I read your Movers & Shakers piece in the July 2011 EBA (“
While broker sign up was easy, most people did so out of fear of not being included — not out of enthusiasm for this tool. It also has a flaw in that the broker search engine doesn't take into account geographic barriers. For example, searching for a broker in southern Maryland will produce results that may be geographically close but fail to account for the Chesapeake Bay, and returns results including brokers on the Eastern Shore. I guess those brokers are fueling up their boats!
I've often found that the state and folks like Benefitfocus are quick to take advantage of the media attention they can engender with bells and whistles but never really address the flaws. VIRTUAL COMPARE falls short when it comes to actually being a useful tool and I hope the folks who are developing Maryland's Exchange will be more receptive to the voices of experience when it comes time to build the engines expected to run the new system.
A little more objective journalism is required when it comes to development of potential Exchange tools.
Jon S. Frank, FACHE of Prince Frederick, Md.