We've heard it all before. Survey after survey finds consumersare still blissfully unaware of, or simply confused by, the PatientProtection and Affordable Care Act. This despite the fact that theexchanges have been open for months now and the law's other mainprovisions are now live.

Many are even confused about the name of the law, not realizingPPACA and Obamacare are one and the same.

“It's a challenge, having to skirt the line between what's goingon with the politics of it, what the health plans actually offerand what the facts of the matter are,” says Rudy Garcia of QandunInsurance Agency in California.

Garcia formed his agency in Los Angeles earlier this year tocater to small-business owners and individuals struggling tonavigate PPACA's complex—and changing—landscape. He serves about 40small businesses, most with fewer than 50 employees. Garcia hasbeen an agent since 1995, working with larger firms, public andprivate entities and small businesses. He decided to focus solelyon small businesses and individuals, who have regularly asked abouthealth reform and what it will mean for them.

“There's so much information out there, and misinformation,people aren't really sure whether they like it—is it socialism? Cansomeone get a tax credit? Will there be lower premiums? Is itsomething that could benefit them?” he says. “If you take politicsout of the conversation, it becomes about laying out the facts,helping businesses become compliant and letting people makedecisions about what plans they like or are best for them.

“There are people who believe they can just walk into a doctor'soffice Jan. 1 and have national coverage. That's not how it works.This is about educating consumers.”

No doubt, PPACA is very much a part of the public conversation.Public relations firm WCG found 8.5 billion online references tothe law over the past year on news sites, blogs, forums andTwitter.

It's easy to see where confusion lies—in conversationsmentioning PPACA, more than half of them make no reference tospecific components of the law and were focused on defunding orrepealing efforts.

“It is all about marketing—calling it the Affordable Care Actis, in my opinion, misleading,” says Margareth Flowers, a Marylandpediatrician and a Congressional fellow for the Physicians forNational Health Program. “Studies show most people just don'tunderstand at all the complexities of health insurance, whatnetworks are or what it means to have a high co-pay. It's acomplicated subject.”

“It's easy to believe half of the population has been livingunder a rock and does not know the difference (between ACA andObamacare), but anyone with an ounce of brains should know exactlywhat this all is. There's no excuse,” says Clark Newhall, aphysician and the executive director of Health Justice, a groupthat opposes the health care law.

Once people do understand it, their opinion of it becomes prettyclear, Garcia says.

“Many do not realize, a major milestone is that they can buy amedical plan without questions from the insurer about their medicalhistory, and they cannot be denied,” he says. “Others do notrealize that, if they do not get on a plan by March 31, openenrollment has ended and they may face fines or not be able to geta plan until the following year.

“Some are pleasantly pleased, some unhappy. What's important isthat they understand.”

Garcia, who says he expects the questions about the reforms togrow as we get deeper into 2014, is among a number of brokers whohave tapped into a market of baffled consumers as insuranceexchanges have launched.

But for the most part, people are not aware that going through abroker is even an option, says Dennis Watkins, a health insurancebroker for Select Insurance Group in Viera, Fla.

“I've spoken to so many people who have told me they had no ideathey could sit down with an agent; they were convinced they had togo through the government, that they had to use the website,” saysWatkins, who has been licensed for more than 20 years. “People aregenuinely confused and think they are buying insurance from thegovernment rather than from a government-regulated insurancecarrier.”

Watkins has launched a campaign to educate people in Florida'sBrevard County, speaking at churches, businesses, rotaries, civicorganizations and hospitals. He says that PPACA has changed hisrole in the community.

“I am now partly an educator, and with my clients it's no longerjust their height, weight and do they smoke or not; I must also actas a financial adviser, to find out whether they qualify for asubsidy,” he says. “This is confusing and my job all changes now.It's a whole different formula.”

Watkins worries that PPACA is not only confusing to consumers,but also to a raft of newly certified brokers looking toprofit.

“Because everyone feels the need now to explore the opportunityto buy health insurance, there are so many people jumping into thismarket,” he says. “But if you don't know the ins and outs of theproviders, if you don't know the plans forwards and backward—themaximum out-of-pocket, deductibles—then you can't really give anyvaluable guidance, you will only add to the confusion.”

David Cagliola, senior vice president of Radnor Benefits Groupin Wayne, Pa., agrees that the market is changing.

“You have to well understand what the laws are, and you have toact as a consultant, not just a salesman,” he says.

What many consumers shopping for insurance may not realize isthat they have nothing to lose by hiring an agent, experts say.Insurance brokers get paid commissions through carriers, whichvaries by state, so policy costs are already set to include thisfee. For individual consumers, the policy will cost the samewhether it is bought through a broker or directly from acarrier.

Some states are doing their best to help residents navigate thelaw. The Texas Association of Health Underwriters, for instance,offers a directory of certified agents.

Many carriers also are working on educating their customers.Tufts Health Plan, already familiar with working within an exchangeenvironment since Massachusetts began offering universal coveragein 2006, has been working closely with brokers to prepare for thechange in federal law.

“There's much to learn with ACA, so we've created a health carereform microsite with information; we developed an 'ACA 2014 andbeyond' booklet which we've distributed at our sessions with them;we've provided updates during our regular meetings with them; andalso done email blasts with information and articles on ACA,”spokeswoman Sonya Hagopian says.