It drives me nuts to hear the media continually talk aboutaccess and affordable insurance while they continue to ignore thecost of providing care. The cost drivers in oursystem are not insurance rates. Insurance rates are a result of theprices in the market, not the driver. It is high time that we, asinsurance professionals, begin to do our part to change thenarrative.

Regulating the delivery of insurance without any nod to the hardquestions of cost reminds me of an old country song by Jerry JeffWalker. Released in 1975, “Pissin' in the Wind” does anexcellent job pointing out that doing the same thing over and overis not productive.

We have just traveled through what I thought would be thelargest disruption we would experience in our careers — the passageand launch of the ACA. Conventional wisdom had it that we were ona path for more of the same with the election of our first femalepresident. We had adjusted, and the market was settling in, eventhough significant problems remained unaddressed. In a surprisingturn, we find ourselves with a new president, and once again,change will be the order of the day.

I think it's important to remember the ACA was dying a slow death before PresidentTrump's election. Federal and state exchanges were struggling withnarrow networks, increased premium and cost-sharing and, in manyareas, a lack of competition. Major carriers withdrew from someexchanges because it was impossible for them to participate withoutlosing money. Regardless of who moved into the White House, changeshad to be made.

Now, the administration has unveiled its repeal and replaceplan, but not much is certain. There is little doubt things willkeep changing up to the minute the BenefitsPRO Expo kicks off.

So, what does a broker, employer, carrier and/or TPA do in themeantime? It is time to stand up for employer-based healthinsurance. Employer-based health insurance currently covers over170 million Americans. Keeping those individuals insured meansfocusing on the drivers of health care, not the mechanism offinancing. We need to shine a light on what cost is in health careand push for answers.

The Journal of the American Medical Association in August 2016concluded that, “Per capita spending in the United States exceedsthat in all other countries, largely driven by brand-name drugprices that have been increasing beyond the consumer priceindex.”

The Big Pharma and hospital lobbying efforts are vast andestablished. They have successfully positioned their industries toavoid scrutiny. To better serve our customers and gain control ofU.S. health care costs, pricing information, methodology andpractices should be transparent. We need to be ready for thechanges that are coming. To that end, we have assembled aBenefitsPRO Expo panel that will slice and dice current events andhelp you get ready for renewal season. We invite you to join ourdiscussion focused on changing the narrative of “affordable.”

My conversation with Suzanne Spradley, Cheryl Matochick and JoelWhite, three savvy and thoughtful insurance industry executives,will review the importance of employer-based health benefits, andwhat we should be talking about to customers and prospectivecustomers in 2017.

Suzanne is the associate general counsel for NFP, a leadingbroker in employee benefits with an extensive history of providinginsight and expertise to its partners. Cheryl Matochik is seniorvice president of Strategic Resources and Initiatives for TheCouncil of Insurance Agents and Brokers, the premier associationfor the top regional, national and international commercialinsurance and employee benefits intermediaries worldwide.

Joel White is president of the Council for Affordable HealthCoverage. The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) membersbelieve that the cost of health coverage is too high and growingtoo fast. CAHC promotes policies that lower health costs throughincreased competition, informed consumers, and more choices to helpimprove access to affordable coverage.

Please come participate in our session. Let's do our part tochange the narrative on affordability to the cost of care and awayfrom the cost of insurance.