This year, Access Health CT, Connecticut’s health insurance marketplace, launched the Broker Academy, an innovative new program that creates a pathway for members of historically underserved and underinsured communities to become licensed health insurance brokers. The Broker Academy provides free training for selected students to become licensed brokers and covers the costs of their licensing exam. The first cohort is currently underway, and students are on track to complete the program in advance of this year’s open enrollment.
The program aims to help reduce coverage disparities and rates of uninsurance by embedding a network of trusted health coverage experts in Connecticut’s traditionally hardest-to-reach communities.
NASHP spoke with James Michel, Chief Executive Officer, and Tammy Hendricks, Director of Health Equity and Outreach, at Access Health CT to learn more about the creation of the program and their goals for addressing health disparities by building a diversified broker community.
What led Access Health CT to propose and develop the Broker Academy Program?
A core mission of Access Health CT is to improve the health of Connecticut’s residents through reduced rates of uninsurance and increased access to and utilization of health services. Recent research conducted on behalf of the marketplace found that while insured rates in the state are high, significant disparities in coverage rates exist across socio-economic, racial, and ethnic groups. This research found that the lack of access to timely information about coverage options is a key contributor to these disparities.
Reflecting on the findings of this report, the team at Access Health CT looked closely at Connecticut’s existing insurance broker community and found that very few brokers operate in areas of the state with the highest rates of uninsurance, and even fewer identified as people of color. Access Health opted to help bridge the gap between underinsured communities and insurance brokers by recruiting and training a new generation of brokers directly from these communities.
Why focus specifically on brokers as opposed to other outreach strategies?
Only licensed brokers are permitted by law in Connecticut to give advice on selecting a health insurance plan. One of the biggest drivers of health disparities in Connecticut is the lack of access to timely, trusted information about health coverage and care. Bolstering broker resources in these communities is the best way to provide the information and support they need to select and use their coverage.
In addition to supporting meaningful coverage assistance, this program trains individuals for lucrative employment opportunities. In Hartford, Connecticut the average annual income for a health and life insurance broker is $74,356.
How is the program funded? What is the cost per student?
Access Health CT is funding the program with community grant support. We estimate the program cost per student will be approximately $1,875, which includes the cost of the licensing course from our vendor Kaplan, a laptop, renting space in the training location, and the licensing exam.
How were participants in the first cohort selected?
This training program is based on state requirements for broker licensure, so the recruitment process includes clear expectations that applicants commit to completing the educational program. Further, applicants needed to document a history of community service, provide recommendation letters, and submit a personal essay that addressed why they want to become a broker and how they would use this role to help their community. The application process was intentionally designed to ensure dedicated, mission-driven candidates participate in the program.
Community organizations partnered with Access Health CT to recruit and promote candidates. Broker candidates ties to community-based organizations will be critical to their success as trusted advisors and is important to ensure community buy-in for the program and its mission.
What steps has Access Health CT taken to operationalize the program?
Access Health CT created six internal teams responsible for discrete components of the program: the Recruiting Team, Application Review Team, Pre-Training team, Kaplan Training Team, Mentorship and Certification Team, and Payment Team. Breaking the program into specific areas and dividing Access Health CT staff responsibilities accordingly provides clarity for staff and helps create a timeline for completion.
The pre-training period and Access Health CTs internal team responsible for engaging accepted students between their application and training kick-off has been critical to the program’s success. This team hosted weekly meetings to keep participants informed and set expectations for the program ahead of classes. Since broker certification can be an intimidating and involved process, Access Health CT really wanted every student to feel prepared to take on this challenge. The state is proud that 71 students of 100 approved applicants (out of a total of 170 received) completed the three-day broker training.
Upon completion of the course, the Access Health CT training team works with students to schedule and prepare for the state exam. Then the mentorship team connects the newly certified brokers with an established, knowledgeable mentor broker. Mentor brokers are paired with two-to-three new brokers from the program to help advise and prepare them for their first individual market open enrollment season. Access Health CT provides mentors with a list of topics to address with the new brokers to ensure a standard of quality for the work ahead.
How has Connecticut’s broker community responded to this program? Has there been any concern about increased competition or oversaturation in the market?
Since the communities targeted for this program have extremely low broker participation, to date, existing brokers have not expressed concern with the program.
How has the reception been across other exchange partners?
Since launching the program, Access Health CT has been overwhelmed with support from their own staff and stakeholders. In particular, the carriers participating in the Connecticut insurance market have been incredibly enthusiastic about the marketplace’s engagement in the work. Carriers have historically found it challenging to recruit diverse brokers and welcome this effort to bring in a more diverse community.
Governor Ned Lamont is supportive of the program and issued a joint press release to announce the program’s launch.
What advice would you give other states interested in developing a similar program?
The goal of the program is to ensure there are trusted advisors in the hardest-to-reach communities where traditional marketing and outreach activities do not work. Access Health CT has found through research and experience that investing in and educating community members is the best way to be successful. The marketplace relied upon community level feedback to the design and execution of the program, and believes its success is dependent on having foundational buy-in and trust for it.
What are the future expectations for the Broker Academy?
Access Health CT is seeking sustainable funding to continue and expand the program. Ideally, there will be an opportunity to continue to support alumni of the initial cohort with supplemental training and gain their support for future classes of new students. In the first year, the state targeted recruitment of new broker candidates from three communities with the highest uninsured rates. However, looking ahead the state intends to expand the program to focus on additional communities in the future.
