The Truth Agents/Brokers & FFM Navigators The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

he Truth Agents/Brokers & FFM Navigators The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Shared with permission from B. Ronnell Nolan, HIA, CHRS-President/CEO – HAFA

Financial Media Group, LLC, Centennial, CO, compiles this information annually. There are approximately 1.2 million licensed insurance agents nationally. The 1.2 million does not include the staff of licensed agents employed throughout the United States. After adding the staff, imagine the millions of people that Agents represent, educate and protect on a daily basis!

With the passing of the ACA, Health Agents for America, Inc. was formed to create a tool box for Agents to use in educating the citizens of their local communities. HAFA is known to fight for Agents and the Clients they represent.

As bills are filed and passed across the Nation to regulate Navigators, I felt it was important to share the truth.

In Washington, it was explained to me that Navigators were created because Agents would not go into rural areas and we did not speak different languages. Someone was misinformed! I use the analogy, imagine if Washington created an entity to replace attorneys, because they didn’t represent poor people and their fees were too high. I am not sure that group would have been created?

What You Should Know….

Compensation:

Agent/Broker’s commission is included in your insurance premium. Prior to the ACA, Agent/Broker commissions averaged 5%. Post ACA, Agents have received a 50% decrease in their income.

FFM Navigators are paid with Federal Grant money; therefore they are paid with Tax Dollars. They are absolutely not FREE.

Education:

Agent/Brokers are required to have 24 hours of on-gong continuing education to hold a license, in addition to obtaining the 20 hours of CMS training to sell in the new Marketplace.

FFM Navigators were required to complete the CMS training, with no requirement for on-going training for the ever changing new marketplace.

Background Checks:

Selling an insurance policy requires an Agent/Broker to handle proprietary information, such as social security numbers, income, etc. Agent/Brokers are trained, a background check is conducted and they are fingerprinted. All requirements to protect the consumer.

Fingerprinting or background checks in any form are not required of FFM Navigators. There are some known Navigator programs to use felons for rehabilitation.

Enrolling versus Selling:

Agent/Brokers sell insurance and provide service for the life of the policy.

FFM Navigators enroll.

Reports across the US are surfacing, FFM Navigators are giving advice to employers to drop their employee coverage (PA) and giving bad tax advice, suggesting a person loses their income tax refund for obtaining a subsidy (LA).

Consumer Advocacy:

Agent/Brokers throughout the US are conducting free seminars to explain the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

FFM Navigators in States that received Federal Grants are conducting free seminars to explain the Individual Mandate.

Party Affiliation:

Agent/Brokers throughout the US are registered to vote representing every political party, they live in and work in rural areas, they speak several languages and they vote for elected officials that refuse to promote the Agent/Broker community.

FFM Navigators, I am sure represent different political parties.

There are elected officials, elected by the people that refuse to promote Agent/Brokers along with the Navigator entities. If both are constituents, why not include both groups?

If the goal is truly to help those uninsured, then why not use the “boots on the ground”, the experts, the American Agent and Broker from your local community. I have asked over and over to partner with Navigators and their answer is NO. Note, Navigators working in some State Based Exchanges Marketplaces, work with Agent/Brokers.

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