In its simplest definition, a health insurance broker (also known as an agent) is a person authorized to sell health insurance. However, there are many other services that they provide to you that fall under the umbrella of selling health insurance. Here are some of the most important ones:
- Perhaps the most important fact to know about working with an agent is that it’s free. Insurance agents are paid by insurance companies, not by consumers. So don’t worry about having to pay some service fees to sign up for a plan with an agent, because it won’t cost you anything more than if you were to do it yourself.
- Health insurance is confusing, and an agent will explain it to you until it makes sense. Ask all the questions you want, that’s what it’s there for. Do you want to know what your co-insurance will be in a particular plan? Do you want to know what co-insurance means? ask away!
- The agent can help you compare plans you’re interested in. When you tell the agent what you’re looking for, he or she will narrow down your possibilities and explain the benefits of each. They can check to see if your preferred doctors and medical facilities are in-network, and they can just see if any prescriptions you’re taking are covered (and for how much).
- Your agent is your agent as long as you have your policy. This means that you have someone to call when you have questions or even when you want to shop for a new plan. You have someone in your corner, rather than just putting them down and choosing a plan yourself.
Because I’m sure you don’t want to be here reading all day, these are just a few of the biggest benefits of using a licensed agent to buy health insurance. This doesn’t even include the amount of time and frustration an agent can save you (we’ll save that for another article!).
To make it more convenient for you, many brokers have the ability to access existing on and off-exchange plans (government-run marketplaces for health insurance). This gives you more options. Additionally, for agents who have access to exchange plans, they can also determine your eligibility for subsidies that can reduce your premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. Again, saving you another headache.
The next time you need to enroll in or change a health plan, consider a licensed agent—it won’t cost you anything, but it will definitely save you a lot.