Medicare Supplements

[honestagent]

Hi there.

I'm just looking for some thoughts from you experts who sell these. I never have and would like to have 2 really strong companies that provide excellent service, lowest premiums and highest benefits for the members / clients, brand name for doc's and clients will recognize, and a company that PAYS THEIR AGENTS IN A TIMELY SUFFICIENT MANNER.

Any feedback you can share is greatly appreciated in advance.

Thanks.

 

[midwestbroker]

The biggest seller in supps is premium.

Plan F is Plan F is Plan F All pay the same in the eyes of the member, just a matter of how much you are paying in premium.

Example:
BCBS of Kansas City $135 a mo for F
United World $85 a mo for F

You can usually go to your states DOI (department if insurance) website and price out supps from there.

 

[Dave020]

Why I like Blue Cross CA for CA Medsupps. In addition to the standard A-J choices which, as stated, are all the same and premium is the issue, Blue here provides some enhanced versions of F which can be a great fit for lower utilization clients. They offer a high deductible F for around $30 a month ($1850 2007 deductible) which you can "prefer" for another $20 a month and get $5 unlimited office visits, chiro, vision from VSP. They also have a "plus" version which gets you a 1-year LTC coverage at I believe $100 per day. That one does tend to drive the price up.

I like that flexibility and it comes in low cost for catastrophic supplemental coverage.

BCC also has introducted MA PPO callled Freedom Blue which while a MA plan, allows access to the large PPO provider population. Best part on that, it is $0 premium statewide and includes Part D coverage. This is really nice for pre-65 as the standard A,C, F & J on pre-65 don't yield any commission.

Let's just say that in CA no one else is doing anything exept standard A-J (and a couple doing K and L now).

Dave
www.davefluker.com

 

[johnrocks]

med supp companies

united world it is owned by Mutual Of Omaha which has great name recognition it is the lowest priced Plan F here in louisiana they deliver superior service and you get paid every Friday on the previous weeks biz The comm rate is a little lower than some but that is one reason their rates are lower and you can get 12 months advanced they also have a great web site for agents

 

[Guest]

BCC also has introducted MA PPO callled Freedom Blue which while a MA plan, allows access to the large PPO provider population. Best part on that, it is $0 premium statewide and includes Part D coverage. This is really nice for pre-65 as the standard A,C, F & J on pre-65 don't yield any commission.

And you can't get them for pre-65. Here is output from a quote attemp on the BC website:

Rates Effective: 3/15/2007
Zip Code:
95628	Subscriber Age:60	
Health Coverage for:Subscriber Only	
Subscriber age should be 65 or above

You can get an F from Blue shield but it will cost $614 month in Sacramento... and is not GI:

*Those 64 or younger who do not have End Stage Renal Disease may apply for Blue Shield of California Medicare Supplement coverage as described in Blue Shield's Guaranteed Acceptance Guide. Blue Shield of California does not offer coverage to those 64 or younger unless they qualify for guaranteed acceptance.

...which I assume to mean that no one ever gets it... because the only way you would have Medicare under 65 would be if you were on disability.... right? And you know what the underwriter is going to do.

Al

 

[Dave020]

Al I tried to duplicate your output attempt and if you ran the quote under seniors and then inputted and age below 65, that is what the screen says. I does not quote any plans, including the ACFJ that have always been available. You have to run it under individual, not senior, and then it won't show the Freedom Blue anyway because BC CA made it very clear at the rollout that they would do zero to market the product. It's available and at pre-65, they told me so at least three times as senior agent support. It just won't be added to any quote engine they have.

If you run it for a 70 year old, Freedom Blue will not show up there either but the other plans including the modified Fs will.

Freedom Blue IS available pre-65. And it is the only pre-65 product that will pay a monthly commission.

Blue Shield CA has priced their pre-65 at the pseudo ridiculous level and no one in their right mind would buy it. It is substantially higher than competitors pre-65 products and has been for many years.

All Medsupps, regardless of age are a decline with no guaranteed-issue option for end stage renal failure. It is the one criteria that eliminated the GI option. It is simply an uninsurable risk (although they can go MRMIP for that I believe with no upper age limit). And yes, end stage renal failure is terminal.

Dave

 

[Guest]

Fs will.

Freedom Blue IS available pre-65. And it is the only pre-65 product that will pay a monthly commission.

Oh yes, I know. I put my wife on the Freedom One plan.... zero premium. Pays me something like $27/mo. commission.

Al

 

[Frank Stastny]

Honestagent,

It is going to depend on which state you live in as far as which company is "the best" Usually "the best" is defined by the ones who have the lowest premium.

"The Best" ones are going to change from year to year. Over the last three or four years we have had several companies new to Missouri begin selling med supps. Their rates were really low for a couple of years and now they are in the "also ran" place in the supplement market.

For the most part it isn't the companies who "give excellent service", it is the agent or at least it should be. All of the ones I work with are pretty much the same.

All of the companies I have ever represented pay me well. It is all automatic deposit and they have never missed a deposit date. My commissions varies from company to company. They have ranged from a low of 15% to as high as 25%.

