70% Shopping Rate??

[DonP]

Our drug plans in FL are relatively the same as any other state. Close to the same premiums, crappy DED, and crappy copays.

And Don, my med Supp clients wanted a med Supp for a reason. They won’t change to a MAPD to save on their PDP premium. Maybe 2-3 will this AEP. But, they will all have an opportunity to talk to me. If they are unhappy with their PDP, I will show them a MAPD and explain the downsides. Sounds like every AEP to me.

I’m talking mapd ‘s

 

[Chazm]

Chazm wether you want to believe it or not this is by far going to be the most disruptive aep since mapd’s 1st yr in 2006. It’s not just me saying it . 100’s of fmo’s ,carriers etc are saying it . In the end it is what it is . But to say I’ve heard this same crap for 15 yrs and this is the same is not true at all . Most agents the last 10 yrs have enjoyed a mostly stress free aep not having to move many clients . Most agent might talk to 30% of their clients during aep as most stay put . You must talk to all your clients this yr . If you don’t come Jan your phone will be nonstop ringing 15 hrs a day with angry clients who just filled a Rx and get hit with $590 deductible .

Also Don, you and I run different business during AEP. I work on retention during AEP for the last decade. I maybe add 50-60 new clients in those 3 months. I sit in my home office each AEP running preset appts with my clients all day. This is nothing new for me.

You are right though. It will be drastically different for you. You’re used to adding 5,000 new clients during AEP.

 

[Chazm]

I’m talking mapd ‘s

Top part was for Samarco.

 

[DonP]

Also Don, you and I run different business during AEP. I work on retention during AEP for the last decade. I maybe add 50-60 new clients in those 3 months. I sit in my home office each AEP running preset appts with my clients all day. This is nothing new for me.

You are right though. It will be drastically different for you.

So let’s say you got 1000 clients and you have to talk to each and every client for pdp or mapd . How will you have time to sell 60 new ? For 53 days you’ll have to talk to 20 clients each and every day . No way did you do that in previous yrs .It is what it is . I cross bridges as they come

 

[Chazm]

So let’s say you got 1000 clients and you have to talk to each and every client for pdp or mapd . How will you have time to sell 60 new ? For 53 days you’ll have to talk to 20 clients each and every day . No way did you do that in previous yrs .It is what it is . I cross bridges as they come

I don’t talk to 1k. Some people are just content. They will never move. I have clients on plans since 2011 (when I went Indy) that I never talk to and never change plans.
Not one person here talks to all their clients if they have 1k.

Ps - I talked to roughly 15 clients a day last AEP. I still had time for an hour lunch and was done by 6. It wasn’t hard.

 

[Fisher]

So let’s say you got 1000 clients and you have to talk to each and every client for pdp or mapd. For 53 days you’ll have to talk to 20 clients each and every day .

Your math assumes that clients only get talked with during actual AEP. Rookie.

 

[sshafran]

I think a lot of us do something similar during AEP. We put the ball in their court - i.e. we offer to review but we don't actively call them trying to schedule it.

My letters / emails say, if you're happy - check on notices you get but no action is needed. If you want to shop, do xyz.

Last year on PDPs I was more proactive than I should have been. There are ways to do it without dying.

This year one thing I plan to change is less "prep before the call" on my end. I found last year - I'd have a review call with John Smith scheduled and I would look at his plan, recheck docs, think of alternatives, etc., then I get on the phone with John and he just wanted to "make sure it was still $0." This year: prep less -- if they are wanting a more thorough analysis I'll do it on the fly.

 

[InsuranceGuy29]

I think a lot of us do something similar during AEP. We put the ball in their court - i.e. we offer to review but we don't actively call them trying to schedule it.

My letters / emails say, if you're happy - check on notices you get but no action is needed. If you want to shop, do xyz.

Last year on PDPs I was more proactive than I should have been. There are ways to do it without dying.

This year one thing I plan to change is less "prep before the call" on my end. I found last year - I'd have a review call with John Smith scheduled and I would look at his plan, recheck docs, think of alternatives, etc., then I get on the phone with John and he just wanted to "make sure it was still $0." This year: prep less -- if they are wanting a more thorough analysis I'll do it on the fly.

In my opinion, in the old days, meeting with all clients was much more of a necessity. There were only HMO's, so a doctor or hospital leaving a network was an absolute disaster.

Things were much more unstable. Healthcare providers would leave much more frequently, from what I remember. Prescriptions were wildly all over the place. It might be $25/month one year, and then the next it was $175/month. Carriers now keep things much more stable to not lose the client's business.

Carriers didn't really focus too much on retention, unlike nowadays. Carriers didn't communicate providers leaving networks or prescriptions rising as much. That was pretty much solely on the agent.

There was no OEP, so as soon as January 1st hit, if something didn't go a client's way, and a major change happened somewhere, they were basically stuck all year. With OEP, you can now change them out well into the year. This is why I no longer meet with every client. There's really no need. it's just largely a waste of time.

They will know well in advance if they need to change anything, and they will contact you.

 

[somarco]

@Chazm if your "crappy" Fla PDP is the same as other states, then you will definitely see changes next year.

 

[somarco]

I think a lot of us do something similar during AEP. We put the ball in their court - i.e. we offer to review but we don't actively call them trying to schedule it.

Yup. Same here. I don't encourage changing their Medigap but always offer to help if they initiate the move by asking.

Ditto for PDP.

I do warn about specific plan changes such as premium increases. A few years ago I think it was Humana that doubled the premium on one of their plans from $25 to $50 or $60 the following year.

My newsletter warned clients of the coming change and yet I got calls in Feb & Mar wanting me to change their plan because of the premium increase. I reminded them of the ANOC that was mailed in September plus my newsletters saying the same thing.

I also suggest letting me review their plan, even if they have not had any Rx changes. Some take me up on the offer, some don't.

And my year 'round focus is on conservation. Not writing new apps and certainly not churning my block.