This year I have the unique honor of serving NAHU in three different roles: President of the Triangle, Chair of the General Assembly Action Committee (GAAC) & Secretary of the State Board. With each year that passes, I vow to myself and to my family that I will continue to be a "no drama mama" but juggling various roles within the Association and within a new agency, Parrott Insurance, where I am working hard to drive the companies organic growth, I have taken a big bite of potential challenges.
I couple this with the ever present challenges facing our community with Covid-19, as we near a fatality rate of 190,000 with more than 6 million cases reported nationwide my mind is in a perpetual state of yelling "enough!". And did I mention I am also the President of my HOA? Yep, 12 years and counting, but that is a conversation for another day.
But lest we get caught up in all of the balls in the year, regardless of the number, there are some key items that need to be addressed and defined for this year. The key to-do item on the list for the GAAC committee is to think through and plan our 2021 legislative strategy. Given the current political environment and the challenges facing our industry and our country, I promise you, this is no easy task. So have sought the council of those who are legitimately more well versed and familiar with setting legislative agendas. I spent some time with the Government Affairs Director of The NC BioSciences Organization and over a nice cup of coffee asked her "How are you planning your legislative strategy this year?" She sighed and took a big drink from her coffee cup and shared that this is no easy task. This year is unique and the makeup of legislators in districts up for re-election, the margin of error in polling between candidates, means a general of uncertainty. Her advice to me was stay flexible, keep reading and keep asking questions. Our esteemed lobbyist, when asked offered a little more salience by reminding me that some of the core legislative issues important to our industry are not going to change. We remain solidly against Surprise Billing, we oppose any effort to abolish or cap the employer tax-exclusion for employers, we support streamlining the employer reporting requirements and we support legislation to address issues with HSA's and employer-sponsored coverage and modernize HSA regulations.
We will continue to be focused on the things we know are important to our industry and our mission and values haven't changed. Our mission and values will be our "true north" as we continue to work towards a tangible legislative plan and strategy. Or, to use my words, we will wait and see what happens and then we will "dance bunny, dance".