Med Supp Phone Objections

[Todd King]

Ive always gone over the objections FIRST, before getting into any savings (if any), to make sure they understood before going further. I didnt quite say all of this, so Im going to add this to me game.....thx.


1 question Ive always had.....since Medicare sends the 20% of the bill directly to the med supp company, why do Drs offices ask for your supp card then? What does it matter, since they dont bill directly?

Just to know u have 1?

Because Medicare doesn't keep up with who they have their Med Supp with, so they send it to Medicare so they will know who to bill.

As for your earlier question about "...will my doctor accept this...", Bob gave some pretty good advice.

I used to nip that in the bud by showing them the process of how their bills get paid. That's a little harder to do by phone, but if you can just explain in an easy way that the Dr. sends the bill to Medicare (the billed amount), then Medicare approves a certain amount of the bill (the approved amount), pays the Dr. 80% of it and also bills the Supplement company for the other 20%. The Dr. doesn't get involved in that and is his only concern is cashing the check that is sent to him. "You see Ms. Jones, the supplement company doesn't have a choice of what they have to pay, so they just pay it without question, and certainly the Dr. isn't going to question where his money came from. On top of that, either your Dr. accepts Medicare assignment or he doesn't. He doesn't get to pick and choose which company pays him."

It's nice if they have an EOB handy where you can point out the billed amount and the approved amount right on it.

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Well until I looked it up, I had no idea who that company was, no offense. (But im also in Florida)

I run an agency that sells 100% by phone, med supps and MAPD. I can tell you brand name goes a long way. I know there are other companies we could offer that are not brand-able, but I made the decision years ago that there are enough good companies out there that people feel comfortable with so I don't even bother with the little guys, and your point is exactly why. Selling is hard enough as it is, so having to explain who a company is to me is a huge killer for the sale in my opinion. We've been selling over the phone exclusively for 7 years now and I cant remember a single person asking me about the companies we offer being reputable, and I cant tell you how nice that is to NEVER have to go into the companies history and rating etc. because they already know the company.

Also, something I learned at the Med supp conference in Kansas a few weeks back:

They did a study on what makes seniors shop plans, and they said rate increases on supp plans almost never prompt people to move, its when the premium or deductible on the part D increases that causes them to look around. A lot of great stuff came from that conference!

I call horse hockey on their study. Seniors were shopping due to Med Supp rate increases long before Part D came along. Part D might have increased the number of seniors shopping around, but it didn't start when Part D was introduced, I promise.

 

[somarco]

rate increases on supp plans almost never prompt people to move, its when the premium or deductible on the part D increases that causes them to look around.

Even if that is true, the challenge is, most don't read the ANOC. They usually don't have any idea their plan has changed until they refill Rx in the following year.

If they read the ANOC at all it is to see what their new premium is and check the deductible. Very few go through the book to see if copay's have changed.

The PDP carriers are usually sneaky about cost shifting. Most of the time premium and deductibles change very little. The bigger changes come in tier shifting and changing higher tier drugs from copay to coinsurance.

As for your other point, I get more inquiries over Medigap premiums rising than anything else. That is followed by those who call and say they can't afford their MA plan and want to switch to Medigap.

 

[SecureHealth1]

Even if that is true, the challenge is, most don't read the ANOC. They usually don't have any idea their plan has changed until they refill Rx in the following year.

If they read the ANOC at all it is to see what their new premium is and check the deductible. Very few go through the book to see if copay's have changed.

The PDP carriers are usually sneaky about cost shifting. Most of the time premium and deductibles change very little. The bigger changes come in tier shifting and changing higher tier drugs from copay to coinsurance.

As for your other point, I get more inquiries over Medigap premiums rising than anything else. That is followed by those who call and say they can't afford their MA plan and want to switch to Medigap.

I agree, im not entirely sold on that theory either. My main point is that it is much easier to gain trust over the phone when you represent brand name companies.

 

[somarco]

much easier to gain trust over the phone when you represent brand name companies.

I have brand name carriers in my bag, but I rarely sell them. Guess I never was good at the order taking, me too game.

 

[fostever]

Some folks just think changing companies is going to be a hassle when they've been very pleased with the plan they have and feel safe with the big brand name. This is where we come in to let them know it is a fairly easy process to get a lower rate as long as they are fairly healthy and answer no to all medical Q's. I have BCBS of IL Med select guaranteed issue as a fallback for rate savings with virtually all relevant hospitals in Chicago listed. Sometimes people just won't move, which is actually a good reason for selling Med supps as a solid renewal income source.

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Hey Fortune, I have a buddy who just ordered his first batch of leads from LH and is pretty disappointed. He said he's getting a lot of "employer paid"s like teachers and folks with MAPDs, but he's also getting a lot of people who say they never agreed to have an agent call them. Any suggestions?

Toby, I didn't want to throw your topic off-track. Maybe you're running into similar roadblocks too.

LH telemarketers are just trying to get them to agree to a call back and some info on their current plan if possible. As long as they get a "yes" for the call back that's all they need to submit it. The main thing is you usually can get in contact with them and start a conversation and it is exclusive for a low price compared to other exclusive leads. My only beef i guess is where they tell them, "don't worry, we are not trying to switch your current plan, just want to make sure you are not affected by these rate increases." No, they aren't, but we ARE!