Every health producer has encountered the same objection dozens of times: health insurance is crazy expensive, unaffordable, and out of reach of millions of Americans who don’t get an ACA subsidy.
Statistics bear that out: despite the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which was supposed to “bend the cost curve to the left” somehow, the fact is that unsubsidized premiums have continued to rise, and are now nearly 100% higher than they were when the law became effective in 2015.
Overregulation doesn’t help. We’ve all encountered healthy, active people who don’t want or need anything except a catastrophic plan, but are forced to pay crazy high premiums for comprehensive care that covers addiction coverage for people who don’t drink or use drugs, for example.
As a result, millions of people are poorly served by the existing health insurance industry. Who’s left out?
Business owners who can’t afford to provide health insurance for their employees.
- Employees of these same business owners – especially middle managers who earn too much to get an ACA subsidy of their own on the individual market.
- Independent contractors and self-employed people without access to an employer plan at all.
As a health producer, you probably have dozens of people in mind already: people who’ve told you they want coverage, but can’t afford it. Or that they want to provide health insurance for their employees, but there’s no way they can stay in business doing that.
People who are moderately successful – but still firmly in the middle class, and who have to watch every dollar. Especially as they get relentlessly squeezed by general inflation.
You’ve also probably had policies lapse because people just can’t afford their premiums. And now they have to wait until Open Enrollment to get another plan, because they don’t qualify for a special enrollment period.
These are people you run into every day, but they fly under the radar of insurance giants like Aflac, Humana, and BCBS’s group agents.
If they can’t afford traditional health insurance, the biggies don’t have time for them.
But that creates a massive opportunity for us little folks. We just need to find a solution they can actually afford.
Compare Pricing on the Best Insurance Plans Available
The Differentiation Challenge
Meanwhile, health insurance producers – both agents and brokers – have another challenge: everybody is stuck selling the same policies and carriers doing business in your state. It’s almost impossible to differentiate yourself from competitors.
There are only so many health insurance carriers doing business in your state, and in your county.
Maybe only a few of them do group plans at all.
Every agent has the same pricing. Every agent and every broker is talking about the same carriers and products. It comes down to personal relationships, of course.
But even great relationships don’t help if your prospect just can’t afford what you’re selling. And that’s the case with millions of households, and hundreds of thousands of small businesses.
The Solution
As health insurance professionals, is there anything we can do to help the millions of people falling through the ACA cracks? And differentiate ourselves from the crowd? Something almost no one else is talking to clients and prospects about?
It turns out there is: health sharing.
If you’re not familiar with health sharing plans, here’s what they are in a nutshell:
They’re non-profit, community based, non-insurance alternatives to the traditional health insurance products everyone else is selling.
They’re essentially voluntary mutual aid associations of health-conscious, like-minded people who share the same values, and who agree to help share the medical expenses of fellow members.
Some of these plans have hundreds of thousands of sharing members, are very established, and have the capacity to share even the most catastrophic of medical bills.
And you can sell them for up to 50% less than the unsubsidized cost of traditional health insurance premiums.
What’s more: most of them actually let your customers choose their own doctor. Unlike HMOs, EPOs, and PPOs, they don’t rely on narrow managed care networks.
They aren’t for everyone. People with pre-existing conditions or who still get a significant subsidy from the ACA, or who get a group plan from an employer may be better off with a traditional health insurance product.
But for everyone else who’s in good health and who’s left out of the Affordable Care Act, health sharing can be a compelling option that can save your clients and prospects thousands of dollars per year.
See for yourself: How Much Can Health Sharing Save Compared to Health Insurance?
Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About
You can get appointed to sell health sharing plans very quickly and easily. You don’t need any fancy new licenses or certifications. You just need to invest some time in learning how these money-saving plans work, and who will best benefit from them.
Then pick up the phone.
Every working producer has a running list of people who need to save money. Open your CRM, and start giving people a call.
The conversation might go like this:
“Hey Mr. Prospect… are you still paying through the nose for that health insurance plan?”
They’ll say “yes.”
“I think I have something that will help you… If I can show you a way to keep catastrophic protection in place, and cut your costs nearly in half, and you can start saving money next month, would you consider it?”
They’ll say “yes,” and you’re off to the races.
“How much would that save you each month? And per year?”
Multiply this by 500 phone calls. Think you’ll get some takers?
Yes, you will.
Or another conversation,
“How much are you paying now in health insurance premiums?”
“That much, huh? Let me ask you a question… Do you have any major pre-existing conditions?”
If they say “no,” you can ask “Would you like to save about $500 a month, starting right away?”
If they say yes, prepare to onboard a new customer.
And earn up to 25% in commissions while you’re at it, with ongoing competition-resistant residual income. It’s going to be very difficult for a competing health insurance agent to get them back unless they qualify for a subsidy, or you fail to nurture and maintain that client relationship.
Then you can still go back and sell disability, LTCi, life, or anything else they need. They’re your customer!
And if you can save them hundreds of dollars a month with a few clicks on a website (they can self-enroll online and you still get credit for it! You don’t need to spend an hour filling out paperwork with every new client!), do you think they’ll be willing to refer you to their friends, family and neighbors?
They do, all the time! Once they’re happy, all you have to do is ask!
Learn More: How Businesses Can Save Money by Offering Health Insurance as an Employee Benefit
Compare Pricing on the Best HealthShare Plans Available
Join Us!
I’m Wiley Long, president and founder of HSA for America.
We’re here to make healthcare more affordable, help people find a plan that lets them choose their own doctor, and help preserve healthcare freedom and liberty for all Americans.
And we’re looking for a few good men and women to help us spread the message… and make a very living with recurring, residual income doing it.
If you’re an experienced producer, but need more affordable options to offer your clients, now is the time to start offering healthshare plans.
Learn more about becoming a Personal Benefits Manager (agent) with HSA for America.
And then contact us and let’s get you signed up.
Together let’s make the world a better, freer place.
Wiley is President of HSA for America. He believes that consumers should have choice and price transparency, so they can make the best healthcare decisions for their needs. Read more about Wiley on his Bio page.
