This document discusses partnering with insurance agents and brokers to provide in-person assistance for health insurance enrollment. It describes the roles that agents and brokers can play in helping consumers choose and enroll in health plans. The document also provides examples of successful partnerships between enrollment assistance organizations and agent groups in several states. These partnerships aimed to expand in-person assistance capacity, access hard-to-reach groups, and share resources.

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© 2015 Enroll America and Get Covered America
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06.12.15
Working with Agents and Brokers
to Maximize In-Person Assistance

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Agenda
I. Welcome
Molly Warren (moderator), Senior Policy Analyst, Best
Practices Institute, Enroll America
II. The Role of the
Agent
Marcy Buckner, Vice President of Government Affairs,
National Association of Health Underwriters
III. A Broker’s
Perspective
Lee Nathans, President, Ohio Association of Health
Underwriters
IV. Partnering on
the Ground
Mimi Garcia, Texas State Director, Enroll America
V. Q&A

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In-Person Assistance Crucial to Enrollment
Consumers who
received assistance
were nearly 60%
more likely to enroll
compared to those
who started the
enrollment process
online.

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Lee S. Nathans, RHU, President,
Ohio Association of Health Underwriters
A BROKER’S PERSPECTIVE

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• Common objective is to build partnerships, which
will reduce the number of uninsured.
• “Help people be able to go to the doctor.”
WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER!

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What do brokers do best?
• Assist consumers in choosing the right plan to
meet their specific medical and financial needs.
• Make sure that each enrollment is good—
sometimes it’s not easy with requests for
authorizations, inquiries, etc.
• Make it clear who they can see and what it will
cost.

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• Make it clear how to use their RX benefits
(formularies/copays).
• Help with billing issues and terms.
• Help with claims and explanations of benefits.
What do brokers do best?

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• Worked with many members of assister
community before the ACA.
• Following Kathleen Falk’s (Region V HHS Director)
help, our association worked closely with the
Navigator Grantee the Ohio Association of Food
Banks.
• State-wide work with brokers using appointment
scheduler.
• All interested brokers signed Enroll America’s
Standards of Conduct.
Experience in Columbus, Ohio

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• Financially supported
“Obamacare Jams,” a
successful enrollment
event with brokers and
assistors at Columbus
East High School.
Experience in Columbus, Ohio

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• Benefits to Assisters:
• Allies in getting more uninsured covered.
• Benefits to Brokers:
• Resources to support enrollment, especially
hard to reach populations
• Ex: Vietnamese speakers

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• Commitment to work with EnrollAmerica at the
local chapter level throughout Ohio.
• THE KEY IS ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING
ORGANIZATIONAL AND PERSONAL
RELATIONSHIPS!
Moving Forward

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Lee S. Nathans, RHU
President, Ohio Association of Health
Underwriters
(614) 468-0334
Lee@CallInsurance.com

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PARTNERING ON THE GROUND:
STRATEGIES FOR WORKING WITH
AGENTS AND BROKERS
Mimi Garcia, Texas State Director, Enroll America

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Added Value in Partnering
Additional capacity to
provide in-person
assistance
Access to particular
constituencies
Additional resources or
funding for resources

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• All sold plans from multiple insurers
• All completed HHS training and
certification to sell marketplace
plans
• All agreed to Enroll America’s
assister pledge that outlines
expectations for partners who
provide in-person assistance
• All willing to work hand in hand with
other assister partners
Setting Standards for Partnership

16. When partnering with Enroll America, I pledge to abide by certain principles:
1. To help all consumers seeking assistance apply for the appropriate health
(and, if desired dental) coverage, whether they are eligible for marketplace
coverage, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
2. To be familiar with and equally willing to enroll consumers in all available
marketplace plans, and always keep the consumers’ interests paramount
when facilitating plan selection.
3. To use only the official marketplace and Medicaid/CHIP application and
websites for enrollment purposes.
4. To provide my contact information and continue to be available to help those consumers I
assisted with questions and issues with the coverage they purchased.
5. To limit the assistance I provide to health and dental insurance. I will not advertise or discuss other
products at the event, or solicit event attendees about other products at a later date. (Contacting
consumers about health insurance related issues at a later date is acceptable.)
6. To protect consumers’ privacy and confidentiality and abide by all applicable federal and state
privacy and security requirements.
Failure to abide by these principles will result in the dissolution of the partnership.
Enroll America’s Pledge for Assisters

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Florida: First Coast MultiLine
Agency
• Added crucial in-person
assistance capacity in a
region with only a handful of
other assisters.
• Particularly key to reaching
the African-American faith-
based network in the area.
• Stepped up financially to make
donated space at the Regency
Square Mall a reality.
Examples of Partnerships

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Texas: PennGlobal
• Connected through our
colleagues in Ohio
• Particularly good with
difficult applications –
mixed status, complicated
health needs, etc.
• Able to do home visits and
willing to travel to very
rural areas. Much more
flexibility
Example of Partnerships

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Lessons Learned
Do your homework and establish ground
rules
Start small, the structure of independent
agents can be tough to coordinate, first
start with a group of brokers.
Agents and brokers partners were willing
to work side by side with Navigators and
CACs
Agent and broker partners were well
trained in customer service, and hard
workers!

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Mimi Garcia
Texas State Director
Enroll America
mgarcia@enrollamerica.org
512-202-7758
Thank You

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QUESTIONS?

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New training resources
• Highly customized, Action-oriented
• New suite of training services
• Goal-setting
• Planning
• Coaching
• In-person training
FOR MORE INFO –
training@enrollamerica.org