Health Agents Swamped During Open Enrollment, HAFA Says – InsuranceNewsNet

InsuranceNewsNet — Your Industry. One Source.™

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home Now reading Top Stories
Topics
    • Life Insurance News
    • Annuity News
    • Health/Employee Benefits
    • Property and Casualty
    • Advisor News
    • Washington Wire
    • Regulation News
    • Sponsored Articles
    • Monthly Focus
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Free Newsletters
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Free Newsletters
  • Insider Pro
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Newsletters

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Health/Employee Benefits News
Top Stories RSS Get our newsletter
Order Prints
December 22, 2020 Top Stories No comments
Share
Share
Tweet
Email

Health Agents Swamped During Open Enrollment, HAFA Says

By Susan Rupe
Obamacare is strengthened in the new stimulus bill.

Health insurance agents saw a flood of people wanting to sign up for coverage in the 2021 open enrollment period for the Obamacare marketplaces – so many people needing coverage, in fact, that some agents reported they simply ran out of time to help everyone.

That was the word from Ronnell Nolan, president and CEO of Health Agents for America, whose members are independent health insurance agents.

Open enrollment for 2021 ran from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15, and preliminary figures released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services showed more than 8.2 million people selected health plans on the federal exchanges during that time -  slightly lower than the 8.3 million who did so for 2020. Of these, about 1.83 million were new consumers and about 6.4 million were renewing their coverage from last year. 12 states that run their own exchanges, as well as the District of Columbia, extended the enrollment deadline into January.

Related stories

  • State: all insurers failed to comply with Oregon Reproductive Health Equity Act
  • Will plan fix California health care?

Overall enrollment through healthcare.gov increased by about 6.6% for the 2021 open enrollment period relative to the 2020 open enrollment period, Health Affairs reported. Other analysis suggests that the increase may be even greater once Medicaid expansion is accounted for. This is the first and only year when HealthCare.gov enrollment has increased under the Trump administration, reversing a trend where enrollment declined each year beginning in 2016.

Nearly 50,000 agents and brokers were registered with the exchanges to help consumers during the 2021 open enrollment period.

Nolan said her member agents reported they were busier than usual enrolling people in coverage, and for some, the clock ran out. Adding to the volume of enrollees, she said, was confusion caused by CMS sending many enrollees conflicting information about their enrollment status.

“So not only were our agents trying to enroll all these people, but then CMS was sending out communications to them saying they hadn’t selected a plan or paid their premium when they already had done so,” she said. “So agents were telling us many of their clients were calling them back and requesting more help getting that straightened out.”

Nolan said HAFA believes CMS should have provided a longer enrollment period in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. “There were people who lost their employer-based coverage or had their hours and income cut and qualified for a subsidy. I’m sure Medicaid picked up some people but most of them end up turning to the marketplace for coverage.”

“Enrolling in health insurance isn’t something that only takes a few seconds,” she said. “People spend time with their agent, going over the plans that cover their doctor or cover their prescriptions. It takes time to find the plan that best covers your needs.”

Nolan said some agents who ran out of time were forced to send consumers to the healthcare.gov site to enroll. “I had one member tell me she enrolled 5,000 people during open enrollment and another who said she and her staff were working seven days a week and they still couldn’t get to everyone who needed their help.”

CMS reported this is the third consecutive year of improving market conditions, including lower premiums and more plan options. Three years of declining average benchmark plan premiums have combined to deliver an 8% average premium reduction across states with exchanges using healthcare.gov since the 2018 coverage year. Many consumers who went to healthcare.gov found more options, given that issuer participation increased for the third year in a row.

Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @INNsusan.

© Entire contents copyright 2020 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.

Older

How Social Determinants Of Health Will Help Insurance Brokers In 2021 And Beyond

Newer

Life Insurers Can Withstand Even Extreme COVID-19 Second Wave, Moody’s Says

Advisor News

  • Fed slows rate hikes even as Powell says there's more work to do
  • Mortgage rates in U.S. fall again, hit 6.09%
  • 1 in 3 Americans struggling financially but goal-setting is a game-changer
  • Advisors bet on US stocks to outperform in 2023 amid tech rebound
  • Investors want more ESG information from companies
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • Study: Does pessimism really suppress annuity sales?
  • Sweet streams of income: ChatGPT, the bard of annuities
  • F&G Annuities & Life announces equity investment in life IMO SYNCIS
  • Investors scrambling to lock in rates propel annuity sales to record highs
  • North American and Annexus launch new fixed index annuity
Sponsor
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits News

  • State: all insurers failed to comply with Oregon Reproductive Health Equity Act
  • Will plan fix California health care?
  • Insurance giant Elevance to move into 15th state
  • Medicare card scam targets seniors for personal info
  • Yes, states are re-checking Medicaid and CHIP eligibility starting in April
More Health/Employee Benefits News

Life Insurance News

  • Chris Wilson tells court former friend Murdaugh confessed he was ‘stealing money’
  • State's motive testimony could prolong Alex Murdaugh murder trial
  • Equitable expands portfolio in VUL market
  • New date set for billionaire suspect accused of bribing state cabinet member
  • House approves bill protecting life insurance payouts from bankruptcy
More Life Insurance News

- Presented By -

Top Read Stories

  • Chicago news roundup: PPP fraud uncovered in Chicago, informant reveals $100K bounty on FBG Duck and more
  • Gov. Carney: Enrollment on Delaware's Health Insurance Marketplace for 2023 Reaches All-Time High
  • 25 people charged in fake nursing diploma operation
  • Missouri Department of Insurance: Over $24 Million Returned To Missouri Insurance Consumers In 2022
  • Connecticut addressing broker shortage amid The Great Unwinding
More Top Read Stories >

FEATURED OFFERS

Meet Encova Life
We know agents matter. You can count on our life team to be high tech, high touch and responsive.

How to Write For InsuranceNewsNet

Find out how you can submit content for publishing on our website.
View Guidelines

Topics

  • Life Insurance News
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Sponsored Articles
  • Monthly Focus

Top Sections

  • Life Insurance News
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits News
  • Property and Casualty News
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • Insurance Webinars

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Magazine
  • Write for INN
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter
© 2023 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your Insider Pro Account

Not registered? Become an Insider Pro.