Small businesses have “really no interest whatsoever” in Small Business Health Options Program

The small business exchange portion of this year’s open enrollment period is not giving brokers much traction with clients.

Insurance News

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Independent insurance agents and brokers played a vital role in last year’s health insurance open enrollment season, signing up a vast majority of Americans who purchased individual plans through the online marketplaces.

This year, the addition of the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP)—which was shelved by the Obama Administration in the eleventh hour of the 2014 open enrollment period—was hoped to boost participation by the country’s small businesses. As a growing and increasingly important demographic to group benefits advisors, SHOP also held promise to agents.

Reality, however, has proven slightly underwhelming. While technical flaws in SHOP have been few, interest in the exchange is low among American small business owners.

“There is really no interest among my clients whatsoever,” says Thomas Harte, a broker with Landmark Benefits in Hampstead, N.H. “When they’re looking at SHOP opportunities versus our own private market, there’s really no differential in offerings or price and most clients don’t qualify for tax credits because they’re above the income thresholds.”

Harte noted that he does not work with particularly wealthy companies, though New England in general boasts higher income levels than other areas of the country.

Another issue may be the lack of options on SHOP. Just two carriers offer plans through the small business exchange, up from one last year when just 18 employers enrolled in exchange plans.

The story is not so different in other parts of the country. Just 200,000 people visited the SHOP portion of HealthCare.gov during the first week of the 2015 open enrollment period, compared to the 1.5 million Americans who checked out plans on the individual health exchanges.

Many brokers who are using SHOP have also been stymied by technical problems, according to a Washington Post report. Several have not been able to access their accounts and some do not show up as a qualified insurance professional able to assist small businesses with their purchases.

For his part, Harte does not expect this apathy on the part of small businesses to change.

"Maybe if the income thresholds were lowered," he said.
 

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