Another round of free training for health insurance agents and brokers

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Insurance brokers and agents still have time to earn free continuing education units on the Affordable Care Act in October.

The training, offered at sites throughout Missouri, can help agents and brokers become certified to operate in the ACA health insurance marketplace.

“Before a broker can be certified to operate in the health insurance marketplace, they have to take certain required training that the federal government mandates,” said Brenda Procter, associate professor of personal finance for University of Missouri Extension.

ACA marketplace certification has other advantages.

“If a consumer or business goes to healthcare.gov and searches by ZIP code for people who can help them get insurance for themselves or their business, certified agents or brokers will appear from that search,” said Graham McCaulley, associate professor of personal finance for MU Extension.

This training will benefit all insurance agents and brokers, not just those who work with consumers and business to find health insurance plans.

“We know that agents and brokers are looked at as experts, and this is just one more piece that can help them be an expert on a law that has pretty significant implications,” McCaulley said.

MU Extension is working with the Missouri Foundation for Health and the Mission Center to provide this training.

“It’s a little unusual to offer free CEUs and free lunch at a training like this,” Procter said. “We’re very fortunate in Missouri that the Missouri Foundation for Health is underwriting those costs so that we can make this available free of charge.”

“We researched it using official documents and up-to-date sources from the IRS and Health and Human Services,” McCaulley said.

Policy experts have reviewed the curriculum and great care has been taken to keep it politically neutral, he said. The material also has been reviewed by plain-language experts to make it as easy to understand as possible.

The workshops, which will be offered in five locations during the week of Oct. 19, will provide training on “The Basics of the Affordable Care Act,” “How to Help Individual and Family Consumers Navigate the Marketplace,” “Employer Sponsored Health Insurance Under the ACA,” “Assessing and Using the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP)” and “A Guide to Marketplace Certification and Training.”

To find a workshop near you, go to extension.missouri.edu/insure and look under the events section on the right side of the page.

Workshop dates and locations

Monday, Oct. 19, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Homebank of Hannibal, 3817 McMasters Ave., Hannibal.

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
MU Extension in St. Charles County, 260 Brown Road, St. Peters.

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Phelps County Courthouse, 200 N. Main, Room 149, Rolla.

Thursday, Oct. 22, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Granny Shaffer’s Restaurant, 2728 N. Range Line Road, Joplin.

Friday, Oct. 23, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
MU Extension in Howell County, 1376 Bill Virdon Blvd., West Plains.