How Long Does It Really Take To Enroll In An Insurance Plan?

HolaDoctor, the leading website that offers information about health to Hispanics, did a testing on some of the largest insurance markets in the United States, in order to determine the time it takes to buy health insurance, and found that enrolling a family can take an average of 90 minutes.

The markets that were tested were those of New York and California. Among the key points that were analyzed are: attention in Spanish by advisers, the recommendations given, and the level of care. The testing was conducted by health promoters at HolaDoctor, who know the details of the Affordable Care Act. The calls were made at different times and days.

READ: The Fundamentals Of Health Insurance

Another finding of the team that conducted the testing was the wait time on the phone: between 12 to 50 minutes.

Brianna Keefe-Oates, manager of the Health Promoters Program at HolaDoctor, Inc., reported that not all operators responded in Spanish, even though the service is offered through various media. However, employees who attended the calls in English offered the Spanish translation service through a third party.

Among the points that help expedite the process, the ability to have documentation at the time of the call was highlighted: “When you call the federal market, an automated message prepares the caller to start the process and tells you which documents will be needed to enroll,” said Keefe-Oates, responsible for the testing.