Connecticut's public, web-based supermarket for health insurance is trying to turn residents from low-income communities in the state into insurance brokers.
Managers of the Access Health CT Affordable Care Act public exchange have started a Broker Academy for residents of areas in the states that have a relatively low average income and high rates of uninsurance.
The academy will help students get licensed as health insurance brokers. It will offer students free training, three-month apprenticeships with experienced brokers, and professional development opportunities.
Academy organizers say they hope the health broker school will reduce the number of uninsured people in Connecticut, by increasing the odds that uninsured people will connect with brokers in their own communities.
Why a Health Broker School?
Connecticut has a higher level of wealth and income than most other U.S. states.
But Access Health CT found, when it analyzed the market, that residents of lower-income Connecticut communities are less likely to be healthy and more likely to have trouble getting health care.
