ACA for the Uninitiated

[mrcurious]

greetings all - I'm new here and doing research for a project so forgive some of the naiveté in the questions below:

a) as agents / brokers - what is the most repetitive, annoying, time wasting task that you belabor daily while helping explain pricing, options, etc. to new clients?

b) of the tools (HealthSherpa, Norvax, etc.) is there some common thing that they all suck at ... or could be better at? or better yet, glaring thing they are not doing that you'd like them to be able to do?

the reason for my questions is that I'm trying figure out... in the community of independent insurance agents, as to what technology would be worth paying for - the $25 per app seems expensive (for HealthSherpa) and what got my attention was that if my team (a combo of biz process, intel and technologists) could build something something that helped you engage or retain more clients (after the quoting process) that would be a huge win

but maybe not... maybe there is something else you'd all prefer to have - like a branded (your brand) website that has HealthSherpa type functionality?

please offer up any answers and if you can, please let me know what State you are offering them for so I can look at the relevant data and back end database pain

 

[RayNY]

I just want one feature that the exchange promised (and even has a button for!) but still hasn't gotten it working over a year later.

Unified provider search.

You're supposed to be able to enter a doctor/facility, and get a list of carriers with that provider in-network. It's never worked (at least here), and no quoting software I've tried does it.

With these smaller networks, finding a plan with YOUR doctor is more important than ever. Searching half a dozen carriers, all with different searches, result pages, quirks, and tricks, can be a nightmare (especially when you have a high-use client with 20+ doctors and a half dozen facilities). I then track it all separately (an excel sheet) and see which network makes the most sense.

If I could type a list of doctors/facilities in, compare all the carriers, and get a report (checks and X's in a grid, or whatever) of which carriers had which providers, I'd get my clients into the plan that meets their needs much faster.

 

[mrcurious]

ok, thanks for this
I think I did see that feature on HealthSherpa which my independent agent steered me into - basically it would say "Anthem" or "Harvard Pilgrim"
but there was also a physician / clinic search feature that then pulled them up
is the functionality in HealthSherpa no good?

 

[RayNY]

The provider on Health Sherpa is just a link to the carrier's website's provider search, just like the state exchange has.

I want something that would compare doctors in every carrier's network, so you can know at a glance which carrier would cover the client's PCP without having to visit each carrier and figure out their search while tracking it all separately. It's honestly the most time I spend on most sales.