Insurance brokers and agents shouldn't feel left out ofObamacare.

So said Kevin Counihan, CEO of Healthcare.gov, at a recentgathering in Baton Rouge, La. hosted by the Louisiana Associationof Health Underwriters.

Although he emphasized that new tools on the federal websitehave made it easier for consumers to pick out health plans on theirown, he said they still need help and believes they will continueto turn to brokers, reports the Advocate.

Broker concerns about the Patient Protection and Affordable CareAct are nothing new.

They have voiced concerns about the law reducing their role ingetting consumers health care and bemoaned the decreasedcommissions they're getting from insurers.

In recent months, however, there has been evidence that brokersare feeling more confident about PPACA.

A survey by Aflac in August found thatmore than half of brokers expressed confidence about the future oftheir firms, while a substantial minority––41 percent––saw PPACA asa business opportunity rather than an obstacle.

That was only a year after a similar survey found roughly half of brokers wereconsidering leaving the industry, at least in part dueto concerns about PPACA.

Agents, reports the Advocate, have complained about some largecarriers, including Humana UnitedHealthcare, cutting them out ofthe process entirely.

Counihan was apparently receptive to the concerns, and said hewould look into the issues raised by the 20 agents and brokers inattendance.

But he also told them that insurance companies squeezing theirprofits shouldn't be a surprise. Insurers always seek to pay aslittle as possible for everything, he said, the Advocatereports.

At another event, Counihan said he was happy with how thefederal website was working.

“The website is working very well this year,” he said at agathering in Biloxi, Miss., according to the Biloxi Sun Herald. “It's stable, and it's workingfaster than before, even with 40 percent fewer servers. I think thequestion about stability of the system has been asked andanswered.”