Medicare Advantage Selling Season - 8 Weeks Long & NO OEP

[jdeasy]

True dat!! MA's have their market.

Like Whole Life insurance, it doesn't fit all situations.

Yes, they have their niche. I quit selling MA's over a year ago, but, I still run into situations where it's the best, if not only, fit.

I have an appointment tomorrow with one of my FE clients that is turning 65 in May. She wants a med sup. Well, what she wants is help with explaining Medicare, PDP and her options. I had spoken to her about a med sup a few months ago. Since I don't do MA plans at all anymore and I think that a med sup may not be in the budget for this lady, I'm having a friend that does still do MA/MAPD's also come to the appointment. If that is the best route for her, I will advise her to go with him on an MA plan.

We don't have any N plans approved here, so, I don't know if that might be an option for her or not. If we get them later, she can drop the MA since she is, apparently, an LIS.

 

[Yoda]

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I have an appointment tomorrow with one of my FE clients that is turning 65 in May. She wants a med sup. Well, what she wants is help with explaining Medicare, PDP and her options. I had spoken to her about a med sup a few months ago. Since I don't do MA plans at all anymore and I think that a med sup may not be in the budget for this lady, I'm having a friend that does still do MA/MAPD's also come to the appointment. If that is the best route for her, I will advise her to go with him on an MA plan.

That sounds crazy! She dont want you to explain medicare. The last thing she wants to do tomorrow is learn the ins and outs of medicare. She wants you to show up and know what youre doing. Go out there by your self and smile and chit chat a bit and then pull out that "F" plan and set her up so everything is paid for. She does not need nor want you frying her brain out. Thats a 1 hour walk thru you got there and youre making it into a mess. She wants to take care of the deal and move on with her life she dont want a Medicare Advantage Plan that she is going to have to get rid of or get kicked out of in the next year or two. Dont make this job any harder then it has to be!

 

[Josh]

That sounds crazy! She dont want you to explain medicare. The last thing she wants to do tomorrow is learn the ins and outs of medicare. She wants you to show up and know what youre doing. Go out there by your self and smile and chit chat a bit and then pull out that "F" plan and set her up so everything is paid for. She does not need nor want you frying her brain out. Thats a 1 hour walk thru you got there and youre making it into a mess. She wants to take care of the deal and move on with her life she dont want a Medicare Advantage Plan that she is going to have to get rid of or get kicked out of in the next year or two. Dont make this job any harder then it has to be!

For this I would suggest the "press hard there are three copies" close. Why would you want to educate a consumer to make the decision that's right for them? As insurance agents we should tell people what they should be doing whether they like it or not, because we are the experts and can tell with our crystal balls what is going to happen to them and exactly what coverage they'll need.

Yoda: You do realize that some seniors actually like to know what's going on with their health insurance and like to make their own decisions, right? Believe it or not, many of them are smart enough to make the right decision too. With seniors, or any other prospect, you're much better off actually educating them and letting them make the decision than being an asshole that's pushing something down their throat.

 

[Yoda]

Yoda: You do realize that some seniors actually like to know what's going on with their health insurance and like to make their own decisions, right?

Wrong! For the most part you are completely wrong. I spent years coming to grips with the fact that most seniors do not want to learn all about medicare. God I wanted them to learn so bad. But the truth is for every one you find that wants to learn it there are 2 dozen that dont. I wish it was your way and that they all were eager to learn. But you couldnt be farther from the truth. What they really want is for you to know what you are doing and just do it. And if you knew what you were doing you wouldnt be sticking them in a MA plan when its well known they have a bullseye painted on them by the new health care bill.

 

[Josh]

Wrong! For the most part you are completely wrong. I spent years coming to grips with the fact that most seniors do not want to learn all about medicare. God I wanted them to learn so bad. But the truth is for every one you find that wants to learn it there are 2 dozen that dont. I wish it was your way and that they all were eager to learn. But you couldnt be farther from the truth. What they really want is for you to know what you are doing and just do it. And if you knew what you were doing you wouldnt be sticking them in a MA plan when its well known they have a bullseye painted on them by the new health care bill.

You must be doing something wrong then. I find the numbers you gave to be in reverse. Out of 2 dozen seniors, only one or two just want to be told what to do, the rest like having things explained to them.

You're foolish for discounting the value of MA plans this early in the game; Medicare Advantage isn't dead yet. For millions of seniors it's still the best option they have available to them. For any of them with pre-existing conditions the demise of MA plans (if/when) will let them get a GI med supp.

 

[jdeasy]

That sounds crazy! She dont want you to explain medicare. The last thing she wants to do tomorrow is learn the ins and outs of medicare. She wants you to show up and know what youre doing. Go out there by your self and smile and chit chat a bit and then pull out that "F" plan and set her up so everything is paid for. She does not need nor want you frying her brain out. Thats a 1 hour walk thru you got there and youre making it into a mess. She wants to take care of the deal and move on with her life she dont want a Medicare Advantage Plan that she is going to have to get rid of or get kicked out of in the next year or two. Dont make this job any harder then it has to be!

Actually, she does want Medicare explained to her. That's exactly what she said when she called. She is a long time client and has 5 policies with me. She got her award letter for the LIS and doesn't have a clue what it means. Maybe you don't take time to explain Medicare to your clients and their options, but, I do. Nor will I put them into a plan that I know up front that they can't afford.

 

[magagent]

I can see the marketers drooling over this "Agents, work 8 weeks a year and make 100K!!".

 

[Josh]

I can see the marketers drooling over this "Agents, work 8 weeks a year and make 100K!!".

Problem is they'll be lucky to be getting paid on it at all. I wouldn't be surprised if commissions dropped to a one-time $100/app.

 

[Superchief]

Med Advantage, like everything else, can be a fantastic product. At $0/month, $0 copay at PCP, $5 at specialist, $0 inpatient hospitalization, RX card, vision benefit and silver sneakers you think that's a garbage product? As opposed to a $145/month plan f plus $35 for an RX card? With around $2k/year in savings it sounds like a stellar plan to me. (yes, those are all real numbers).

At this risk of being rude, it doesn't seem like you know much about Medicare Advantage programs.

I apologize for having a strong opinion against them. I'm sure they do have a good place in other states. I just got a bad taste in my mouth from watching my clients get rejected by their doctor and lose coverage while the company forgot to pay me my commissions.

Med Supps definitely work better in my area. Much more secure.

 

[Todd King]

I for one will be glad to see MA's die out!!

Yes, they do have their place, but for the most part, NOT!

I find that seniors for the most part have not had Medicare explained to them. They don't want or need some long drawn out explaination though...the 5-10 minute version does quite well. Keep it simple.

I can't tell you the number of clients that have told me their present agent never took just a couple of minutes to explain how Medicare works. When I do, I have locked them in as a client.

Most of the clients that are turning 65 have been bombarded by AARP, BCBS and Humana so badly that they are thoroughly confused! If you take that 5-10 minutes to make it logical for them you'll make the sale. This could be the very reason that many agents have trouble selling to turning 65's, especially the new agents.