With everything from a government-run insurance plan to taxes on health benefits being proposed in Washington, D.C., five of the industry’s largest agent and broker associations are planning to lobby Congress about their important role in health insurance.

The groups have formed to create the Health Insurance Agent & Broker Alliance, comprised of AHIA-NAIFA Health and Employee Benefits (AHIA), The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big I), the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA).

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

Cliff Wilson

As the Senate Finance Committee, headed by chairman Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), debates their plan, NAIFA President Cliff Wilson said his group sees a number of elements that could be troubling.

“A number of issues cause immediate concerns, including a questionable role for agent in exchanges, the phase-out of existing small group plans, a new public plan and employer play-or-pay requirement,” Wilson said in a recent podcast on the July 15 event.

He also expressed concern with a plan being offered by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass), which is also being heavily debated, including the use of the Internet and AHIA President Robelynn Abadie added that the options under both proposed plans “undermine the role of the professional insurance advisor and at some point, might even explicitly exclude health insurance advisors.”

During the “fly-in,” participants will lobby their representatives in Congress about the important role of insurance professionals in providing health care to millions of Americans.