WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 16, 2015 – The Association of Web-Based Health Insurance Brokers (AWHIB) today announced membership additions and enrollment data showing the impact its members have on reducing the country’s uninsured rate under the Affordable Care Act.
Following AWHIB’s official launch in November 2014, My1HR, ACAExpress, Gravie, UBenefit and HealthMarkets have joined the association and its efforts to educate policy makers, government technical staff and the general public about the important role web brokers play in helping millions of Americans evaluate and select health insurance policies that best meet their needs and economic situations.
During the 2015 Open Enrollment and Special Enrollment Periods, AWHIB members collectively extended the reach of the Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM), as evidenced by the following statistics:
- AWHIB members facilitated more than 866,700 individual enrollments, facilitating one of every eight (12.6 percent) active enrollments in all states using the FFM platform. This represents nearly a 200 percent year-over-year increase in active enrollments among reporting AWHIB members.
- AWHIB members enrolled more than 30,000 individuals during the tax penalty special enrollment period, representing 20 percent of the 147,000 FFM enrollments during this period
- Average call center wait time was 1 minute, 29 seconds, compared to the FFM’s 8 minutes, 17 seconds.
Web broker technology is used by tens of thousands of independent health insurance agents nationwide, and AWHIB member companies have partnerships with the world’s largest health insurance brokers, tax preparation firms and health insurance technology firms, including Jackson Hewitt, TaxAct, Mercer, Buck (Xerox), Lockton, Bankrate, NFP, SummaCare Inc., HealthSpan Inc., HealthSpan Integrated Care Inc., H&R Block, Walgreens, Working America, CUNA Mutual Group, Benaissance, Direct Health and Assurex Global.
“AWHIB’s performance during the last open enrollment period is a testament to the technical and operational expertise of our members and our industry,” said Shane Cruz, president of AWHIB and chief technology officer at GoHealth. “With the 2016 open enrollment period approaching, we expect to see our industry continue to grow and contribute to reducing the uninsured rate as more people utilize the enrollment capabilities and services of web brokers.”
About AWHIB
The Association of Web-Based Health Insurance Brokers was formed in November of 2014 by prominent web brokers, including GetInsured, GoHealth and Towers Watson to advocate for key technical changes to enable the private sector to better facilitate the efficient enrollment of Americans in state and federal health insurance exchange marketplaces. The Association collaborates with insurers, regulators, lawmakers and other industry groups to develop technologies and policies that will ensure Americans have the best access to health insurance products and services through the state and federal health insurance exchange marketplaces.
