The Patient Protection and Affordable Care act is creatingenormous opportunities for brokers to sell supplemental plans, notonly to help cover increasing deductibles in employer-based andexchange-based plans, but also as a cheaper alternative toboth.

The opportunities to sell supplemental health plans to coverout-of-pocket expenses when illness or accidents occur are comingfrom a variety of fronts, experts say. As more employers facemandates to provide major medical insurance to their employees,most will likely opt for plans with high deductibles to mitigatethe additional costs—increasing the need for supplementalplans.

Some employers will transition full-time employees to part-timeto avoid providing major medical insurance, and those employeeswill need supplemental plans because the exchange-based plans allcarry high deductibles. Finally, there are opportunities forbrokers to sell supplemental plans to people who choose not to buyexchange-based plans and self-insure instead. Supplemental planswill cover those people in worst-case scenarios.