WA| Washington Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer is urging health insurers not to eliminate broker and agent commissions on certain Medicare products, warning that zero-commission practices can discourage producers from marketing needed plans and may steer consumers toward products insurers prefer financially rather than those that best meet beneficiary needs. She sent letters to Humana and UnitedHealthcare asking them to continue paying commissions on affected Medicare plans, emphasizing that producers spend significant time helping seniors and people with disabilities navigate complex plan choices and have ethical and legal duties to act in beneficiaries’ best interests. While state law does not allow her to ban zero-commission arrangements, Kuderer is publicly calling out the practice as harmful to Washington Medicare consumers and highlighting that free, unbiased help remains available through the Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) program during Medicare Open Enrollment, which runs through December 7, 2025, for coverage effective January 1, 2026.
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