Health Agents for America (HAFA) president Ronnell Nolan produces a series of vlogs (basically video blogs) about various issues that we deal with every day. Recently, she posted this one. Please watch (it's only a few minutes long) and then I'll share our discussion about it:
She linked the video on Twitter, with the warning that "one of HAFA's Agents from New Hampshire with a large book of business lost their Anthem contract. Basically, they were told because they could! READ YOUR CONTRACTS!!"
This agency, which had apparently brought a lot of business to Anthem's table, was summarily excused from it. This is not in dispute. Where Ms Nolan and I part ways is in her characterization:
I pointed out that Anthem was well within its rights to execute the contract's cancellation clause, as would be any carrier (and, of course, agents are also free to bail at their discretion). To which Ms Nolan replied:
"Most Agent/Brokers do not know contracts can be cancelled at will. Goes back to the question....whose customer is it. After I bring the company to you....you have a right to discard me?"
Well, yeah.
As I responded, when I request appointment with a carrier I also agree to abide by the terms of their contract (which is supplied to me and which I of course read from cover to cover). And yes, I did bring them my customer/client. Which client, by the way, I am free to move to another carrier in the future, and there's nothing that Anthem (et al) can do about that.
Understandably, Ms Nolan wasn't entirely satisfied with this take, and pointed out that it's "Not wrong by contract you are right. But morally wrong."
Perhaps, although as I just pointed out, it's a two-way street: am I "morally wrong" when I move clients from one carrier to another?
The bottom line is that while I in no way condone Anthem's actions here, I'm not seeing anything illegal or even "wrong" in what they've done. Reprehensible, probably, but not wrong.
She linked the video on Twitter, with the warning that "one of HAFA's Agents from New Hampshire with a large book of business lost their Anthem contract. Basically, they were told because they could! READ YOUR CONTRACTS!!"
This agency, which had apparently brought a lot of business to Anthem's table, was summarily excused from it. This is not in dispute. Where Ms Nolan and I part ways is in her characterization:
I pointed out that Anthem was well within its rights to execute the contract's cancellation clause, as would be any carrier (and, of course, agents are also free to bail at their discretion). To which Ms Nolan replied:
"Most Agent/Brokers do not know contracts can be cancelled at will. Goes back to the question....whose customer is it. After I bring the company to you....you have a right to discard me?"
Well, yeah.
As I responded, when I request appointment with a carrier I also agree to abide by the terms of their contract (which is supplied to me and which I of course read from cover to cover). And yes, I did bring them my customer/client. Which client, by the way, I am free to move to another carrier in the future, and there's nothing that Anthem (et al) can do about that.
Understandably, Ms Nolan wasn't entirely satisfied with this take, and pointed out that it's "Not wrong by contract you are right. But morally wrong."
Perhaps, although as I just pointed out, it's a two-way street: am I "morally wrong" when I move clients from one carrier to another?
The bottom line is that while I in no way condone Anthem's actions here, I'm not seeing anything illegal or even "wrong" in what they've done. Reprehensible, probably, but not wrong.
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