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Article in Saturday’s NY Times (link below) about how “the Trump Administration is encouraging the use of insurance agents and brokers” to help people sign up for Obamacare after slashing the budget for navigators. A few snippets from the article:
• The administration said in a recent bulletin that it was “increasing partnerships” with insurance agents and viewed them as “important stakeholders” in the federal marketplace… In its bulletin, the administration said agents and brokers who are registered with the federal marketplace can “get sales leads” and new clients. And it offered them tips for “making the most of your marketplace participation during this open enrollment period...”
• More than 43,000 agents and brokers have received training and been certified to sell health plans through the federal marketplace. Their advocates said they could provide a lifeline for consumers in a confusing and troubled marketplace.
• Michael Lujan, a former president of the California Association of Health Underwriters, called agents “the unsung heroes of health care and the marketplace.” “The Trump administration set out to sabotage the Affordable Care Act by defunding many of the nonprofit navigator groups,” Mr. Lujan said. “Agents can help fill the gap.”
• The administration has reduced funds for the navigator program by 41 percent, to $36.9 million, from $62.9 million last year. Among the states hit the hardest, according to data provided to Congress by the administration, are Georgia, down 61 percent; Michigan, down 72 percent; New Jersey, down 62 percent; and Ohio, down 71 percent.
• In California: Agents enrolled 47 percent of the people who had coverage this year through the state-run insurance marketplace known as Covered California. By contrast, nonprofit navigator groups generated about 3 percent of enrollment, according to the agency that runs the state marketplace.
Trump Administration Guiding Health Shoppers to Agents Paid by Insurers
• The administration said in a recent bulletin that it was “increasing partnerships” with insurance agents and viewed them as “important stakeholders” in the federal marketplace… In its bulletin, the administration said agents and brokers who are registered with the federal marketplace can “get sales leads” and new clients. And it offered them tips for “making the most of your marketplace participation during this open enrollment period...”
• More than 43,000 agents and brokers have received training and been certified to sell health plans through the federal marketplace. Their advocates said they could provide a lifeline for consumers in a confusing and troubled marketplace.
• Michael Lujan, a former president of the California Association of Health Underwriters, called agents “the unsung heroes of health care and the marketplace.” “The Trump administration set out to sabotage the Affordable Care Act by defunding many of the nonprofit navigator groups,” Mr. Lujan said. “Agents can help fill the gap.”
• The administration has reduced funds for the navigator program by 41 percent, to $36.9 million, from $62.9 million last year. Among the states hit the hardest, according to data provided to Congress by the administration, are Georgia, down 61 percent; Michigan, down 72 percent; New Jersey, down 62 percent; and Ohio, down 71 percent.
• In California: Agents enrolled 47 percent of the people who had coverage this year through the state-run insurance marketplace known as Covered California. By contrast, nonprofit navigator groups generated about 3 percent of enrollment, according to the agency that runs the state marketplace.
Trump Administration Guiding Health Shoppers to Agents Paid by Insurers