Medicare Advantage

[Stratos]

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[Frank Stastny]

As much as you try to help them out and do the right thing, you can not always get the correct anwers. I would watch them remove their medicare card, just to see if I can see another medical card in their purse or wallet. You would be suprised how many do not have any idea what medical program they are on

I've been the senior market for a long time, nothning surprises me any more. It is amazing that so few know what they have or who they have it with.

I believed I solved the problem you are talking about. I ask them if they have any other insurance besides Medicare. If they "don't know" then I ask them if they pay a premium to an insurance company and if they know what it is for. When they say they aren't sure I ask them if anything is automatically deducted from their checking or savings account.

When I ask to see their Medicare card, I ask if they have any other insurance cards. If they say they don't think so I will then ask them what cards they give the person at the doctors office when they go to an appointment.

If I still are not sure and they still can't give me the information I need then I will probably thank them for their time and wonder why they haven't come up with a cure for Alzheimer's.

 

[Stratos]

That is about the procedure I go through, expect for the automatic draft question.

Another question - ultimately CMS has the final say in the applicants enrollment. I have had applicants come back as denied and I could have swore they only had Medicare, but come to find out they had a retirement program from their deceased spouse. Go figure.

 

[Frank Stastny]

I have had applicants come back as denied and I could have swore they only had Medicare, but come to find out they had a retirement program from their deceased spouse. Go figure.

That was one I forgot to ad. However, usually when I ask what they show the person in the doctors office when they go for an appointment that sometimes covers it. If their doctor only asks once to see their cards and they showed them a while back they probably don't remember.

I have found that no matter how hard I try, occasionally I'm still surprised.

It keeps selling insurance interesting and a constant challenge.

 

[Bob_The_Insurance_Guy]

OK, I'm about to sound mean and nasty, but here it goes:

Whenever I hear of someone stating that they are getting out of the health arena (MA's, Med Supps, HDHP's, Groups, etc.), I have to question several things:

1. Did you not realize how detailed and labor intensive these products are? We are not talking about asset based products, whereby, if you have the money, you have the product. We are dealing with "what if" products. We are dealing with what is true today, may not be true 5 months from now. The due diligence is to keep yourself educated, CONSTANTLY, on what is going on in the field. Before, during and after "the app is filled out".
2. There are things you know you don't know, and there are things you don't know you don't know. This gets back to training. It gets back to role playing with your manager, other sales reps, etc. to make sure you are including all the steps, asking all the questions that pertain to each situation. Are there going to be times you blank out! Of course! If you are in the health arena, over a period of time, and you still feel overwhelmed, then there is a disconnect somewhere. Either you are not getting proper, and on-going training, or it's just not for you, and you need to specialize in some other product line. Time will tell.
3. Do you have the constitution for it? With asset based products, people get to "brag" about how much they have to put into an Annuity, Life Insurance Plan, or UIT. With health insurance, we are asking people to open themselves up, in ways that sometimes are very embarrasing, and that leads many reps to not ask the tough questions that need to be asked.

My advice is: Learn from your mistakes. Get training, whether it's through your FMO, or through other reps. If it is something that you enjoy reading about in your spare time, keep with it, and you'll do fine. If it's something that you don't want to fool with, once the workweek is over, please move on to something else.

As an insurance professional, you will serve yourself, and the buying public better with something that you have an affinity towards. LTC and Health are two topics that have affected my family tremendously; therefore, I have more passion about them. While I have sold Annuities in the past, I am NOT the Annuity expert, and usually go seeking advice, and in some cases, have turned the case over to other agents to handle.

Agents are hopping on the MA bandwagon because it's exciting, new, and profitable (in a certain respect), and that frightens the HE77 out of me. Where are these agents going to be 9 months from now, when there are problems to handle? Due diligence is being prepared before, during, and after the sale.

 

[Frank Stastny]

Agents are hopping on the MA bandwagon because it's exciting, new, and profitable (in a certain respect), and that frightens the HE77 out of me. Where are these agents going to be 9 months from now, when there are problems to handle? Due diligence is being prepared before, during, and after the sale.

Bob,

Your whole post is probably the best advice I have ever heard. You should copyright it and "sell it". Everyone who wants to get in this market should read that about 100 times and then read it again. That is a blueprint for success.

I also am concerned about new or relatively new agents who have jumped on the MA bandwagon. I don't want to offend anyone, but that is a totally different kind of "selling" than trying to sell Med Supps or other senior products.

It isn't terribly difficult to go into a zero premium county and present a MA plan with either no premium or a premium of only $30+ dollars a month. Seniors will take almost anything if they think they can save money. The long term implications of what they are doing seems to be of little concern to them "today". A lot have difficulty looking to "tomorrow".

If agents have gotten in this business as a result of MA plans they are going to be in a ton of hurt when MA plans begin to fizzle out or start getting as expensive as Med Supps.

Agents who have had to take a voter registration list as their "leads" and get on the telephone know what I'm talking about. Probably the best training I have ever had. It sure teaches you a lot about yourself and your abilities and desire to sell.

If you can make it doing that, then you can probably sell just about anything.

 

[midwestbroker]

If you want to know if someone has assistance or Medicaid, ask them how much they pay for their meds. If they have SS assitance or Medicaid, they will pay far less for their meds.

Many agents have no idea if a MA plan will work with Medicaid. The problem there is that there are a lot of them will not take the time to find out.

The other 1/2 of the problem is that if you call Medicaid, if it is anything like Missouri, 5 times, you will get 5 different answers.

 

[Stratos]

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[honestagent]

Bob -

Good post, very informative, and proved my point to a tee. With health insurance, are you absolutely sure that every sale is the right thing for that person. There is/are information that is withheld either, willingly or unwillingly during the interview/application process, regardless of "due diligence". It happens, the demographics dictate much of the issues with this program. There are issues with the MA programs, some are thrown together, or the support system is lacking. Yes - I did stop pursuing the MA client, just found the uncertainty of not having things "black and white" to my liking.

I do sell other, completely different insurance. As far as studying and reading up on my trade, I do enjoy educating myself and try to stay abreast of the happenings in my craft. That's how I found this place..

(by the way, I have done alright in MA programs the last two years, ranked top three nationally in my program(s)..)

Stratos,

Please do not take this the wrong way,and I mean no disrespect, but if you were top 3 for the past 3 years, then you should have known better.

Period.

You should have qualified more conducively to the goal and dug dug dug; further, if they have Medicaid, they CAN benefit profoundly with certain carriers that coordinate with the state. Not all of the carriers do coordinate well and do not want the duals. That is no secret nor was it ever. And this applies to: MAs and MA -PDPs and PDPs.

Nobody trained me. I trained me. I dug, and dug, and asked, asked, and you know, I am still asking. Do not rely on your upline. I did that one day in the field and it cost me hundreds of dollars from several deals I had to walk away b/c I relied on my dumb a$$ fmo!!! Rely on thy... you! And you will prevail; and most importantly, your clients will prevail b/c their state coverage will still be in force with no intereference and they will have extra extra really really nice perks too depending on the program that in you enroll them - if available in your area.

 

[midwestbroker]

With this market, you are dealing with a population that is bombarded by insurance company ads, CMS letters, SS information, etc. While they control 80% (or something along those lines) of the wealth, they also seem to get 90% of all the mail.

My point is that many people are confused to what they have and at what level. We can only do so much and rely on their information to make an accurate proposal. The more you pry with them, the more defensive they may get. Then you are going no where.

Bob said it best, you learn from your mistakes. So, now you know better and will not let this happen again.