The consumers who have actually tried to get information about the new public health insurance exchange plans love brokers.
Not only do consumers say brokers have been helpful in providing information about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and "qualified health plans" (QHPs), but brokers are the highest-ranked of all information sources, according to new analysis.
The Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation surveyed consumers about what sources of information they used when researching PPACA health plans on the exchanges. About 84 percent of survey respondents ranked insurance agents and brokers as "very" or "somewhat" helpful, the highest ranked source. Next on the list of most helpful resources were other "forms of assistance involving a person," including navigators, community health workers and the Medicaid agency, at 77 percent.
The lowest-ranked source was call centers, with just 58 percent of respondents saying their time on the phone was very or somewhat helpful.
