Special Agent
Guru
- 545
That's why i suggest the paperless option for documents to clients because they don't seem to read the ANOC as much as the hard copy clients.Just kidding-not really
2025 AEP Disruptions: Updates to The Inflation Reduction Act
- Thread starter Duaine
- Start date
That's why i suggest the paperless option for documents to clients because they don't seem to read the ANOC as much as the hard copy clients.Just kidding-not really
Right, so instead of getting friendly calls during AEP, you get annoyed customer calls during OEP...
Special Agent
Guru
- 545
Wish i had the time to do a AEP review with over 1300 ma and pdp members. Fortunately i only have about 150 pdp members and really don't care if they all switch plans
When the Mcare plan finder limited access to agents and we could no longer run a report with the Rx list number and date from last year, I effectively got out of the PDP advice business for a year or so. I explained to my clients why I had to make the change. A few ran their own reports and sent them to me for review.
I didn't lose anyone that I recall but when S&S offered brokers a quote engine I got back in the business of advising folks on PDP options.
Frank Stastny helped to train me and he never ran drug reports. He suggested telling my clients to take their list to the pharmacy and enlist their help.
I tried that for a while and then realized the pharmacy was biased in favor of carriers that listed them as a preferred pharmacy.
The things I do for "free" end up paying off with client loyalty and referrals.
Sounds like a downside of competing with carriers and marketing agencies that heavily promote their "free" stuff combined with the ease of moving to another plan.
I am not criticizing you but I am being critical of the mass confusion created by agents and DTC advertising plus the ability to change plans almost all year long.
AEP, AEP2 (or whatever it is called in Jan - Mar) as well as the virtually unlimited ways to create an SEP out of thin air . . .
- 6,997
Gordon sold his business and retired.
Thanks.....figured something had happened.
I guess I've always done it different than most. I start notifying clients in late August/early September that AEP is around the corner and we need to update their medication list. And for those on MAPD, I add in updating their doctors. The majority get me this information prior to October 1st. On October 1st, I begin running comparisons. The goal is always to have everyone's recommendation to them by October 15th (doesn't always happen, but that's the goal). For those who need to make a change, they typically get a link to electronically sign their prefilled application (Ritter's system makes that very easy).
I touch the majority of my clients during AEP which means I am "shopping" greater than 70% of my book each year. A lot of times, on the MAPD side, it's:
"Mrs. Jones, unless you just aren't happy with your plan, I don't recommend we change anything".
The only potential difference this year may be:
"Mrs. Jones, XYZ company has made some changes that aren't for the better so I'm recommending ABC company for you in 2025"
But again, I run comparisons for all clients each year to make sure there are no surprises. We're mainly looking for the Rx costs on both MAPD and PDP. Here's just one example. Client is on Neupro. His 2023 MAPD plan was no longer covering that medication in 2024. He was content to stay on the plan until I explained he would then have to pay the full cost of Neupro ($800+ per month). So we changed him to a plan that does cover it. This is exactly why I run comparisons for every client. This man had no changes in medications or doctors. It's easy for the client to think since there are no changes on his end, then he should just stay on the same plan. That clearly isn't always the case. And had he been left to his own devices, he would have stayed put.
All that to say, if 70% want to shop, I won't see any changes to my workload other than maybe having to complete more applications if changes are warranted.
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