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.

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.

For the past few months, we’ve commented several times that we’re not sure what’s going to happen with the individual market this fall while continuing to point out that it could be a mess. If you’ve kept up with the news over the past several weeks, now you see why. A number of major carriers have announced that they won’t participate in the federal or state marketplaces in 2017, and those that remain are making a number of premium and plan design adjustments that our clients won’t be too happy with. That’s why it’s probably time for a “sit down” with your individual clients, particularly the ones receiving a premium tax credit. You need to set expectations for them as we head into the ACA’s fourth annual open enrollment period.

In an effort to make the Marketplace attractive for both consumers and insurance companies, Healthcare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan stated in a January 19 press release that CMS is eliminating “several unnecessary special enrollment periods” while clarifying the definitions of other SEPs. He also vowed that CMS will provide “stronger enforcement so that special enrollment periods serve the purpose for which they are intended and do not provide unintended loopholes.”

As you know, the first two enrollment deadlines for 2016 coverage have come and gone. During these last couple of weeks of the annual open enrollment period, people can sign up for coverage to begin on March 1st. We know you’re busy trying to sign up as many people as possible in the last few days, so we’ll keep this short, but we did want to share a couple items with you that may help you better advise your clients and bring in a few more sales.