AHCP Blog (30)

Insurance across state lines – is this really a good idea?

Published: January 26, 2017

In reviewing the various ACA replacement proposals, there’s one suggestion that keeps popping up again and again: allowing carriers to sell health insurance across state lines. President-elect Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and HHS Secretary Nominee Tom Price all support this idea, as do Ted Cruz, Orrin Hatch, and other prominent Republicans who have also introduced their own health care bills.

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Did EpiPen just make your job more difficult?

Published: January 18, 2017

You’ve probably seen the news recently about EpiPen’s very public “shaming” over what many consumers believe to be unethical price increases on its life-saving epinephrine injections. People with severe allergies, including a lot of children, rely on EpiPens when they have an allergic reaction. Schools across the country stock the pens just in case something happens, and worried parents make sure they have a couple on hand at all times.

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3 Predictions for 2017

Published: January 9, 2017

As we begin 2017, we thought we’d share our top three predictions for the New Year. Perhaps more than ever before, brokers who are able to see where the market is going will be able to position themselves for success. In contrast, those who are slow to respond could miss out on a big opportunity.

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Unhappy Clients? Show Them This.

Published: January 3, 2017

If you’re like most agents, you’re probably hearing a lot of complaints from your individual health insurance clients these days. There is, after all, plenty to complain about: higher premiums, higher out-of-pockets, reduced formularies, smaller provider networks, and fewer carriers offering plans. Once covered, a lot of people end up paying for most of their care themselves since a majority of services are subject to the calendar-year deductible, leading some to question why they have health insurance at all.

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A Look at the New “Simple Choice” Plans

Published: December 20, 2016

After warning for months that consumers will have fewer choices when shopping for individual coverage this fall, in this article we’ll discuss some new options that may be available for the 2017 open enrollment period.

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Group Health Agents: How to Get Your Foot in the Door

Published: December 15, 2016

With the exception of very small companies, the vast majority of employers offer group health insurance. And the number one reason they offer health insurance and other benefits is to attract and retain quality employees.

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Get Ready for a Lot of New Regulations

Published: December 8, 2016

In some of our blog posts, we’re able to provide you with actionable information that will help you better serve your clients, and in others we try to give you some ideas that will help you sell more business. This post doesn’t fit into either of those categories. Instead, we just want to put a few things on your radar this Open Enrollment Period. We don’t have a lot of details on most of these items yet, but it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on what’s happening in D.C. during the last few months of President Obama’s second term in office.

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Repeal and Replace, will it really happen?

Published: December 5, 2016

If you’re like most people in the health insurance industry, you’re at least mildly interested in this presidential transition process and the promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Perhaps you’re concerned, or maybe you’re cautiously optimistic, but it’s difficult to be completely neutral. It’s also difficult, though, to form a true opinion since there’s so much uncertainty about what will happen.

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Don’t Take Your Individual Clients for Granted

Published: November 30, 2016

This seems like an obvious statement, doesn’t it? In fact, it’s almost insulting – the idea that you might not be doing whatever’s necessary to earn your clients’ business every single year. We don’t mean it that way. The truth is that most agents reach out to their clients at renewal time each year, but most of the time no changes are necessary. If your customers are happy with their plan, their family situation and health status hasn’t changed significantly, and the renewal offer is reasonable, most people would rather stay put than to shop around and go through the hassle of changing their health insurance.

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A Post-Election Wrap-Up

Published: November 12, 2016

Many of us in the industry are stunned at the results of the presidential election. So, what does this mean for us, and how will this affect how we do business in the future? In this post, we’ll share a few thoughts about what a Trump presidency will mean for the health insurance industry.

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