Agents, brokers abandoning ACA exchanges
In 2018, and brokers and agents accounted for 42 percent of overall enrollment in federal platform exchanges.
Although the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has taken several actions to make it easier for registered brokers and agents to sign up customers on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, their efforts appear to be falling short.
A recent CMS report on enrollment trends found that during the open enrollment period for 2018, just 49,100 brokers and agents participated in ACA exchanges, compared to 65,300 a year earlier–a decrease of 24.8 percent. Despite those declines, broker-assisted enrollment decreased by less than 4 percent, from 3.7 million in 2017 to 3.66 million in 2018, and brokers and agents accounted for 42 percent of overall enrollment in federal platform exchanges.
Related: ACA enrollment declines greatest among non-subsidized plans
The CMS has been working to incorporate feedback from brokers and agents on recommendations to assist the process—which CMS says met with positive response–but those actions have proved insufficient to combat a growing list of challenges to those involved in the exchange. The CMS cites the departure of health insurers from the exchanges, high member premiums and limited commissions for those who work to enroll participants in exchange plans as deterrents that have reduced the ranks of brokers and agents.
Working against CMS’ efforts was also a list of actions taken by the Trump administration to curtail enrollment, including cutting funding for ACA navigators and shortening the enrollment period.
The biggest obstacles, as mentioned in broker and agent feedback, are the cost of coverage for consumers and the lack of commissions; many respondents say they’ve abandoned the exchanges because of reduced commissions–in many cases, CMS notes, brokers receive no compensation for their efforts.
The trend looks likely to continue: according to CMS, despite that positive response on its actions meant to improve the system, only 85 percent of existing participating agents and brokers say they’re likely to participate again in the exchanges for plan year 2019.
Meanwhile, CMS continues to implement brokers’ feedback and is working on 49 recommendations for the 2019 plan year, including significant improvements to the online platform.