The future of the ACA is cloudy with a chance for the status quo to remain.
But why does this matter to you?
Elections have consequences, and the 2024 President-elect expressions of consistent opposition to the ACA signals potential reductions in administrative support, including enrollment resources and program marketing.
Recent Supreme Court rulings, however, make any sweeping changes to the ACA through executive actions or agency rulemaking likely to face legal and procedural hurdles, potentially delaying or cancelling implementation.
One of the most significant ACA provisions at risk is the subsidy expansion for higher-income individuals, set to expire at the end of 2025.
Millions could lose affordable coverage without direct congressional action.
Gaps like this in the ACA market can come with any or all of these things happening, giving agents unique opportunities to address these possible issues for clients.
Though uncertainty in business is never a good thing, you can make this uncertainty an advantage for you today by diversifying your product portfolio in 2025 with these product options:
1. Short-term health plans can be an option with UHOne and Pivot Health being possible options for contracting if premiums rise or subsidies are cut. These plans provide temporary coverage for clients in transition or those unable to afford an ACA plan.
2. Hospital Indemnity plans are a great option with the uncertainty around Medicaid expansion and ACA subsidies since they provide financial protection against high out-of-pocket costs for hospitalization. Aflac, Washington National, and UHOne offer competitive options.
3. Critical illness and accident plans complement existing health coverage by offering lump-sum payments covering expenses related to severe illnesses or accidents. They’re particularly appealing for individuals concerned about high deductibles.
4. Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) plans fulfill the ACA’s minimum coverage requirements, providing affordable options to individuals or employers who may face reduced Medicaid or ACA benefits.
5. Life insurance and annuities are even better long term and stable options not impacted by politics offering financial security and peace of mind. Ameritas and National General are a couple of great options to contract with Agility on today.
6. Supplemental dental and vision plans are another option to consider as affordability is an issue from strong carriers like Aflac, Cigna Supplemental and Ameritas that can be sold year-round no matter what direction the political winds blow.
7. Medicare Supplements, Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans are impacted by political winds, but these winds look to be favorably blowing in these products’ direction for the next 4 years at least. There are still opportunities for these plans in 2025 for people aging into Medicare, people with both Medicare and Medicaid and other people on Medicare with Special Election Periods to use (SEPs).
8. And you keep your ACA arrows ready to go since you can still use them until you cannot, right?
Finally, for the people that matter most, your clients, we have the following:
• Educate Your Clients: Proactively explain how potential changes to subsidies and Medicaid can impact their coverage and premiums. Use webinars or personalized consultations to inform clients.
• Highlight Affordability Options: Showcase plans providing value and filling coverage gaps, especially for middle-income individuals who may lose subsidies.
• Strengthen Employer Partnerships: With Medicaid changes potentially affecting low-income workers, collaborate with employers to offer supplemental coverage for their workforce, including MEC and hospital indemnity plans.
• Leverage Technology: Utilize platforms like Agility’s agent portal to streamline enrollment, access up-to-date plan information and support clients with fast, efficient service.
By diversifying your product lines and communicating to your clients regularly on what is happening, you make uncertainty an opportunity for success.
This is what we do here at Agility everyday – helping business owners like yourself maximize your revenue potential through product diversification and strong administrative business support.
Contracts with all the options mentioned above are available through Agility right now.
As Agility stays informed about all of these aspects impacting your business, we want to bring this KFF Health News article discussing all the details about this in-depth to you here.
Agility will closely monitor all of this on the ACA and report everything we hear back to you as quickly as possible.
Please contact Agility now if you have any questions on this at 1-(866) 590-9771 or email [email protected] to assist you. We’re here to help!
