On the Third Hand: Exchange jobs, part 4

Yesterday, I continued trying to give the best answers I could come up with for the agents, brokers and others who are asking me for advice about how to become a Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) exchange navigator, an exchange-certified producer, or some other person who helps individuals or employers make their way through PPACA World.

Here’s a fourth (and, for now, last) batch of answers. 

If I went to work as some kind of exchange helper, how would I find people who need coverage, would be reasonably easy to enroll, and would be willing and able to pay whatever their out-of-pocket share of the cost would be?

Answering that question might help determine whether it makes sense for you to get involved with the exchanges or not.

If, naturally, you hardly ever run into the poor uninsured people who would qualify for generous subsidies, or the high-income uninsured people who would be happy to pay the fairly high unsubsidized cost of the coverage, you may find that taking the trouble to get certified as an exchange broker would be, at best, a frill.

But, if you think hard and ask questions, you might find that there are uninsured, or very poorly insured, people all around you.

Many free-lancers and consultants, for example, have no health insurance or terrible health insurance.

If you’re in New York, a state that already offers coverage on a guaranteed-issue basis, you might find that most of the people with health problems who can afford unsubsidized coverage already have coverage. But, even there, some people with incomes that are “high” by national standards, but low by New York standards, will discover that they at least have an easier time buying relatively stingy bronze coverage.