HUPAC TrainingState and Local Chairs

What is HUPAC?• The Health Underwriters Political Action Committee (HUPAC) is NAHU’s nonpartisan political action committee• The purpose of the PAC is to solicit funds from NAHU members for disbursal to campaign committees who are accessible and willing to consider NAHU’s views• Created by NAHU in 1995

Overview of Responsibilities

• Recruiting new contributors to HUPAC• Liaison between national and regional HUPAC trustees and your chapter

The Basics• The FEC (Federal Elections Commission) dictates many of the

functions of HUPAC and as HUPAC chair you need to be aware of a few key items:– HUPAC contributions can only come from NAHU members, their families,

and NAHU Staff• This also means HUPAC can only solicit from NAHU members

– Individuals can only contribute $5,000 a year to a PAC

– Contributions to HUPAC’s Candidate Account can only come from individuals, not companies

– Checks made out to HUPAC MUST be cashed within 15 days of their date, which means checks should be mailed out to Stakeholder as soon as they are received

HUPAC’s AccountsHUPAC has 2 different Accounts

1. Candidate Account2. Administrative Fund

Who Contributes To The Accounts?

Who Contributes?1) Candidate Account

- Individual’s contributions through personal credit cards or bank accounts

- Funds from this account are given to political candidates, both challengers and incumbents, democrats and republicans

Who Contributes?2) Administrative Fund

• Businesses can contribute up to $5,000 a year to this account

• State and local chapters can also contribute to this account

• Money in this account goes to the operating costs of HUPAC so that the candidate fund can be reserved solely for political contributions

HUPAC LevelsHUPAC has four contribution levels:

– Supporter: $10 per month or $150 annually– 365 Club: $30 per month ($1 per day) or $365

annually– Congressional Club: $42 per month or $500 annually– Capitol Club: highest level of HUPAC contributions

• Gold- $1,000/year or $85/month• Diamond- $2,000/year or $170/month• Double Diamond- $3,000/year or $250/month• Triple Diamond- $5,000/year or $410.00/month

HUPAC LevelsHUPAC levels are determined by lump sums or

monthly draft levels. For example, to reach Capitol Club status…

• Your Year-to-date contributions are equal to $1,000 (you’ve written one check to HUPAC for $1,000)-OR-

• You are signed up for a monthly withdrawal of $85

Monthly Drafts• HUPAC does one monthly draft from Credit Cards and Checking accounts• This occurs on the 23rd of every month

– If a contribution form is received within that week or just after, no withdrawal will occur until the following cycle

Who ReceivesHUPAC Money?

• Only select political candidates, incumbents, and challengers receive HUPAC contributions

• Often members in leadership positions or on committees of jurisdiction– House: Ways and Means, Rules Committee, Energy and

Commerce, Small Business, Education and Workforce, Budget, and Appropriations

– Senate: Finance, HELP, Aging, Appropriations, Budget, Small Business

Who ReceivesHUPAC Money?

• Only select political candidates, incumbents, and challengers receive HUPAC contributions

• NAHU Staff create a budget, which is voted on by the HUPAC Board of Trustees.– This helps us make timely contributions to known supporters without

having to go back to the BOT each time.

Who ReceivesHUPAC Money?

• Challengers without a voting record fill out a questionnaire, the HUPAC Board of Trustees then votes to approve the candidate

• Members already serving in Congress not on a committee of jurisdiction can receive HUPAC contributions if the HUPAC Board of Trustees approves them

In-District Drops• HUPAC often does in-district events that allow NAHU members to attend events

hosted by their Congressman

• When in-district events come up NAHU staff contacts state leadership to see if members are interested in attending– Usually a small group of members from that state attend the event and

provide feedback to NAHU staff• If members plan on attending the meeting, HUPAC mails out a check to the

campaign for the event

• What if I hear about an event and want to attend?– If you become aware of event in-district for an approved member of

Congress, contact NAHU with the details of the event and if feasible HUPAC make a contribution to the Congressman for the event.

The HUPAC Strategy HUPAC Plan 2013 – 2014

HUPAC Continues to Grow

“March to a Million Campaign Phase I” a targeted sales program with a dedicated sales person,

“March to a Million Campaign Phase II”, which was all about reaching out to all members by an e-mail campaign. The quest was very successful and put us at a million dollars for the election cycle of 2011 to 2012 moving the PAC to number 6 amongst all healthcare PACs.

The 2013-2014 Election Cycle Goals

Increase our monthly contributions by 50% and sustain a million dollar a year track that would make us a two million dollar PAC and place us as the number one healthcare PAC.

What Resources Are Available To Me As HUPAC Chair?

All these goals sound great, but what can I do as a HUPAC Chair to reach them?

HUPAC Monthly Reports• Contribution reports for the overall year, broken

down by region, state, and chapter• Report is emailed out to regional chairs monthly• Provides name, email, phone, monthly

contribution amounts, YTD contribution amounts, date of last contribution

• Allows you to identify who in your chapter is giving, if they’ve fallen behind in giving, etc.

