Sadly, one of Robert's proudest moments came just before his death when he welcomed brokers to Washington, D.C., for a day of lobbying on Capitol Hill. In the account below, Robert quips that if selling health insurance didn't work out for these brokers they could always find work in Washington, where they would be "doing what they've always done: listening, asking questions, trying to help someone understand the options and then formulating a strategy and executing it."
That's also what Robert did, as well as any journalist to ever serve the benefits industry. He will be sorely missed.
- David Albertson, Editorial Director
(In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Children’s National Medical Center, www.childrens national.org.)
By Robert L. Whidden, Editor-in-Chief
While lots of people in the industry are rightfully worried about whether they'll be reformed out of the market, recent events show that another proverbial door may be opening even if one shuts.
Major trade groups arranged a "fly-in" for their members in mid-July. Folks like Joel Wood of CIAB, Diane Boyle of NAIFA-AHIA, Janet Trautwien of NAHU and Charles Symington of the Big "I" were sitting around one day thinking about how they could make their jobs a little harder.
They were already strapped, trying their best to make sure Capitol Hill lawmakers had some idea of the fire they were playing with on health reform. But the foursome decided that arranging a day of lobbying for their respective members was what was missing.
It started out modest enough, with the groups thinking they would pull maybe 300 or so members. But then, 300 jumped to 600, then 900, capping out at more than 1,000 day-lobbyists registered for the July 15 event. Another 200 just crashed, showing up the morning of without any warning.
Fortunately, Trautwein and company had done their homework, setting up 400 Capitol Hill appointments for the participants to meet with members and their staffs.
Some of the newly minted lobbyists wanted advice about the tone they should strike with lawmakers - the ones who seem committed to making advisers pay for dismantling their own marketplace.
Be positive, be knowledgeable and ask questions, was the advice given. For instance, if a member or staffer starts to assert that "the public plan will compete fairly with the private market," listen and then follow up with the right questions. For example, will the public plan have to pay premium taxes?
It turned out that the army of advisers who made their way to D.C. that day didn't do half bad in their meet-and-greets. They might just have a future in the business if the whole group health insurance thing doesn't pan out. They will be doing what they've always done: listening, asking questions, trying to help someone understand the options and then formulating a strategy and executing it.
That's what brokers and advisers do for their clients and that's what they did for America in mid-July with members of Congress. R.L.W.
