The largest Medicare Part D (prescription drug) carrier recently announced its intent to eliminate independent agent commissions associated with Medicare Part D sales and renewals in 2025. These plans will also remove agents as the “agent of record” when they assist clients with the enrollment process. This decision jeopardizes seniors’ access to the expert guidance …
Continue reading Medicare Part D Plans to Eliminate Agent Commissions in 2025
On May 24, the House Agriculture Committee, led by Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA), passed H.R. 8467, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act, by a vote of 33 to 21. The bill passed with the unanimous support of Committee Republicans, along with the support of four Democrats, Representatives Yadira Caravao (D-CO), Eric Sorensen (D-IL), Don Davis …
Continue reading House Committee Passes Farm Bill with Crop Agent Inflation Adjustment
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) recently released the title-by-title summary of the draft Farm Bill, which the committee plans to release this week and mark up next week. A key piece of legislation that PIA strongly supports and helped develop, the Ensuring Access to Risk Management Act of 2024 (H.R. 8055), is …
Continue reading PIA Crop Insurance Priority Included in House Farm Bill Draft
A PIA top priority was introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives to reinstate an inflation adjustment for crop insurance agents, as well as to provide relief for specialty crops. The bipartisan Ensuring Access to Risk Management Act of 2024 (H.R. 8055) was introduced by Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) with original cosponsors Reps. Jimmy …
Continue reading PIA-Backed Bill to Reinstate Crop Inflation Adjustment Introduced in House
The Risk Management Agency (RMA), responsible for supervising the federal crop insurance program, has issued a Managers bulletin to Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs), instructing them to immediately stop any cancellation of agent/agency contracts. Recently, some AIPs have been scaling back their federal crop insurance operations in specific crops, insurance plans, and geographic regions. Steps to …
Continue reading RMA Bulletin Halts Cancellations of Crop Insurance Agent/Agency Contracts
The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing on January 25 entitled, “Reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program: Local Perspectives on Challenges and Solutions.” PIA submitted written testimony for the record for the hearing, noting our support for the NFIP because it provides critical flood insurance coverage and post-disaster relief to residential and …
Continue reading PIA Submits Testimony on Flood Insurance for Senate Banking Committee Hearing
This week the House and Senate both passed a federal government funding bill, or continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government. The federal government and several key programs were set to expire 12:01am Saturday, November 18 if Congress did not act. This CR is unique in that it splits the federal government funding into …
Continue reading Congress Passes Spending Bill with NFIP, Farm Bill Extensions
The U.S. Senate recently passed the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bill. It passed 82-15, as part of a package with two other funding measures, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill and Transportation, Housing and Housing and Urban Development bill. The Senate Appropriations …
Continue reading Senate Calls for Reinstatement of Crop Insurance Inflation Adjustment
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held a hearing today entitled, “The Factors Influencing the High Cost of Insurance for Consumers.” In advance of the hearing, PIA submitted testimony for the record. The hearing examined the status of the domestic insurance industry, including recent developments in the property and casualty insurance market …
Continue reading PIA-Backed Bills on FIO Repeal and Reform Highlighted in House Hearing
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) is preparing to proceed with a revised data collection that will specifically target property insurers regarding climate risks. The data collection announcement and solicitation of public input come despite ongoing concerns that the data collection will be overly burdensome to insurers, will ignore the existing state insurance …
Continue reading FIO Proceeds With Troubling Climate Data Call
