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December 01, 2016 at 11:40 AM
Fewer companies are helping HealthCare.gov managers pipe access to the system’s services out to insurance agents, insurance brokers, employers and the public.
The number of organizations registered to service as HealthCare.gov “web broker entities” fell to 47 on Nov. 14.
That was down from 57 web broker entity relationships on Sept. 15.
Related: HealthCare.gov Web broker list shrinks again
The HealthCare.gov reported its peak web broker entity relationship count, 82, in March.
Drafters of the Affordable Care Act created a health insurance public exchange system or web-based sales system, to try to give consumers easy access to health plans and health plan subsidies. ACA drafters also hoped to lower the overall cost of commercial health coverage, by using the exchange system and exchange subsidies to increase the number of young, healthy people with health coverage, and to cut the average ratio of claims to plan revenue.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services set up HealthCare.gov to serve as an exchange enrollment and account administration system for people in states that are unwilling or unable to handle those jobs.
Some web broker entities use their connections to HealthCare.gov mainly to sell coverage directly to employers or individuals. Others share their pipes with agents and brokers. The entities best known for sharing their pipes with producers, such as San Francisco-based HealthSherpa and Irving, Texas-based ACA Express Inc., are still listed as web broker entities.
