Health insurance is becoming increasingly confusing anddifficult for the average American worker to navigate. The newcomplexity makes brokers’ jobs more important than ever, especiallyduring enrollment.

Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), brokers primarilysupported the benefits enrollment process for employees bycoordinating plan documents and occasionally making presentationsat group meetings. Such strategic benefits communications is whathelps employees make informed and confident decisions duringenrollment. Although most or all of the ACA may disappear in thenext few years, it has still changed the enrollment conversation byaccelerating the shift by employers — which are now legallyrequired to provide insurance for their workforces — tohigher-deductible medical plans.

Whether employees know it or not, they rely on brokers to helpprotect them from financial hardship due to the out-of-pocket coststhey must pay in the event of an illness, injury or accident. Thosecosts are higher than ever before, yet most employees don’tunderstand how much of their health care expenses they would bepersonally responsible for if they or a loved one got sick orhurt.