website practices has been developed called Post This Not That. Click the thumbnail below to download the PDF.
Additionally, IFAPAC has created IFAPAC and Website & Social Media Best Practices for those leaders who need to understand the rules and regulations more in-depth.
IFAPAC’s Chapter Per Capita Billing
IFAPAC’s annual per capita administrative fund invoices were mailed at the end of March. The National IFAPAC Committee has created administrative fund resources to help you better understand and educate your chapter leadership on the process and importance of each chapter doing their part.
Thank you! Georgia and Heartland are paid in full, and New Jersey signed up for monthly contributions! Additionally, we have received partial payments from Ohio, Dallas, West Virginia.
NAIFA and IFAPAC truly appreciate your commitment to maintaining the number one advocacy programs at both the state and federal levels in the industry.
IFAPAC State Competition Updates
During the National Advocacy Meeting in November, states agreed to compete in interstate battles of fundraising prowess. Each chapter is judged on four basic fundraising benchmarks – be sure to check in and see how your state ranks after the first quarter! Scroll through the pages to find your competition. If you are in a multistate competition, meaning three or more, your charts begin on page 14.
New IFAPAC Directive Option
FINRA’s Pay to Play rule became effective in August 2017. Since then, many compliance departments and broker dealers have been reevaluating their policies to ensure compliance. IFAPAC has been doing the same. As part of the National IFAPAC Committee’s ongoing efforts to help NAIFA members continue to support state legislators to the maximum extent of the law, IFAPAC has added an additional option to the IFAPAC Directive.
Both FINRA and the SEC’s Pay to Play Rules clearly define that the maximum a covered agent or advisor could contribute is $350 to a candidate for which they can vote and $150 to a candidate for which they cannot. By adding an option to share only up to $150, members who have been previously told that they cannot share can now go back and get a yes.
This “$150 only” option should help compliance departments ease their rules regarding IFAPACs contributions, especially those that have completely restricted any sharing back to the state PACs. However, it is not a guarantee. Although this option is new to the form, this sort of specific sharing agreement has always been an option for our members.
If you would like a list of your state’s members who have completed the Directive stating that they cannot share, please email clewis@naifa.org.
IFAPAC Silent Auction
IFAPAC still needs a variety of items, experiences, and events available on which our diverse membership can bid at this year’s Congressional Conference. IFAPAC is asking you, NAIFA Leaders, to donate items for the auction.
IFAPAC is looking for items such as:
- Tickets to sporting events or concerts
- Time Share or Vacation Home Opportunities
- Golf – Would you be willing to donate a golf foursome?
- Professional Development –Would you be willing to spend some time with another NAIFA member to provide insight on a topic of which you are an expert?
- Memorabilia – Historic, Sports, Political, or Pop Culture memorabilia are always popular.
- P+P – NAIFA’s P+P is only a few months away - would you donate a gift card for a restaurant near the conference hotel or tickets to Disney World?
- IFAPAC Administrative Contribution – If you just don’t know what to donate, send a contribution to the IFAPAC Administrative Fund. Staff will purchase a few items to add to the auction.
Thank you for your consideration!
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