Did you get your Covered California agent survey and how did you respond? It was a pleasant surprise that a survey from Covered California showed up in my email in-box. Does this survey represent a new chapter in communications between agents and the California exchange or will Covered California continue business as usual with the agent community?
Covered California sends out agent survey
While the survey asked many pertinent questions about the agent experience with Covered California, it seemed a tad simplistic in its approach. Any good survey where the answers will actually drive action and change must have fairly specific questions. Some of the results from questions like, How well do you think Covered California understands what you need to be successful? will only confirm what most at Covered California already know- agents weren’t happy with the experience.
Did open enrollment increase your business?
Other questions regarding the agents business seemed driven more by marketing than a genuine interest to improve how agents and brokers represent Covered California. Its irrelevant whether an agents business increased or decreased as a result of participating in Covered California. Most of us would take one smooth enrollment over ten new clients whose applications became hopelessly mired in technical glitches supplied by the enrollment system.
Carriers had problems too
It was remarkable that there were no questions about the agent experience with the carriers. From issues with lost applications at the carrier, nightmares with clients being able to make their first premium payment, lack of commissions and not being appointed, the hassles with the carriers posed an equally large challenge for agents. The health plans are under performance requirements outlined in their contracts with Covered California. Agents and brokers are a barometer of how well the carriers are performing with respect to handling problems if by no other measure than the exorbitant hold times we endured trying to solve client problems when we phoned them.
Agents have no control over provider networks
One question about the health plans that seemed out of place, but was entirely appropriate, was about the provider networks. The tight or light networks of the new PPO and EPO health plans is an area that neither Covered California nor the agents have much control over. However, it was probably one of the better questions that got to the heart of why many of our clients are dissatisfied with the ACA. A more salient question for agents would have been, How much time did you spend researching and explaining the tight networks to clients? A great companion question would have been, How many clients did you have to help switch plans because of the tight networks?
What was your average wait time with Covered California?
The best “laughable” question was how long did you spend on hold? Twenty minutes plus was the highest time selection. I would have been happy with a 20 minute wait during open enrollment. Where was to two plus hours response that most of us experienced? This is where the results of a survey question will mitigate the magnitude of the problem. Waiting on hold for twenty plus minutes doesnt seem too bad to the outsider. But if they were to report wait times in excess of two hours for many agents that would signal the real failure of the system.
Agents and brokers produced big numbers
On an up note, at least Covered California is trying to gauge the experience of the agent community and how they might improve the overall system. Agent training received a relatively small amount fundingcompared to Certified Enrollment Counselors, Certified Enrollment Entities and Outreach and Education grantees. Yet, we produced 39% of the enrollments. With those numbers agents and brokers should have more input into how the enrollment system should be structured to make it more agent friendly. But a Survey Monkey is a start.