2 Months to Go & No Info

[AllenChicago]

I think commissions from state to state will be far more varied than they are now. In Tennessee where you are Ronnie, it's possible that your BCBS will pay $15.00 per person, per month (PPPM). Another carrier there may choose to pay using a different method.

Tennessee and Kentucky seem to be two very tight-lipped states. You look in the "states" section of this forum and there's nothing pertinent for either one.
ac

 

[somarco]

if too much fraud materializes.

if??????????????????

Now that's funny.

enrolling people in the exchanges would be $15 each.

Per member per month, right?

 

[AllenChicago]

if??????????????????

Now that's funny.

Somarco, the government would say officially that no level of fraud is "acceptable". But the alarm doesn't sound until the fraud reaches a specific threshold. But hey, if there's no agent signature attached to most of the fraud cases, we're in the clear! Uncle Sam can go after some other group.

 

[ABC]

First, a completely unsubstantiated rumor from a BCBS agent I know. He said he heard a Blue Cross employee say that agent commissions for enrolling people in the exchanges would be $15 each.

Hope that turns out to be wrong. I cannot imagine anyone living under CMS rules and investing time and effort to enroll people for the equivalent of a happy meal for two. $15 makes the $56 I get for Medicare PDP enrollments look sweet!!

If these carriers actually paid $15 per enrollment I believe they would be handling 100% of them in-house, and that can't happen. Using military terms, this would be the biggest cluster-foxtrot in history if the carriers have to handle everything.

On second thought, it's going to be a C-Ftrot no matter what. But I digress.

Now, something more intriguing. This language appears in one of the first CMS training courses I have gone through:

A QHP issuer must pay the same broker compensation for QHPs offered through a Federally-facilitated Marketplace as they do for similar health plans offered in the state but outside the Federally-facilitated Marketplace. In fact, this compensation approach is a required condition of the QHP certification process for QHPs offered in the Federally-facilitated Marketplaces and Federally-facilitated SHOP.

Now surely to goodness we can't be getting full commission on these enrollments -- but the above verbiage came straight from the CMS training. Or are the carriers going to drop our commission for health plans to $15 now? Inquiring minds want to know.

What's a man to think about this??

I think you are spot on! We could end up looking very good if it turns out to a %. Outside the exchange they are 10%-12% why would they change?

My sources have told me the first year enrollment to this thing is key. The carriers don't believe people will switch once they are enrolled. Why would they? So they are going to comp producers to bring them the biz. In my state we have 2 of the 4 carriers inside the exchange that are not broker friendly. I have no idea how those two carrier are going to get anything by sick people.

At least with the agent community you are going to have a much higher probability of getting a better performing block.

If the block turns toxic there is no way they can stay in the exchange.

 

[Yagents]

I was at a color company meeting today, and I specifically asked why the delay, and they said they can't communicate until they have final pricing clearance from the state DOI

 

[stuy119]

Somarco, the government would say officially that no level of fraud is "acceptable". But the alarm doesn't sound until the fraud reaches a specific threshold. But hey, if there's no agent signature attached to most of the fraud cases, we're in the clear! Uncle Sam can go after some other group.

I've said this before (and I'm saying it again), but you'll hear of more fraud cases involving agents than those involving navigators in the papers, whether factual or not.

 

[Ronnie Carter]

I think you are spot on! We could end up looking very good if it turns out to a %. Outside the exchange they are 10%-12% why would they change?

My sources have told me the first year enrollment to this thing is key. The carriers don't believe people will switch once they are enrolled. Why would they? So they are going to comp producers to bring them the biz. In my state we have 2 of the 4 carriers inside the exchange that are not broker friendly. I have no idea how those two carrier are going to get anything by sick people.

At least with the agent community you are going to have a much higher probability of getting a better performing block.

If the block turns toxic there is no way they can stay in the exchange.

I hope you're right. And the "rumor" didn't say PMPM, although that would make more sense.

There are a lot of agents out there who will sell something for $180/year commission. Maybe I would if I were in a position to crank out hundreds of enrollments as opposed to dozens. But that would still be disappointing.

And you guys are right, the silence on all these products and comps is deafening. CMS itself is collapsing under the pressure as well, deadlines being pushed back over and over.

And they have problems with their training website. I completed an exam for the first tier course and now when I log in, the system says I never took it and is trying to "resume" me about 1/5 of the way through the course. If I have to suffer through all those waste fraud and abuse windows I am going to put a gun to my head..........

 

[AllenChicago]

I was at a color company meeting today, and I specifically asked why the delay, and they said they can't communicate until they have final pricing clearance from the state DOI

Same thing our Illinois "colored company" said to me yesterday. They won't even tell us what's going to happen to our current book, or what will happen to customers at the end of this year who are buying today! But since I'm not getting any calls from clients regarding any of the ACA stuff at this point, I'll not rock the boat. Will just keep building the list of prospects for October contact.

 

[taterpeeler]

I'm gonna copyright colored company and draw royalties

 

[AllenChicago]

I'm gonna copyright colored company and draw royalties

You'll draw the wrath of Al & Jessie!