If You Sell MA Plans, You Are Screwed.

[VolAgent]

What I find truely amazing is that everyone continued to do MA enrollment. Everyone was whining about this last fall and winter, and you're still whining about it now. It seems to me that everyone should have seen it coming. If CMS and the companies were willing to work you over then and very successfully so, why would they stop now? Why not vote with your feet and stop doing MA enrollments?

 

[Mega producer]

There is a sucker born every minute, come November they are going to show us a bag of money like Don King used to show his fighters, to try and get them to fight, and some people are going to bite. That's the sad part about all of this.

 

[Cenla Agent]

There is a sucker born every minute, come November they are going to show us a bag of money like Don King used to show his fighters, to try and get them to fight, and some people are going to bite. That's the sad part about all of this.

I doubt it, although I agree that some who are railing about the situation now will continue to sell MA. The bag of money was shown last year and then CMS stepped in and cut the commissions and then the rule about holding back 1/2 of those reduced commissions was put in place. Who predicts that it will change any time soon?

Some newbie agents will no doubt continue to be lured into the MA market the same way they are with NAA, etc.
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What I find truely amazing is that everyone continued to do MA enrollment. Everyone was whining about this last fall and winter, and you're still whining about it now. It seems to me that everyone should have seen it coming. If CMS and the companies were willing to work you over then and very successfully so, why would they stop now? Why not vote with your feet and stop doing MA enrollments?

I didn't write any MA or PDP business for the 2008-2009 "season."

Some of that was due to other circumstances (health issues of my own) but it was also by choice. I can't say that I'll never do another enrollment, but at this point I can only envision doing it for a referral or current client. I'm happy to help my current clients in any way that I can, but I'm definitely not going to expend a lot of my own energy, money and time on chasing after enrollments that I may never be compensated for.

The main reason I resigned as a captive agent with Humana in 2006 was not wanting to be dependent on plans and company that is largely driven by government funding. (Humana has made a big push into individual health since then, but Marketpoint agents get paid a pittance for selling that, unless there have been some changes.)

As has been noted elsewhere on the forum, you can't really be independent selling plans that are driven by government funding and subject to change every year. Selling MA is no way to build up residual income either. Every business is subject to outside forces beyond one's control, but most are nothing like this.

 

[MrMack]

"Show us a Bag of CASH?"

Don't make laugh or cry. According to Ritter the increase for 2010 will be 0.81%. That means it will be an increase of $2 for $200 and $3 for $400. That don't get me out the door.