Just a Reminder - who to Blame for MA Commissions

[GreenSky]

In a word - Humana. For those of you who are new to CMS regulated products I've attached a letter that explains why many of us are less than thrilled with Humana. They certainly threw independent agents under the bus and blamed the money we make for basically all the problems with MA plans.

By limiting commissions it made it more difficult for new carriers to promote their products to agents and of course all the subsequent regulations stem from "greedy independent agents." The reality is that captive agents (primarily Humana) were the primary culprits.

It's time this was make public on the forum once again.

Rick

 

[HealthGuy]

You gotta wonder why Humana really cares WHO or HOW their product is pimped, whether it be indie agent or in house? Seriously, why do they care and why such an axe to grind against the independent sales distributor? By the way Rick, do you fear Humana will go after your appointment with them, if you have one, as this is a public forum?

 

[tins]

In a word - Humana. For those of you who are new to CMS regulated products I've attached a letter that explains why many of us are less than thrilled with Humana. They certainly threw independent agents under the bus and blamed the money we make for basically all the problems with MA plans.

By limiting commissions it made it more difficult for new carriers to promote their products to agents and of course all the subsequent regulations stem from "greedy independent agents." The reality is that captive agents (primarily Humana) were the primary culprits.

It's time this was make public on the forum once again.

Rick

Humana- a plague onto seniors and detrimental to insurance agents/brokers across the country.

 

[GreenSky]

You gotta wonder why Humana really cares WHO or HOW their product is pimped, whether it be indie agent or in house? Seriously, why do they care and why such an axe to grind against the independent sales distributor? By the way Rick, do you fear Humana will go after your appointment with them, if you have one, as this is a public forum?

Why would they go after me? They sent the letter.

Rick

 

[vic120]

I love how Humana has esig set up where number for tech issues, when cleint calls you lose agent of record,

Lost a few that way and one long term client I fought for and won they awarded me agent of record, only as of the 2nd month not the first

I thought alright I lose one month whatever, I was tired of fighting, Only to find out that meant I do not get any commission in the first year only renewals starting in 2nd year

 

[sman]

In a word - Humana. For those of you who are new to CMS regulated products I've attached a letter that explains why many of us are less than thrilled with Humana. They certainly threw independent agents under the bus and blamed the money we make for basically all the problems with MA plans.

By limiting commissions it made it more difficult for new carriers to promote their products to agents and of course all the subsequent regulations stem from "greedy independent agents." The reality is that captive agents (primarily Humana) were the primary culprits.

It's time this was make public on the forum once again.

Rick

Do we now get to pin it on Aetna since they are buying Humana?

That letter certainly makes them seem like they are whining that other carriers are paying more than them. Humana fought it for a while even after the rates were set. Here in Georgia they paid $375 when others paid $400. It was only last year (or maybe the year before) that Humana finally came up to where everyone else was.

I'm hoping with the purchase by Aetna that Humana will allow agents to mail enrollment kits to prospective members. They are the only player here in Georgia who doesn't allow it. UHC would prefer we not do it, but will allow it when F2F isn't possible as long as we complete a compliant phone presentation. Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, Coventry and Piedmont WellStar have no issues with agents mailing the apps as long as we are compliant.

It seems to me Humana would welcome independent agents. Those of us who take our careers seriously always do our due diligence for each beneficiary and place them in the plan that is most appropriate for their situation. Whereas being a captive agent can lead to trying to fit a square peg in a round whole. When all you have is a hammer, everything tends to look like a nail.

The other side of the purchase of Humana is the ACA side of Humana has been great to deal with (other than having to get some commission issues straightened out). But at least when I call Humana I can talk to someone and they actually work on getting things resolved. Not so much with Aetna/Coventry.

 

[Piece Of The Pie]

I have a bit of a grudge against Humana. During the roll-out meeting in September, the local management hyped their 2 HMO's in my area. Come to find out the $60 per month HMO which is really rich in benefits pays no commission. I believe they deliberately failed to mention that in their roll-out meeting.
But, it is mentioned in the 2015 Producer Partnership Plan on page 10 out of 22. So ultimately, it is my fault. But hundreds of agents sold this plan and are not getting paid.
Thanks Humana.
Side note... since I told the customers "I am being compensated for this enrollment", am I in violation?

 

[GreenSky]

I love how Humana has esig set up where number for tech issues, when cleint calls you lose agent of record,

Lost a few that way and one long term client I fought for and won they awarded me agent of record, only as of the 2nd month not the first

I thought alright I lose one month whatever, I was tired of fighting, Only to find out that meant I do not get any commission in the first year only renewals starting in 2nd year

What's even worse is that they do not allow anything other than F2F so why have an esig?

I was told it was a Class A violation (whatever that means) and it's a CMS rule requiring F2F (wrong!). So I asked why have an esig available. "It's so when you're with someone and you forget the application you can still enroll."

I was going to point out that the application is generally included with the kit to include all the CMS required information. So how can I enroll someone if I haven't done a compliant presentation?

Rick

 

[vic120]

What's even worse is that they do not allow anything other than F2F so why have an esig?

I was told it was a Class A violation (whatever that means) and it's a CMS rule requiring F2F (wrong!). So I asked why have an esig available. "It's so when you're with someone and you forget the application you can still enroll."

I was going to point out that the application is generally included with the kit to include all the CMS required information. So how can I enroll someone if I haven't done a compliant presentation?

Rick

Yes I have heard that and I have heard the opposite depending who I speak with. I have come to the conclusion is it is allowed except when they don't want to pay you

 

[FRJ]

Well, I'm all for capping the FMO payment - $200? Seriously, I work with two different MAPD-serving FMOs and I can't imagine what kind of magic tricks they are doing, behind the scenes, to earn even a quarter of that payment. Sure they LOOK like they are doing stuff like offering reduced AHIP training fees or offering "first-looks" and such but come on, the individual agent is doing 99% of the work.