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Interesting read in the Dallas Morning News about some health insurance brokers in Texas adding fees - one quoted now charges a flat $200 fee for help enrolling someone in a plan.
From the (lengthy) article:
...only eight percent of people sought the help of navigators last year, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey conducted between Feb. and Mar. 2016. The most frequently used source of assistance were health insurance brokers and agents, the report found. About 34 percent of people who switched plans last year used one, the poll found...
...This month Aetna said it would not offer commission for 2017 individual plans in 14 states, including Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Likewise, in September, Scott & White Health Plan said no commission will be given for marketplace plans sold during special enrollment periods, and that commission for marketplace plans sold during open enrollment will drop to one percent for a PPO and two percent for an HMO.
Cigna said there would no commissions for ACA-compliant individual and family plans sold in Texas whether for new sales, plan renewals or those purchased during special enrollment, like if someone gets married or loses a job after the regular open enrollment period has ended.
When Oscar decided in August to withdraw most of its plans from the Dallas-Fort Worth market, the company said it would continue to pay broker commissions only through the end of 2016. Insurers defend the commission cuts, noting their losses.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, which offered no commission for plans that began in 2016, has reintroduced the payment. It created a three-tiered commission model for new sales of ACA policies, with commissions ranging from five percent to 1.5 percent depending on the product...
...Brokers say fallout from the law is leaving them in a tough position. More frequently they are asking customers for “a flat fee paid in advance,” said Carolyn Goodwin. She’s a broker in DFW and a former director of legislative affairs for the Texas Association of Health Underwriters...
Before the health law, broker commissions could reach into the 20 percent range, but they have steadily decreased. One percent on a policy might equate to $30 a year for a broker who spent a full day helping a client. Their services include evaluating copays, drug formularies and provider lists on new plans, then creating detailed comparisons for each client and following up during the year if a client has a claim issue...
“A lot of research goes into really helping customers understand the plans, and we’re doing everything we can,” he said. “Good agents do a lot more work than most people realize. But those of us that stick around are probably going to be fee only.”
Latest blow for Obamacare: Health insurance brokers add fees | Health Care | Dallas News
From the (lengthy) article:
...only eight percent of people sought the help of navigators last year, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey conducted between Feb. and Mar. 2016. The most frequently used source of assistance were health insurance brokers and agents, the report found. About 34 percent of people who switched plans last year used one, the poll found...
...This month Aetna said it would not offer commission for 2017 individual plans in 14 states, including Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Likewise, in September, Scott & White Health Plan said no commission will be given for marketplace plans sold during special enrollment periods, and that commission for marketplace plans sold during open enrollment will drop to one percent for a PPO and two percent for an HMO.
Cigna said there would no commissions for ACA-compliant individual and family plans sold in Texas whether for new sales, plan renewals or those purchased during special enrollment, like if someone gets married or loses a job after the regular open enrollment period has ended.
When Oscar decided in August to withdraw most of its plans from the Dallas-Fort Worth market, the company said it would continue to pay broker commissions only through the end of 2016. Insurers defend the commission cuts, noting their losses.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, which offered no commission for plans that began in 2016, has reintroduced the payment. It created a three-tiered commission model for new sales of ACA policies, with commissions ranging from five percent to 1.5 percent depending on the product...
...Brokers say fallout from the law is leaving them in a tough position. More frequently they are asking customers for “a flat fee paid in advance,” said Carolyn Goodwin. She’s a broker in DFW and a former director of legislative affairs for the Texas Association of Health Underwriters...
Before the health law, broker commissions could reach into the 20 percent range, but they have steadily decreased. One percent on a policy might equate to $30 a year for a broker who spent a full day helping a client. Their services include evaluating copays, drug formularies and provider lists on new plans, then creating detailed comparisons for each client and following up during the year if a client has a claim issue...
“A lot of research goes into really helping customers understand the plans, and we’re doing everything we can,” he said. “Good agents do a lot more work than most people realize. But those of us that stick around are probably going to be fee only.”
Latest blow for Obamacare: Health insurance brokers add fees | Health Care | Dallas News
