Kelly Fristoe is an independent agent in Wichita Falls, Texas. The outgoing president of the Texas Association of Health Underwriters has been engrained in his community selling insurance for nearly 23 years and knows the heart of his Texas towns. He can’t imagine a navigator being placed anywhere near his business area — a more rural part of Texas. “We have $8 million for navigators in Texas … I don’t expect that there will be a navigator in communities that’s less than 50,000,” he said during an interview at the National Association of Health Underwriters meeting in Atlanta this week.
“Even if there is a navigator out by me, they’re not going to be able to handle the ranchers in remote areas,” he continued. “My opinion is that navigators will be focused on the inner city, focusing on the people who are not as interested in buying health insurance as the rural ranchers who also will qualify for subsidies.”
