Question: Given your recent Q&A regarding no web based interface for Covered CA for the initial open enrollment, what impact will this have on agent online quoting and enrollment services like Quotit, Norvax or HealthConnect? Agents need to know what restrictions this places on those services beginning in October. The service I use refuses to discuss or provide any information as to whether or not they can even provide quoting much less online public access and app/enrollment options.

Answer: They’ll still be in business. Covered California will provide their rates to online quoting services such as those you mentioned, so the those vendors will be able to provide online quoting services to brokers for both exchange and off-exchange plans. However, Covered California will not supply an interface, so their services will lack the functionality to connect to Covered California’s online application or subsidy eligibility process. The way I see it at this point, the consumer who arrives at your website can be interactively engaged with online quoting, but then they will have to be guided or linked to the Exchange website to be logged in with your certified agent ID (perhaps automatically) and complete the tax credit eligibility process there. It is my understanding, that plan selection and enrollment can either take place at the exchange site or a carrier’s site, but we’ll have to see how that works. Stay tuned. For those consumers who obviously not subsidy eligible, you should be able to quote and link to carrier online apps just as you do now.