Will Exchanges Be Delayed Too?

[ctg]

FWIW, I have been doing mostly phone sales for 20+ years. I an probably count on one hand, possibly two, the number of folks who would not buy unless I came to see them.

I'm kinda wondering if they may have skewed the interpretation of the data a little and really meant "personal interaction" rather than "face to face" as opposed to straight up on line shopping. I suppose that would have to include speaking on the phone as well.

 

[Ann H]

Although I appreciate RayNY's viewpoint, this is kind of like Turbo Tax vs an Accountant. A lot of people said tax software will put accountants out of business. It never has.

Turbo Tax and other tax software can ask you every relevant question and fill in the blanks. It can even pop up tips based on your answers to questions. It can steer you to resources. You can google for more answers to your questions. The tax software can be used for simple tax returns and also for very complicated tax returns. Lots of people use it, especially for simple to mildly complicated tax returns. A lot of them are wrong, but a lot of the wrong ones never get audited anyway. The tax returns are not wrong because the software is wrong, nor because the software didn't ask the right questions. The returns are wrong because people misinterpreted the tax law, or tried to take deductions that were not really allowable in their case, or made simple mistakes.

Accountants have seen no reduction in their case load following the release of easy-to-use tax software. In fact they do a lot of audit work for wrong returns. And even without audits, when a client comes to the accountant and shows their past tax returns, accountants file a lot of amended returns, because the client missed a lot of allowable deductions that could have saved them a lot of money.

And, of course, higher end clients use accountants anyway. So do people who are capable of preparing their own return with tax software, but prefer to use an expert instead.

Complex financial decisions like tax returns, subsidy eligibility, HSA's, and insurance coverage are not like buying an airline ticket on travelocity and expedia.

 

[TXINSURANCE]

I can't give a source or validate accuracy, apparently some third party survey they did when developing their product line, but at our big Blues pow-wow yesterday, they said 68% of people prefer to deal face to face when picking a health plan.

And 4 out of 5 dentists surveyed recommend Trident...

No way.

And what percentage prefer to buy airline tickets face to face as well? Try closer to 0%.

 

[RayNY]

I prefer brunettes, doesn't mean I won't accept a blonde if she's easier, cheaper, faster, more convenient, or more attractive.

Researchers choose their terms VERY CAREFULLY, if ANYTHING is different, it no longer is valid.
-IMO, those results are a measurement of preference of Blues customers in the region. It does not extrapolate out to other regions, carriers, or the nation as a whole. It does not represent current or future preference, merely a snapshot of the time the study was performed. It is not valid in the new marketplaces. It's merely a preference if everything else is held constant.

Ann, I completely agree with you. I was hoping someone would point out the difference between "completing" a task and "completing it properly". While the exchanges could dial out errors and have a very reliable system in a few years, it will never be able to think or reason like a trained and experienced human can.

Somarco, I'm glad you enjoy my standup. I'm also sure you're like me and visit an ATM instead of a teller, use e-mail instead of a postman, and use a copier instead of having a secretary hand write copies. We may accept these as simple, mindless tasks that computers are better suited for, but computers are better than ever. Anything that can be broken down into a flow chart, however complex, can be written into code.

 

[Quotebroker]

Many of the service tasks could be completed by a machine. But an ATM doesn't draw customers to the bank. Much of the job isn't just service, but sales as well. Sure, once folks are on the website, you could create a user experience that could diminish the role of the broker. But how do you get them to the website and interested in a plan in the first place?

 

[Yagents]

If you feel a machine can replace you, do us a favor and move on now.

 

[RayNY]

I have a hard time responding without sounding like a smarta**, so sorry =(

Yagents, I moved on already. Like I said, if your function can be put into a flow-chart, anyone or anything can do your job.

Quotebroker, you're correct. Keep in mind, tens of millions of dollars of advertising exchanges, laws requiring healthcare, and financial penalties for noncompliance are more than enough to draw customers. All the service has to do is function. eHealthInsurance is a proof of concept.

You will inevitably say "but they use brokers", to which I say "what do you think navigators will be doing?"

 

[timsip]

Tim,

No offense, but that's an issue resolved with a very simple "overview" of what makes that plan unique. Existing bad design does not mean that future iterations will not be vastly improved.

I realize that was a quick example off the top of your head, but it's one with a very simple solution. Almost all of the issues we bring up about why an exchange isn't going to "get the best plan for someone" can be resolved with simple programming or data presentation.

Every question you ask can be asked on a computer. Once they figure out what to ask, they'll be set. With data from millions of people, and all their complaints tracked and coded, the refinement system that is possible blows us out of the water. Every permutation of screw-up will happen, and they'll have the data to tell them how to fix it.

If this works, 3-5 years out, it has the potential to be more effective than your standard issue broker. Unless you're the cream of the crop, I'd bet a computer can do your job.

Down the road, sure you might be right. There are still travel agents though, so I am hesitant to believe the exchange will put us all out of business. Aside, on exchange is only a percentage of the market.

I will say that if you don't capitalize in 2014 and 2015, you will have a hard time. The only ones that can put us out of business is the carriers unless Congress moves to Medicare for all or some such program. Heck, even then, we still have supplemental.

I also don't believe that the public will support losing the personal touch of having an agent. Maybe I am delusional or too optimistic.

 

[AllenChicago]

It's looking more and more like the reason Web Brokers like E-health, Quotit, Norvax, etc., are being cut out of the exchanges is because the State-Run or Federal-Run exchanges are falling so far behind schedule that panic is starting to set in.

HHS/CMS/IRS are still puking out rules even at this late hour of ACA implementation. EACH rule requires THOUSANDS of software code changes across entire systems in every state. You have the President vowing that the exchanges will be ready and you have HHS-Sebelius making surprise visits to "motivate" the Exchange personnel. And this administration supposedly despises TORTURE?



Saturday - July 20, 2013
"But Lauer and others think the delay on allowing participation by Web marketplaces may be a canary-in-the-coalmine indication of overall problems with the exchanges being ready for business by October.

Jane Cooper, president and CEO of Milwaukee-based Patient Care, which advises employees on employer health plans, said she believes the hesitancy or delay in doing so on the part of those exchanges results from "a combination of incompetence and amateurs working on it, and the pressure of everything else going on."

Cohen, the Liazon executive, said, "I think this is an indicator, a leading indicator, of the exchanges lack of readiness to do the things they actually need to do."

"Their ambiguity on Web-based entities is probably an indication that they don't have their act together, so to speak, and they're probably thinking they've got bigger issues than this, and that's kind of scary, no?" Cohen said."

Source: Health care exchanges threatened by delay

ac

 

[somarco]

Too bad DC didn't look at the calendar. It's almost as if they were surprised how massive this monster is and how difficult it will be to implement.

And speaking of the data hub . . .

Would you trust thousands of low-level Federal bureaucrats and contractors with one-touch access to your private financial and medical information? Under Obamacare you won’t have any choice.

Move over NSA, here comes the Obamacare Big Brother database | Rare