Two Pennsylvania insurance associations say they do not expect that a bill that calls for electing rather than appointing the state’s insurance commissioner to earn Pennsylvania General Assembly approval this year.

A Corbett Administration official in Pennsylvania appears to have recognized what insurance agents and brokers in the state have been saying about the adultBasic program all along: the economics don’t work.

Now that the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), some in the media are saying that this vote was empty since the Democratic controlled Senate would not concur. I respectfully disagree.

Health insurance agents and brokers in Pennsylvania want to be included in any health exchange created in the state.

PAHU President Shelly Bloom: “We are still reviewing a 2,700-page bill and conflicting timelines of changes and regulations. I think there have been more questions recently [from members] and we need to wait for the answers from the federal government.”

The Pennsylvania House Insurance Committee has scheduled a May 27 public hearing in Harrisburg, Pa., to explore what the federal health reform law means for the state.

The Pennsylvania Association of Health Underwriters will hold its annual Day on the Hill April 20, giving its members from across the state an opportunity to meet in small groups with members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to discuss health insurance issues.

The Pennsylvania Association of Health Underwriters sent to its members March 15 a draft memo that it hopes its health insurance brokers will send to their clients who are business owners, seeking help in opposing federal health care reform.

A Pennsylvania health insurance trade group has hand-delivered letters to U.S. House members from the state, asking that a formal, open conference committee be held to create final federal health reform legislation.

As Pennsylvania continues to deal with its budget problems, agents groups in the state say they do not expect to see higher licensing fees.