I normally don’t post twice in one day — partly because I’m very busy helping clients — however, today is an exception. After writing about the soon-coming public awareness campaign about Obamacare this morning, I read an article about WebMD offering advice regarding the new Health Insurance Marketplace. Now, this isn’t big news — I read about this last week However, I was surprised to learn that they didn’t mention that agents were also a valuable resource! I am very much in favor in providing people with great resources — even if it means sending them to a competitor’s site. I am confident that most folks will return to me because they want someone they can trust for advice and service. That’s really what a local insurance agent should do!
So, I think WebMD offers some good advice. See an excerpt of their page on Georgia below:
Your state may have several types of people available to help you with your insurance decisions:
- Call Center: Consumers needing help may call the federal government’s help line at 800-318-2596.
- Web Site: Find information about Georgia’s Marketplace at healthcare.gov.
- Navigators: They will teach you about the Marketplace and guide you through your insurance decision. They are supposed to be fair and impartial helpers and cannot take any money from insurance companies. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will announce by mid-August the organizations that will run the Navigator program.
- Certified Application Counselors (CACs): They work for community-based programs and will help you fill out insurance applications. More information should be available by mid-August.
- Consumer Assistance Programs: These programs will help you understand your rights under the new law. They can help you resolve problems, complaints, and appeals.
That’s good info, but again, they fail to mention that local Health Insurance Agents can also do all the above — and a lot more! Oh well, I really think most people will call an agent for advice rather than trusting a newly trained government employee. What do you think?
Greg Sanders Peachtree Insurance Advisors 678-236-1600
