Many brokers described "very negative experiences" with association health plans and nearly all of them said they weren't fans of fixed indemnity plans.
Many insurance brokers are telling customers to avoid short-term health insurance plans that the Trump administration has sought to expand in recent years.
The Urban Institute, a nonpartisan but liberal-leaning research group, reached out to brokers in seven states to get their perspectives on the health insurance market.
"Despite federal rules designed to expand their sale, short-term plans have been slow to get off the ground, according to brokers in our study states, and few of the brokers with whom we spoke had positive opinions of short-term plans," stated the report.
Brokers said they were similarly reluctant to sell other types of products that are often marketed as more affordable alternatives to Obamacare plans. Many described "very negative experiences" with association health plans and nearly all of them said they weren't fans of "fixed indemnity plans," which offer a fixed dollar amount worth of health services.
"The brokers we interviewed almost universally criticized these products, citing their caps on benefits and skimpy coverage," said the report.
Brokers' views on the general health insurance market were more positive. In the seven states included in the study, all of them have at least as many plans in operation as in 2018 and five of them have more.
Average benchmark premiums are also leveling off after years of sharp increases. However, brokers report that some customers are actually paying higher premiums as a result of the benchmark premium decreasing. That's because the decrease in the benchmark premium also led to a decrease in subsidies for income-qualified customers.
Some brokers said they were happy with a Trump administration rule that allows self-employed people to buy into small-group health plans and that they have directed clients to that option.
In contrast, few brokers found much use for Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements, which the Trump administration has promoted as a way for more employers to offer health coverage to workers. So far, said brokers, there is no evidence that employers are taking advantage of that option.
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