Using Certified Brokers to get
Consumers Enrolled in Marketplace
Health Insurance Coverage
The National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) is the leading professional association for health insurance
agents, brokers, general agents and consultants. Our members are real people who own real businesses. NAHU
members work every day with individuals, families and employers of all sizes to help them purchase health insurance
coverage and use that coverage in the best possible way. Our association is a dedicated group of more than 100,000
benefit specialists from across the nation who advocates on behalf of American health insurance consumers.
The professional health insurance agent and broker community looks forward to playing a constructive role in a
reformed health system. To make that system more efficient and more responsive to American employers and individual
health consumers, we believe some changes need to be made. Our members build long term relationships with
businesses and individuals to provide them health insurance. Our members have been helping businesses and
individuals get health Insurance for years and they want to continue that tradition.
Health insurance brokers have the experience, knowledge and skills to help people enroll in insurance but have not yet
been given the necessary tools. NAHU proposes four key reforms that will improve critical issues that are preventing
consumers from enrolling in the marketplaces, particularly in states with federally facilitated and partnership exchanges.
1.
Brokers need an immediate clear path to process client’s applications and to be able to help their clients
directly, beyond the website. Given healthcare.gov’s issues, many consumers have given up and want a broker to
handle their application from now on. Brokers are willing to keep trying but they can’t enroll a consumer online
without the client being physically present even if they have clear written permission to act of their behalf. Many
have been doing three way conference calls with the call center or sending in paper applications with mixed success.
But there is a time sensitive component to both of those options as they do not allow for immediate subsidy
determinations. We are calling on the Administration to immediately create a dedicated call-center line for certified
agents and brokers to use with their clients to clear their enrollment back-log and ensure that consumers have
coverage starting as soon as possible.
2.
Brokers need the ability to help consumers who are already registered on the marketplace but have not
yet enrolled in a health insurance policy. According to the enrollment data released to-date, approximately 900,000
subsidy determination applications have been processed (with countless more partially initiated) but the consumers
involved have not yet completed enrollment and picked a health plan. Unfortunately, once a person is already in
process with the federal marketplace, they cannot add a broker to their case midway through the process. Often it
is just at the point of subsidy determination that people find the process of enrolling too difficult to do on their own
and need a trusted source to help them complete their application. Individuals need to be able to add a broker NPN
number to a case at any point during the application process. This will help the consumer get the needed assistance
to complete their enrollment and ensure that brokers are adequately compensated for their role. Further it is a
consumer protection to know each person that has worked on an insurance case, in the event of any errors or issues
with the application.
3.
Certified health insurance agents need dedicated customer service support from the federal health
insurance marketplace beyond the general help line. People often turn to an agent for help when their case turns
tricky. As licensed and trained professionals, agents also often spot problems before consumers operating on their
own would. If brokers had easy access to enhanced customer-service support, they would be better able to help
their clients and help the marketplace and issuers flag and prevent problems from occurring.
Health Insurance agents and brokers are qualified, licensed, and marketplace-certified professionals who are eager to
assist consumers enrolling in both the federal and state-based marketplaces. As consumers continue to struggle to
complete their enrollments, we believe that brokers can both provide a vital role in assisting them now and supply
needed customer service support throughout the policy year.