Helping Clients with Part D Can Be a Violation
- Thread starter midwestbroker
- Start date
- 15,319
Still requires F2F to sign with mouse. I just email or fax app to client and have them send it back to me any way they want. UHC is still in the 1980's.
Rick
- 225
Mymedicareenroll.com is the UHC site that everyone has used. It's gotten several violated. One agent told me his client was asked on the OEV if they did it or if the agent did. He said the agent helped him him do it and now said agent has to complete this stupid module.
roadrunner
Super Genius
- 100
I was told by the local UHC manager...
UHC will ask the member during the OEV call if the member completed an application on mymedicareenroll.com or if the agent assisted.. If yes agent assisted.. Violation
If the answer is no...Member completed on their own. UHC will ask if the agent was in the room. If yes agent was in the room. Violation
UHC will ask the member during the OEV call if the member completed an application on mymedicareenroll.com or if the agent assisted.. If yes agent assisted.. Violation
If the answer is no...Member completed on their own. UHC will ask if the agent was in the room. If yes agent was in the room. Violation
- Thread starter
- #35
- 2,370
There were a lot of great points reading through the comments.
From what we (Senior Marketing Specialists) have been talking about regarding this is:
If an agent does not have a Part C or D contract, can they assist since they are not subject to any form of compensation from C or D plans?
Can an agent run the drug list on Medicare.gov and then leave the client to self enroll after the agent leaves?
Can we create a "hold harmless" form for agents to use with clients (probably will not happen but it is a nice thought)?
We don't have any answers yet to these, but when we do I will post them.
So far the violations we have seen have been agents using carrier sites and not Medicare.gov. However, some carriers are putting Medicare.gov in the same light as consumer facing carrier sites.
If you have any questions you would like us to ask the compliance contacts we have, you can post them here, send me a private message or email them to me [email protected]
From what we (Senior Marketing Specialists) have been talking about regarding this is:
If an agent does not have a Part C or D contract, can they assist since they are not subject to any form of compensation from C or D plans?
Can an agent run the drug list on Medicare.gov and then leave the client to self enroll after the agent leaves?
Can we create a "hold harmless" form for agents to use with clients (probably will not happen but it is a nice thought)?
We don't have any answers yet to these, but when we do I will post them.
So far the violations we have seen have been agents using carrier sites and not Medicare.gov. However, some carriers are putting Medicare.gov in the same light as consumer facing carrier sites.
If you have any questions you would like us to ask the compliance contacts we have, you can post them here, send me a private message or email them to me [email protected]
I can answer the first one. As someone stated earlier, you can talk Part C and Part D all day long if you're not contracted for it. You can give all the advice, good and bad, and never suffer any consequences whatsoever.
Even if the above where not true and I didn't have a contract for either I would tell CMS to take a hike if they said something. But that's just it, CMS won't usually correspond with the agent. They do it all through the carriers. If you don't have a carrier for it then you'll never hear anything. Even if you did, just tell them to pound sand!
(Yeah CMS, I said it....what you gonna do about it?) Crickets....
- 225
Yep. Unfortunately most of us are contracted to offer one or more plans with CMS oversight. The ones that aren't have the luxury of telling CMS where to stick it. Don't need anyone's affirmation for that.
I was contacted by UHC because a friend enrolled in my office using the consumer website while I was with him, I needed to be out of the room for it to be compliant.
I had to complete the 'learning' module and exam (already done) and the matter is now closed. I will not risk my MAPD renewals for a $28 a year commission so from now on will just tell every client or prospect that I don't offer Part D other than running their medications through the Medicare.gov website and giving them the phone number of the companies with the plans that fit best.
I had to complete the 'learning' module and exam (already done) and the matter is now closed. I will not risk my MAPD renewals for a $28 a year commission so from now on will just tell every client or prospect that I don't offer Part D other than running their medications through the Medicare.gov website and giving them the phone number of the companies with the plans that fit best.
- 1,162
To clarify, it is only UHC that has issued this reg so far? No other carriers, no specific language from CMS? If I'm not mistaken, according to CMS, you already cannot be with the client and call 1-800-Medicare to enroll them in a plan.
(FWIW I've never helped anyone enroll this way anyway. If I don't have something suitable for them, I direct them to call Medicare or go to Medicare.gov. In my area, (a poor state with a lot of people in bad health) if you're not contracted with both the top MA and Supp carriers you're going to leave a lot of business on the table. That's one of the reasons why I left my job with "the debil" 10 years ago. Although it would certainly cut out the need for SOA, etc, doing Supp only would basically be the same mistake, although I'm sure somebody will tell me I'm wrong. I know a lot of agents do supp only but I've never envisioned that working for me.)
(FWIW I've never helped anyone enroll this way anyway. If I don't have something suitable for them, I direct them to call Medicare or go to Medicare.gov. In my area, (a poor state with a lot of people in bad health) if you're not contracted with both the top MA and Supp carriers you're going to leave a lot of business on the table. That's one of the reasons why I left my job with "the debil" 10 years ago. Although it would certainly cut out the need for SOA, etc, doing Supp only would basically be the same mistake, although I'm sure somebody will tell me I'm wrong. I know a lot of agents do supp only but I've never envisioned that working for me.)
