A broker’s take: Simplifying ACA enrollment with Orchard

Health insurance

Supplemental

Oct 2, 2026

Robert Porter has spent 25 years helping people buy health insurance. His clients range from young adults leaving a parent’s plan to self-employed workers, early retirees and people who have lost coverage after a job change.

For Porter, Orchard Health Marketplace helps make that work more manageable. The CMS-approved enhanced direct enrollment (EDE) platform brings ACA medical, and select dental, vision and supplemental products into one workflow, helping him spend less time navigating carrier sites and more time advising clients.

“The platform’s intuitive. It’s easy to use. The support’s amazing. I’ve been with you guys from the start and I’ve watched the evolution and the growth, and I’ve grown with you. It’s been a great partnership.”

Reducing administrative work during the Open Enrollment rush

During Open Enrollment, brokers serving ACA, Medicare and group clients often face overlapping deadlines.

“The problem is everything’s become so compressed,” Porter said. “I’m just stretched for time during what I consider the busy season: October, November, December, and January.”

Orchard helps Porter reduce the administrative work. Before Orchard, Porter had to log into each carrier website, run quotes separately and send clients several documents. Now he can create a side-by-side comparison from one place.

Watch the quoting functionality in action by clicking the video below.

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“It really makes the quoting process simple and easy,” he said.

Reducing admin work frees brokers to focus on expert advice

Porter specializes in individual health insurance, as well as Medicare and small-group coverage. He says the individual market calls for real conversations with each client – not a one-size-fits-all recommendation.

“Just because it’s good for your neighbor doesn’t mean it’s right for you,” he said.

That means looking beyond the premium. Provider networks, hospitals, prescriptions and personal timing all matter. Porter will even tell a client to remain on COBRA when that is the better fit.

> “It’s always about doing the right thing for the client,” Porter said.

The Orchard platform allows him to enter a client’s doctors and see plan options from carriers that include those providers in their networks. That matters in Ohio’s individual market, where network checks are essential.

“You’ve got to make sure doctors and hospitals are in the network for each individual that’s buying that product, or else you’re doing a disservice to your client,” he said.

By streamlining routine tasks and simplifying plan selection, Orchard helps Porter manage the high-demand enrollment seasons while maintaining a personal, advice-driven practice. For his brokerage, Orchard provides the operational foundation needed for efficiently and helps Porter deliver the tailored guidance his clients rely on year after year.