** Beginning this year you will be able to access these records through the HUPAC Chair Portal**

HUPAC In A BoxHUPAC Chairs will be able to look with their local, state and HUPAC Chapter information

1. Easy to use2. Works on all mobile platforms3. Accepts all major credit cards4. One time and monthly signup

The HUPAC App

Other Resources• HUPAC Contribution Form

– Always have plenty of copies to hand out at meetings• HUPAC Tri-Fold PDF

– Information about HUPAC, it’s goals, and contribution levels

– Good to hand out to someone who doesn’t know much about HUPAC

• HUPAC “Back the PAC” Banner– Great way to draw attention to HUPAC at regional, state,

and chapter meetings

HUPAC Communications• State of the HUnion

– For all HUPAC Contributors– Sent out quarterly– General information on HUPAC, regional contribution levels, HUPAC

activities• HUPolitics

– For Capitol Club members only– Sent out quarterly to Capitol Club contributors– Detailed newsletter covering top political issues related to the health

care industry, as well as election/campaign outlooks

Regional and Local Meetings

• Ask your local or state President for 5-10 minutes at each chapter meeting to talk about HUPAC

• Come armed with numbers that matter:– How many Democrats and Republicans have we given to

this year– How much money your chapter is giving– Where does your state rank among the rest of the country– How much per member does your chapter give

Regional and Local Meetings:

What to Say• What are the benefits of contributing?

– Government has a huge impact on our profession, our business, and our clients. If we don’t have a seat at the table, our industry is at risk!

– Contributions to HUPAC allow us to combine our resources and strength to ensure our voice is heard!

Reaching Our Goals• If every member of NAHU gave just $5/month HUPAC

would be A Million Dollar PAC!• For members who claim “I can’t afford enough to

make a difference,” encourage them to sign up for just $5/month- remember $5/month from everyone gets us to $1 million!

• Challenge members already donating to raise their contribution 1 level

Be Prepared…• “I can’t afford a large enough contribution to

make a difference.”– Remember: if every member gave $5/month, we’d

be a million dollar PAC, EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS• “How much good is $5 really going to do?”

– Honestly, not that much, but $5-10 from 20,000 members could do a lot of good for millions of Americans!

Be Prepared…• “Why should I pay money to some politician in Washington?”

– Every year, legislative mandates and regulations threaten the health insurance industry. Without a strong presence in Washington to inform legislators about the impact of their decisions, our careers are jeopardized. HUPAC affords us the presence!

• “But I’m not affiliated with either party.”– Neither is HUPAC! We are a nonpartisan group that supports any

legislative candidate illustrating support for our industry. Committing to HUPAC is committing to your future, not a political party.

HUAPC Builds Important Relationships On Both Sides of the Aisle

• Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX-32)– HUPAC has helped foster a relationship with Rep. Pete

Sessions– Because of NAHU’s presence at PAC events, Rep.

Sessions has grown to understand and become a strong supporter of agent and broker issues

– In the last Congress, Rep. Sessions help us made personal phone calls to other Representatives urging them to sign onto the MLR bill. He was also willing to talk to House leadership about advancing the bill.

HUPAC Builds Important RelationshipsOn Both Sides of the Aisle

• Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ-1)– Rep. Andrews has severed in Congress since 1990. In

those years, because of HUPAC, Rep. Andrews has become an advocate for agents and brokers on Capitol Hill

– He understands markets and was an important early democratic supporter of the MLR bill.

– NAHU staff has built a relationship with Rep. Andrews and his staff in Washington. HUPAC has allowed for NAHU members who are Rep. Andrews constituents to attend in-district meetings.

HUPAC NAHU Staff• Jessica Waltman

Senior Vice President of Government Affairs

• John GreeneVice President of Congressional Affairs

• Chris Hartmann Vice President of Congressional Affairs

• Laura EldonManager of Political Affairs

• Charlotte DenekasGovernment Affairs Coordinator

HUPAC NATIONAL BOT• Chair – Paul Smith• Vice-Chair – Michael Stephens• Region 1 Chair – Vacant• Region 2 Chair – Alan Schulman (MD)• Region 3 Chair – Cathy Cooper (MI)• Region 4 Chair – Eric Kohlsdorf (IA)• Region 5 Chair – Eugene Starks (MS)• Region 6 Chair – Kelly Fristoe (TX)• Region 7 Chair – Ray Magnuson (AZ)• Region 8 Chair – Terry Allard (AK)• Member At-Large – Susan Rash (immediate past Chair)• Member At – Large- Connie Puett• NAHU Board Liaison – Don Goldmann

HUPACP.O. Box 20865

Indianapolis, IN 46220-0865

Fax: 317.253.9285Phone: 202.595.3678

www.HUPAC.orghupac@nahu.org

Thank You!Paul Smith

HUPAC BoT Chair (860) 276-9181

paul@paulesmithinsurance.com

Michael StephensHUPAC BoT Vice-Chair

(918) 960-9785 MICHAELSTEPHENS@COX.NET

Laura EldonManager of Political Affairs

(202) 595- 3684leldon@nahu.org

Charlotte DenekasGovernment Affairs Coordinator

(202) 595- 3675 cdenekas@nahu.org