Online Insurance Brokers See Windfall in Obamacare Subsidies

Cut themselves in for a piece of the action

Online insurance brokers see a potential windfall when the federal government doles out billions in subsidies to buy help Americans buy health insurance. And they are asking state governments to help them score it.

The online brokers want millions of new insurance customers to be able to use those subsidies to buy health coverage through their Web sites, rather than shop exclusively on the new exchanges being set up by states and the federal government.

For that to happen, states will have to agree to partner with these privately-run firms. While a handful of states are considering the option, none has yet adopted it.