Health Reform Summit Calls Together State’s Leaders to Discuss Important Role of Insurance Brokers as ACA Takes Hold

<0> Word & Brown General AgencyPolly Neves, 714-567-4592 </0>

Health insurance leaders and brokers throughout California will gather for a special Health Reform Summit on April 23 in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Featured speakers will include Paul Markovich, chief executive officer of Blue Shield of California, as well as John Word and Rusty Brown, co-founders of . Other speakers include Michael Lujan, director of sales and marketing for Covered California; Ron Goldstein, president and CEO of Administrators; and Don Goldmann, vice president of Word & Brown University. The event is being sponsored by .

“With such massive changes taking place in our industry, including the clock ticking on the 2014 implementation of state-run health insurance exchanges, it is more important than ever for brokers to have the latest news and a clear understanding of how they and their clients will be impacted,” said Word. With that goal in mind, Brown said that the April 23 summit is “designed to give brokers the information and tools they need to effectively compete in the marketplace and position themselves as a valued resource to their clients.”

As keynote speaker, Markovich will address the changing California healthcare landscape from the perspective of the carriers and will discuss how health reform will affect small groups, individuals and mid-market groups. Blue Shield of California provides health, life, dental, vision, and Medicare insurance and healthcare service plans to more than 3.3 million members in California.

In representing the state’s public exchange scheduled to launch January 1, Lujan will discuss the status of Covered California, including a look at broker training and certification, carrier selection and more. Goldstein, a pioneer in the development of private exchanges, will give an update on how California will continue to be a viable option in the market and what changes may lie ahead. California is the nation’s most mature small-group private exchange with more than 150,000 members and 10,000 employer groups.

Attending brokers will also be the first to take advantage of the latest health reform continuing education (CE) course from Word & Brown University. As part of the seminar, Goldmann, an expert in health reform, will be conducting the class “Looking Backward and Forward with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” (CE course number 289632).

The April 23 Health Reform Summit will be held from 7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport and from 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach. Further information and registration for either session may be found at .

The “Health Reform Summit” is part of nearly 30-year history of working with brokers to help them grow their businesses through innovative sales tools, cutting-edge quoting systems, and a selection of carriers and products that continue to be the industry’s most desired.

Word & Brown General Agency is part of The Word & Brown Companies, which provides insurance services through more than 55,000 brokers to hundreds of thousands of individuals and almost 60,000 employers with nearly 6.5 million eligible employees. The organization also offers broker-assisted and direct-to-consumer online sales of individual and family health and Medicare plans and accident, dental, vision and life insurance coverage. Included in The Word & Brown Companies are: Administrators, the nation’s leader in developing and administrating employee-choice health benefit programs; CONEXIS, providing benefits solutions to clients nationwide, with expertise in COBRA and HIPAA administrative services, direct bill services, and flexible benefits administration, including flexible spending accounts and Section 132 commuter benefits; Quotit Corporation, the leading Internet application service provider for the health insurance/employee benefits industry; and Health which works with brokers and carriers to help individuals and families easily research, compare, buy and enroll in the right health insurance plan at the right price. For more information, visit .