Agents may be responsible for success of state’s health insurance exchange

insurance agents

Insurance exchange reaches enrollment goals with the help of agents

insurance agentsCalifornia officials have been boasting about the state’s insurance exchange achieving its enrollment goals, but insurance agents, rather than the exchange itself, may be the reason behind the high rate of enrollments. Covered California has been working to market its insurance services to consumers throughout the state for several months. The exchange encountered modest technical difficulties that had made the enrollment process problematic for many people, but these issues were overcome fairly quickly. Despite other problems, the exchange was able to meet its enrollment goals in a relatively short amount of time.

Agents have been working hard to get people involved in health insurance exchange

The reason the exchange was able to meet its enrollment goals may actually be due to the actions of insurance agents. Insurers have a vested interest in the exchange as it represents a new platform through which they are selling insurance products to consumers. Agents are typically used to sell products in a specific manner, not having to operate through a state-based exchange system. Some insurers have leveraged agents as a tool to promote the products they have made available through Covered California, however.

40% of all enrollments were made with the aid of an insurance agent

Some 525,000 people throughout the state were enrolled into Covered California with the aid of an insurance agent. This represents approximately 40% of the exchange’s total enrollments. Much of the credit regarding enrollment success is being attributed to the insurance exchange itself as well as state officials, but insurance agents may be due the majority of credit for ensuring that people actually enroll into the state’s exchange.

Role of agents in the insurance market continues to be a concerning issue in light of health care reform

There have been concerns regarding the role that insurance agents will play in the changing health care systems of the U.S. The Affordable Care Act has made many sweeping changes to the insurance industry and how the market is regulated, and this has caused some confusion concerning how necessary agents are and how they are compensated for their work. Federal officials have been quick to note that insurance agents remain an important part of the overall market and this belief is also held by many of the country’s largest insurance companies.

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