Insurance agents help others

I agree with your March 23 article that said signing up and finding the right Medicare plan is a challenge. But the SHIBA volunteers are not licensed and are not required to spend the hours that insurance agents and brokers must in order to become certified to advise clients and sell health insurance.

It is frustrating that the Washington insurance commissioner and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid hold us to such strict requirements, and yet these volunteers are allowed to do our job. They are also not required to have errors and omissions insurance. Insurance agents do not charge individuals to review their options. In my office, we spend hours searching for additional co-pay and prescription assistance through programs for low-income clients. We help our clients with filling out their Medicaid paperwork.

There is a misunderstanding that if they purchase insurance through an insurance agent that they are going to have to pay a higher rate. This simply is not true. It bothers me that only one side of the story is told. There are hundreds of insurance agents who spend countless hours helping people. It’s not about the money we earn, it’s about helping others.

Julie Shepard-Hall

Spokane