Advocating at the NAIC…

Health Access is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Abbott, Director of Administrative Advocacy at Health Access, has been named for the fourth year to serve in 2014 as a funded Health Consumer Representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).   She is one of 20 funded consumer representatives who advise insurance commissioners and their staffs across the country on insurance issues.  Although she receives no salary from the NAIC, the organization does pay for her travel to participate in their quarterly meetings around the country and participate in weekly policy conference calls.  There are also an additional 10 unfunded consumer representatives who participate at the NAIC, but receive no travel reimbursement.

We believe this is very important to have participation from these state-based consumer advocates and academic researchers representing consumers’ interests, especially the consumers in California.  We believe it is particularly important since there are several hundred attendees representing the industry at these national meetings.  The complete list of the 2014 consumer representatives are shown below.  Congratulations and thanks to each of them for their important work!

Elizabeth Abbott: Director of Administrative Advocacy, Health Access

Amy Bach: Executive Director, United Policyholders

Birny Birnbaum: Center for Economic Justice

Brendan M. Bridgeland: Director, Center for Insurance Research

Bonnie Burns: Training and Policy Specialist, California Health Advocates

Andrea Callow: Policy Attorney, The Center for Medicare Advocacy*

Sabrina Corlette: Research Professor, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute

Brenda J. Cude: Professor, University of Georgia

Kathleen Gmeiner: Project Director, UHCAN Ohio

Timothy Stoltzfus Jost: Professor, Washington and Lee University School of Law

Debra Judy: Policy Director, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative*

Karrol Kitt: Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin

Peter Kochenburger: Executive Director, Insurance Law Center, University of Connecticut School of Law

Sonja L. Larkin-Thorne: Consumer Advocate

Adam Linker: Health Policy Analyst, North Carolina Justice Center

Sarah Lueck: Health Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Annalise Mannix: Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe*

Andrea Routh: Executive Director, Missouri Health Advocacy Alliance

Daniel Schwarcz: Associate Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School

Cindy Zeldin: Executive Director, Georgians for a Healthy Future

In addition, the following are ten unfunded consumer representatives (seven returning from 2013 and three new, as noted with an asterisk):

Christine Barber: Senior Policy Analyst, Community Catalyst

Howard Goldblatt: Director of Government Affairs, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud

Marguerite Herman: Project Healthcare, Consumer Advocates

Stephanie Mohl: Government Relations Manager, American Heart Association

Lincoln Nehring: Senior Health Policy Analyst, Voices for Utah Children

Jesse O’Brien: Oregon State Public Interest Research Group*

Christina Postolowski: Senior Policy Analyst, Young Invincibles*

Lynn Quincy: Senior Policy Analyst, Consumers Union

Stuart Spielman: Senior Policy Advisor and Counsel, Autism Speaks

Alyssa Vangeli: Senior Health Policy Manager, Health Care for All*