Health insurers are bullish on sign-ups for the upcoming open enrollment starting Nov. 15 and are adding personnel to handle the anticipated rush.
During Obamacare's first open enrollment period, Geisinger Health Plan was inundated with queries as consumers struggled to figure out what health insurance meant for them, with phone volumes six times higher than usual. “Looking ahead, we would expect a high volume again,” said Joseph Haddock, the health plan's chief sales officer.
Geisinger signed up more than 25,000 people in exchange plans last year. Haddock expects to add up to half of that amount this year. That has prompted the not-for-profit plan to bump up staffing in its sales call center by 20%. And Geisinger is not alone.
Insurers say additional staffing is essential for educating consumers about their options, because uninsured Americans often know little about health insurance or about how to sign up for coverage. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 90% of those surveyed had no idea the annual enrollment period begins Nov. 15. And Haddock said there still are many consumers in his service area who know nothing about the reform law's premium subsidies.
Insurers are expecting that uninsured individuals who did not buy coverage the first time around may be convinced to get it this time because of bigger tax penalties for remaining uninsured in 2015. Insurers that reach consumers early and often during the upcoming enrollment period ultimately could win bigger chunks of the market, including more young and healthy people to balance the costs of sicker people. But that requires investment.
“We realize that this is a new area for many people who have never had health coverage before,” said Suzanne Ronner, vice president of customer service for EmblemHealth, a New York insurer that covers about 4 million people. “What we realized is people still really need education.”
EmblemHealth is boosting customer-service staffing by 30% to 40% compared with last year. The company brought on a team solely dedicated to processing e-mails and expanded its operating hours, including Sundays. Ronner said the hiring and training of new employees started a month earlier this year.
“Everybody thinks it's just about picking up a phone and being polite and doing the right thing,” Ronner said. “But it's also a very analytical business.”
Eric Schultz, CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, said he expects “substantial” growth in the individual insurance market and also plans to add personnel where needed.
