Believe it or not, I have a life outside of health care reform: I spend time with my family and friends, walk the dog, get to the gym on a regular basis. But for me, just like many of you, a lot of my waking time is spent reading, researching, learning and analyzing how this big law is going to affect health plans. (Incidentally, this is why my bed-time reading list is now filled with such compelling works as Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Relating to Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review Processes under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act).

And we’re not just thinking about health plans and compliance. We’re wondering how the future is going to look for brokers now that health care reform is settling in. We’ve probably been harboring some fears that the landscape would change so much that clients wouldn’t need brokers anymore, along with healthy doses of optimism that clients will continue to recognize the value that brokers bring to the table in making benefits decisions.

Well, clients aren’t the only ones who are recognizing that value. Last week, National Underwriter reported on how certain members of the House of Representatives are championing the role of brokers in a reformed health care system. The Representatives are asking that the government’s consumer health coverage Web portal be expanded to include options for consumers to contact certified, state-licensed independent health insurance agents and brokers for assistance when comparing coverage options. Their request to the Department of Health and Human Services highlights PPACA’s intent to keep brokers involved in the process of buying coverage, and focuses on the benefits brokers can provide in counseling individuals and business about their coverage options.

In addition, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has established a task force that will explore how agents can continue to have a significant role in purchasing coverage, even in 2014 and beyond. A number of state insurance commissioners are working together to ensure that the broker role will be maintained even in the face of major health care reform changes, such as the health insurance exchanges and new rules related to medical loss ratios.

There is no question that the world of health care is going to change under the reform law. And brokers will have to change and adapt along with it. You’ll have to continue to find ways to bring value to your clients. Check out Dave O’Brien’s blog entry for more thoughts on that. If you’re doing things right, your clients have known of your value all along – it’s why they do business with you. Thanks to these new initiatives, now we know that they’re not the only ones who recognize it.