BCBSGA - Commission Question

[yankee466]

Wondering if anyone noticed the following "after the fact" change.

BCBS originally communicates that they will pay a lovely $10PMPM for all plans on and off the exchange. Nothing great, but typical.

On dec 1st, I get an email from BCBS saying that they revised the commission schedule with a 11/28 document that says they will pay $0 commission for any "Core" product...carefully hidden at the end of the second page. Well, this was 4 weeks after open enrollment started....and as luck would have it, the Core plans were the best deal for many low income clients. So, I now have spent all of November putting many clients on the Core plan (best for them), and then find out I have done all the work for free...losing thousands of dollars in commission. BCBS response is "sorry". Georgia insurance commissioner says they do not get involved in commissions. Let's just say I have never sold a Core plan since.

Wondering if all states have BCBS Core plans, and this is a much larger issue than Georgia.

Anyone else seen anything else to conflict with my time lines or BCBS correspondence? My guess is that most agents never saw the fine print on the 12/1 change, and are in for a rude awakening when they don't get paid on much of their business. I know another broker who does this a lot more than I, and she figures she lost $13,000 in commissions. Sad.

Glad I am a LTC/Medicare guy....but there is a principle here.

 

[RayNY]

Unfortunately, this practice is widespread. It's not limited to BCBS or Georgia, we have at least one company per year on average that does something very similar.

Bend over and take it, or find a new industry to work in.

We're on the brink of massive regulatory changes. Uncertainty doesn't lead to increased compensation. Most companies will try to limit their exposure by enrolling less people, and cutting commissions is an effective way to direct business elsewhere.

 

[riskybiz]

Wondering if anyone noticed the following "after the fact" change.

BCBS originally communicates that they will pay a lovely $10PMPM for all plans on and off the exchange. Nothing great, but typical.

On dec 1st, I get an email from BCBS saying that they revised the commission schedule with a 11/28 document that says they will pay $0 commission for any "Core" product...carefully hidden at the end of the second page. Well, this was 4 weeks after open enrollment started....and as luck would have it, the Core plans were the best deal for many low income clients. So, I now have spent all of November putting many clients on the Core plan (best for them), and then find out I have done all the work for free...losing thousands of dollars in commission. BCBS response is "sorry". Georgia insurance commissioner says they do not get involved in commissions. Let's just say I have never sold a Core plan since.

Wondering if all states have BCBS Core plans, and this is a much larger issue than Georgia.

Anyone else seen anything else to conflict with my time lines or BCBS correspondence? My guess is that most agents never saw the fine print on the 12/1 change, and are in for a rude awakening when they don't get paid on much of their business. I know another broker who does this a lot more than I, and she figures she lost $13,000 in commissions. Sad.

Glad I am a LTC/Medicare guy....but there is a principle here.

This was announced at the BCBSGA road show in September. I agree it should have been in writing sooner. It's almost required to either attend a roadshow or get the cliff notes from you rep for accurate info on BCBSGA.