Advocacy in action blog

Throughout September, NAIFA and our Life Happens community promoted Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM) to educate consumers about the importance of life insurance and empower financial professionals to reach wider communities with LIAM-themed resources and materials. As an important part of the LIAM campaign, NAIFA chapters worked alongside advocacy partner ACLI with elected officials to get proclamations or resolutions recognizing LIAM in at least 19 states.

As we approach the sunset of key provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) set for 2025, taxpayers and businesses alike are bracing for significant changes. With the potential for major tax legislation on the horizon, now is the time to prepare.

More than 181,000 Americans living with disabilities have benefited from the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) program, which NAIFA has advocated for since it was first enacted in 2014. The program gives people with disabilities and their families access to tax-free savings accounts without affecting their eligibility for federal programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income. Now that key provisions of the ABLE program are set to expire next year, NAIFA strongly supports the efforts of Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) to extend them.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors is pleased to present NAIFA’s Defender of Financial Freedom Award to Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI).

American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) President and CEO Susan Neely and National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA)—Louisiana Chapter President Blake Gillies issued the following joint statement on the best interest annuity rule adopted by the Louisiana Department of Insurance:

NAIFA members are invited to the Q4 State of NAIFA webinar at 12 pm Eastern, October 16, 2024. Hear updates on NAIFA's advocacy efforts, professional development programs and other membership activities designed to enhance your professional growth.

NAIFA has submitted a letter by NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE, to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding a decision by certain health insurance companies to discontinue Medicare prescription drug (Part D) compensation for health insurance agents. The changes will have a detrimental impact on American consumers who will potentially lose access to the personalized guidance that agents provide. Agents also will be restricted from receiving compensation for both new business and renewals when assisting clients with prescription drug plan enrollment.

In the letter, Mayeux said Medicare Part D plans “are sophisticated products that can be difficult for many Medicare beneficiaries to fully understand. NAIFA members spend a considerable amount of time each year, especially during the Annual Enrollment Period, matching beneficiaries to the prescription drug plan that best fits their specific needs.” Mayeux also makes the following points:

• Because Medicare can be much more complex than commercial insurance, many consumers need assistance throughout the year as they move through the various phases of coverage, cost determinations, and new prescriptions, all of which are services that agents provide on a continual basis.
• Eliminating agent compensation for these plans creates a risky precedent that may lead to consumers being left without personalized assistance as the agent cannot help with any issues that may arise. 
• Without professional agent assistance, consumers will be confused and left to contact calls centers unfamiliar with their unique situations. Frustrated consumers are more likely to submit their complaints and concerns directly to Medicare, placing added stress on CMS’s ability to deal with calls and inquiries in a timely fashion.  

Mayeux added that NAIFA plans to continue the conversation with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to communicate the impact this decision will have on protecting our most vulnerable citizens. 

We have an exciting opportunity for you to put your name forward as a nominee to serve on the Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council or the Federal Reserve Board’s Insurance Policy Advisory Committee. Details for each are below. If nominated and selected, you will be able to provide critical input on the important role financial professionals and insurance producers play in securing Americans’ futures.

NAIFA along with the American Council of Life Insurers and other advocacy partners recently notched a major win in our lawsuit opposing the Department of Labor’s fiduciary-only rule. As we shared with you last week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted a stay in the lawsuit that prevents the DOL rule from going into effect September 23.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has granted a request by NAIFA, ACLI, several NAIFA chapters, and other advocacy partners to stay the Department of Labor's fiduciary-only rule, stating that our case is "virtually certain to succeed on the merits." The action follows a similar stay issued Thursday by a different federal court in a similar case.