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ACA Leads: What Works, What Doesn’t, and How to Maximize Your Growth

March 08, 20256 min read

Understanding ACA Leads: Types, Pricing, and Effectiveness

Let's talk about ACA leads—what works, what doesn’t, and what’s changing. If you’ve been in this business for a while, you’ve probably seen every type of lead out there, from the bargain-bin data dumps to the high-quality, ready-to-enroll prospects. We’ve worked with leads as agents, we’ve generated leads ourselves, and we’ve watched the market shift over time. Here’s what we’ve learned about the different types of ACA leads and what you should expect if you’re looking to invest in lead buying to grow your ACA business.

1. Low-Cost Basic Information Leads ($2 - $5/Lead)

Low Cost

These are the cheap leads—the ones that just give you the basics:

  • Name

  • Phone Number

  • Email

  • Location

That’s it. No income, no dependent details, no social security numbers, and definitely no pre-signed attestations. These leads usually cost between $2 and $5 each, which sounds like a steal, but the closing ratio is painfully low—somewhere between 1% and 10%.

Whether or not these leads work really depends on the agent. If you’re a grinder, willing to put in the hours, chase down the prospects, and work through objections like gathering Social Security numbers and consents, you might get some results. But be prepared for a ton of follow-up, dead ends, and a lot more objections.

2. Full Enrollment Leads ($25 - $40/Lead)

Now, these leads are a completely different ballgame. With these, you get everything upfront:

  • Personal details

  • Dependents/spouse information

  • Income verification

  • Disqualifications (e.g., employer insurance, Medicare eligibility)

  • Social Security Numbers

  • Full consents and attestations already signed

The 2 last points are a huge deal. Since these leads already come with signed consents and attestations and SSN's, you don’t have to worry about tracking those down later—one less objection to deal with!

The price point for these leads is typically $25 - $40 per lead, but the conversion rate is much higher, generally 25% - 50%. Back before CMS locked the Agent of Record (AOR) and introduced three-way calls with the marketplace, these leads were even more powerful, often closing 75% - 100% of the time.

While those days are gone, one major upside of these leads today is that even though enrollment rates have dropped, retention rates have significantly increased. That means more long-term clients and a more stable book of business.

3. Marketplace Plan Selection Leads (Pricing Varies)

This is one of the newer types of leads on the market, and it’s pretty interesting. Here’s how it works:

  1. The prospect fills out their information.

  2. The lead vendor, using an API connection to Healthcare.gov or an EDE partner, dynamically displays real ACA plans based on their details.

  3. The prospect actually selects their preferred plan before the lead is sold to an agent.

In theory, this means the lead is super high intent, but since it’s a newer type of lead, we don’t have solid data yet on closing ratios. Still, it’s an intriguing concept, and it could end up being a game-changer for ACA agents.

4. Live Transfers ($30 - $100/Lead)

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Live transfers are one of the most expensive lead types, running anywhere from $30 to $100 per transfer. But they can also be some of the highest quality leads—if you find the right vendor.

Here’s what affects the price:

  • Call Duration Requirements: Some vendors only charge you if the call lasts a certain amount of time (e.g., 60 or 90 seconds). Others bill instantly as soon as the call connects.

  • Lead Qualification Guarantees: Some vendors offer better refund or replacement policies if the lead turns out to be unqualified.

  • Fraud Prevention: Higher-priced vendors put in more effort to screen leads and avoid fake inquiries.

But let’s be real—live transfers come with risks. We’ve seen cases where prospects are coached on what to say just to qualify as a lead. Other times, prospects are completely unaware of why they’re being transferred. Some bad vendors even tell people to stay on the phone for a certain time just so the vendor can bill the lead.

The takeaway? If you’re going the live transfer route, do your research and test vendors thoroughly before committing to large purchases.

5. Running Your Own Ads (Cost Varies)

Some agents choose to take lead generation into their own hands by running their own ads (FB, TikTok, Google, X, etc). They set up their own funnels, forms, and surveys to capture full enrollment-type leads or even basic leads. While this sounds like a great idea, most agents struggle to build a workable funnel that properly intakes prospect—and that doesn’t even cover the marketing side of things, like writing ads, testing, optimizing, and scaling.

Some agents opt to hire a marketer to handle ads for them, typically paying a retainer of $300 - $600/month, with one-time setup fees ranging from $500 - $1,500 in the ACA space.

Benefits of Running Your Own Ads:

  • Exclusive Leads – You’re not sharing leads with anyone else, and the leads are opting in and seeing your business name on all the ads.

  • Leads at Cost – No vendor markup, saving you money in the long run.

  • Full Compliance Control – You know exactly what’s being advertised.

  • Customization – Modify questions or lead qualifications anytime.

Most agents prefer to buy leads from vendors because it’s easier and less time-intensive. However, agents looking to spend $5,000 - $25,000/month on leads often prefer this method to avoid vendor markups that add up significantly at scale.

6. Unethical and Fraudulent Leads

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Unfortunately, shady lead vendors are still out there. We’ve seen people using outrageous bait tactics like:

  • Promising free shoes, electronics, groceries, and gas cards.

  • Telling people they qualify for a $6,400 subsidy that will help with rent and utilities (spoiler: they don’t).

CMS and state regulators have cracked down on these scams, but they still pop up. If you’re an agent, steer clear of these lead sources. Getting caught using fraudulent leads could mean fines, license suspensions, or even losing your ability to sell ACA plans altogether. It’s just not worth the risk.

Final Thoughts

ACA lead generation is constantly evolving, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. The best lead type for you depends on:

  • Your budget (cheap leads vs. premium high-intent leads).

  • Your sales style (are you great at following up, or do you want fully qualified leads?).

  • Compliance (you don’t want to get burned by shady vendors).

The industry is shifting, and staying ahead means knowing what’s working right now. Whether you’re grinding through cheap leads, investing in full enrollments, or testing new lead sources like plan selection leads, you’ve got to be adaptable to win in the ACA space.

A Hidden Secret of ACA

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Buying leads and growing your ACA business is an important piece of the puzzle. But here’s where a lot of agents go wrong—they focus so much on growing their book that they completely forget about retaining their book.

Retention is just as critical as enrollment. If you’re constantly replacing lost clients, you’re burning money on marketing that could’ve been avoided. The secret? Having a system in place to track policies you could save before they fall off your book.

That’s exactly where PolicySync comes in. With PolicySync, you can easily identify policies at risk, take action to retain them, and ultimately spend less on new leads while maximizing the value of the deals you already wrote.

Instead of just focusing on adding new clients, start protecting the ones you’ve already worked so hard to enroll. Check us out at www.Policy-Sync.com and see how we can help you build a sustainable ACA business that thrives year after year!

 

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