Let’s face it, the Affordable Care Act will begin to really enter main stream in less than two months. October 1st kicks off the open enrollment period and you have to ask yourself, are you ready for it? I continue to ask brokers what they are doing to prepare and for most, the answer remains the same. They are counting on it being repealed or unfunded and think things will be the same as they are today. These brokers couldn’t be more wrong. We will have the opportunity to assist people as they try to navigate the unchartered waters of individual health insurance. It isn’t going to be as easy as “Travelocity” as some have suggested. It isn’t going to be as easy as choosing a bronze, silver, gold or platinum plans either. The difference in each of these plans and the carriers behind them will confuse and befuddle most of the general public. And we all know that when people are confused, they don’t purchase. The broker needs to educate, inform, and sign up as many people as they can. This will require a tremendous amount of logistics and now is the time to put those logistics in motion. My fear with many brokers is that they will be trying to figure out the logistics after the majority of business has been processed. For instance, very few brokers have completed the online training required by CMS for certification. Even less have developed a plan of action for tackling the enormity of the marketplace and are thinking of business as usual. OCI is working with our key partners in assisting them in looking for new solutions. Our Mobile Marketplace is getting ready to begin its journey across the state and we are assisting agents in setting up store fronts. These endeavors take time and resources but will pay off very handsomely for those who take the risk. How well do they pay off you ask? Well, let’s take a look at an example. Let’s say a broker were to sign up 10 people per day and works 22 days for just one month. By my calculations, that broker would earn approximately $100,000 for their efforts over the next year. If they decided to work two months, obviously $200,000 and so on and so forth but think what would happen is they were to work real hard during the open enrollment period which is six months. They would be able to live comfortably for a while I think. So with that kind of opportunity, why aren’t more brokers changing their efforts? OCI is looking for partners to share the upcoming opportunity with. Are you some one that could get excited about that kind of destiny? Let me know, we are here to help.

I also wanted to update the Ireland trip and the leaders with BCBS production. On the individual side, the top three remain:

#1 Jertson

#2 Wojtkiewicz

#3 Shada

It is still anyone’s trip to win. With open enrollment coming up starting October 1st, we could see a big swing in the rankings.

On the small group side, the numbers are extremely tight. In fact, our leaders are exactly tied for first and third is real close. It is anyone’s to win. The leaders are:

#1 (Tie) Nancy Koenig

#1 (Tie) Collins Benefit Solutions

#3 Insurevest