Neil Crosby would most likely be a police officer today if it weren’t for his mom. Almost 30 years ago, Crosby was working as a supervisor in San Diego and started pondering a switch to law enforcement a move that his mom didn’t like. She eventually talked Crosby into taking up insurance, a business in which his father made a living. Turns out, he had a knack for it. “And I’ve been here ever since,” said Crosby, who still lives in San Diego and splits his time in Westlake Village as director of sales for Warner Pacific Insurance Services. Crosby, 52, was also recently elected president of the California Association of Health Underwriters, a 2,600-member organization of brokers and health insurance insiders. (Crosby’s co-worker at Warner Pacific, Donald M. Jones, was named vice president.) Now Crosby is helping lead the charge to squash a state-run universal health insurance plan. He calls for keeping the current mix of private and public insurance systems and educating the 7 million uninsured Californians about their options; his group has created pamphlets and an 800 number to help people have their questions answered. “Public health insurance is there for them, if they knew where to go for it,” he said. “It is a shame that there’s children out there that are eligible that could be enrolled today.” Question: What does the California Association of Health Underwriters do? Answer: The group is very involved in trying to provide information and answers to California’s consumers. I was very involved in the (San Mateo-based policy think-tank) Foundation for Health Coverage Education and one of the things we created there was a couple of tools to help Californians find insurance options for themselves and to provide information. This organization has worked really hard to help individuals find what works for them for their healthcare, whether it be a public program that is already pre-funded by the state of California or whether it be private insurance that’s offered by insurance companies. Whatever the right solution or a combination. It’s amazing how many low-cost plans are out there. People can pick up low-cost coverage for as little as $50 a month. Q: What are some of the big issues facing the organization? A: Education. Educating consumers that they do have options out there. That there are public programs out there that would help fund and provide insurance for most of the population of California. The latest numbers were 6.7 million uninsured in California. Almost 3 million of those qualify for a government program today. If they were to know about it, they would be covered today. Q: Then how do these people find out about it? A: That’s the issue. That’s our biggest challenge. Getting the word out that nearly half of the uninsured in California do have options. Another 2 million make enough money to where they could afford one of the lower cost options. Maybe they don’t know about it. That’s where the California Association of Health Underwriters comes in, because there’s a live human being that could help. The other is our (members), people involved in the health industry who can direct people to the public programs and help find private solutions. Q: State Sen. Sheila Kuehl has introduced universal healthcare legislation that would require residents with private insurance to make a yearly payment to the state, which would then administer benefits to residents. Does this make sense? A: (It) would basically take all of the health insurance concepts, dollars, plans, everything available and create a single-payer system. Which in essence means the state of California would become the single payer. It would create a budget-oriented entity that would allocate dollars for all California consumers. While it does provide coverage for everyone in theory, anytime anything is subject to a budget, there’s always going to be rationing of one thing or another. There’s no choice. It’s a budget; it only covers so much. The state is already in a budget crisis. Where is the money going to come from? One way or another, money coming into the budget has to be increased through taxes or money has to rationed to what’s going out the other end, which is paying for the healthcare. Q: The bill was approved by an Assembly committee last summer but has stalled. What could happen if the legislation goes through? A: We are concerned that this type of a program could harm the system that is already in place. It’s working for 85 to 90 percent of the population, but there’s 10 to 15 percent that it’s not. But for those people there’s a plan already in place. Hospital administrators are also concerned because their reimbursements from Medicaid and Medicare treatment are shrinking. If the entire system were to go under a single-payer system, the reimbursements will go even lower. Q: Then, what do you hope insurance will look like in 10 or 25 years? A: I hope there will be more options for the consumer. I hope that there’s more low-cost plans available and that we would be able to provide consumers with the coverage they would want to buy. We’d like to see more cost-affordable options available, both public and private and the state of California and the federal government do a more proactive job of letting people know that these types of plans are available. Q: What’s the status of the health insurance profession? A: The average age of a health insurance agent in California is closer to 50. We’d like to see that back down to 40. (There are) projects to get younger people into this industry. Q: Why aren’t there as many younger people? A: It’s not something you typically see at career day at college. Had my father not been involved in the business, I probably wouldn’t have thought to join myself. Q: Does it seem like the industry is more confusing today than it was when you started? A: No. We’ve come along a way in creating simpler designs for people. The plans are more consumer-friendly today than they ever were before. Q: Do health savings accounts fit into that? A: They do. Health savings accounts are a great alternative to traditional plans. It’s not just people with a lot of money. The concept of paying basically about half the cost of a traditional plan, then putting the rest in a savings account and allowing that accumulate tax-free is a great alternative. Q: How is the health insurance industry overall today? A: I think it’s doing very well. The way we look at it is that we are helping Californians finance their care. That’s really what we do. The insurance policy is paperwork. We’re helping consumers access financing for their healthcare. Q: Are you glad you went into the business? A: I’m happy I made the decision. Law enforcement is a great industry. But this was the right choice for me. I’ve been able to help a lot of people. Neil Crosby Title: President-elect, California Association of Health Underwriters Born: January 13, 1954 College: San Diego City College, although he did not earn a degree Most Admired Person: President Bush Career Turning Point: Getting involved with the Underwriters Association about 10 years ago Personal: Married, five children