Pay more attention to how stable the companies premiums have been for the last several years instead of licensing with all the companies who pay the highest commission.

I will probably get a lot of disagreement on this but I believe that Plan D is the best investment of a client's premium dollar. It is also the plan that typically gets one of the smallest increase in premium. I don't recommend Plan F to my clients and really don't sell it. I can go into a lot more detail on that if you would like.

I have never found that having a "recognizable name" of an insurance company when selling med supps to be a great advantage. I have never sold supps for one of the "house hold name" companies, yet I have been very successful in the supplement market for a very long time. Continental Life in Brentwood, TN is right now the main company I use and none of my clients have ever heard of them before I mentioned it.

Doctors don't really care who their patient has their supp with. All they want to know is that the patient has one. The doctors do not bill the supplement company. They send the claim to Medicare and Medicare forwards the claim to the supplement company. I have never had problems with any of the companies paying the doctors or hospitals.

The most important part of selling supps is staying in touch with your clients. Seniors love to hear from their agent. They like receiving birthday letters and lose their sense of humor if their agent doesn't promptly return their phone calls.

I have replaced more policies simply because the prospect was mad at their agent because their phone calls went unanswered.

Tell us what state you live in and we may be able to offer more help. if you would like to give me a call I can share in a lot more detail what I have picked up over the years.

Oh, the sweetest close I have ever uses is: "I just need to see your Medicare card to get this started." It is non threatening, I am not asking for either their signature or money, I just want their Medicare card. I'm still amazed when they say, I'll be right back, my purse or wallet is in the bedroom. God, I love this business.

 

[Guest]

Honestagent,

It is going to depend on which state you live in as far as which company is "the best" Usually "the best" is defined by the ones who have the lowest premium.

"The Best" ones are going to change from year to year. Over the last three or four years we have had several companies new to Missouri begin selling med supps. Their rates were really low for a couple of years and now they are in the "also ran" place in the supplement market.

For the most part it isn't the companies who "give excellent service", it is the agent or at least it should be. All of the ones I work with are pretty much the same.

All of the companies I have ever represented pay me well. It is all automatic deposit and they have never missed a deposit date. My commissions varies from company to company. They have ranged from a low of 15% to as high as 25%.

Pay more attention to how stable the companies premiums have been for the last several years instead of licensing with all the companies who pay the highest commission.

I will probably get a lot of disagreement on this but I believe that Plan D is the best investment of a client's premium dollar. It is also the plan that typically gets one of the smallest increase in premium. I don't recommend Plan F to my clients and really don't sell it. I can go into a lot more detail on that if you would like.

I have never found that having a "recognizable name" of an insurance company when selling med supps to be a great advantage. I have never sold supps for one of the "house hold name" companies, yet I have been very successful in the supplement market for a very long time. Continental Life in Brentwood, TN is right now the main company I use and none of my clients have ever heard of them before I mentioned it.

Doctors don't really care who their patient has their supp with. All they want to know is that the patient has one. The doctors do not bill the supplement company. They send the claim to Medicare and Medicare forwards the claim to the supplement company. I have never had problems with any of the companies paying the doctors or hospitals.

The most important part of selling supps is staying in touch with your clients. Seniors love to hear from their agent. They like receiving birthday letters and lose their sense of humor if their agent doesn't promptly return their phone calls.

I have replaced more policies simply because the prospect was mad at their agent because their phone calls went unanswered.

Tell us what state you live in and we may be able to offer more help. if you would like to give me a call I can share in a lot more detail what I have picked up over the years.

Oh, the sweetest close I have ever uses is: "I just need to see your Medicare card to get this started." It is non threatening, I am not asking for either their signature or money, I just want their Medicare card. I'm still amazed when they say, I'll be right back, my purse or wallet is in the bedroom. God, I love this business.

Frank, everything you say is 100% right on.

2.25% of my clients are on the F plan--and that is only because they insisted. I can not believe how many "gurus" seem dumbfounded when I tell them I never recommend the F plan. They are looking for high premium dollars if that is all they sell.

 

[sman]

Honestagent,

It is going to depend on which state you live in as far as which company is "the best" Usually "the best" is defined by the ones who have the lowest premium.

"The Best" ones are going to change from year to year. Over the last three or four years we have had several companies new to Missouri begin selling med supps. Their rates were really low for a couple of years and now they are in the "also ran" place in the supplement market.

For the most part it isn't the companies who "give excellent service", it is the agent or at least it should be. All of the ones I work with are pretty much the same.

All of the companies I have ever represented pay me well. It is all automatic deposit and they have never missed a deposit date. My commissions varies from company to company. They have ranged from a low of 15% to as high as 25%.

Pay more attention to how stable the companies premiums have been for the last several years instead of licensing with all the companies who pay the highest commission.

I will probably get a lot of disagreement on this but I believe that Plan D is the best investment of a client's premium dollar. It is also the plan that typically gets one of the smallest increase in premium. I don't recommend Plan F to my clients and really don't sell it. I can go into a lot more detail on that if you would like.

I have never found that having a "recognizable name" of an insurance company when selling med supps to be a great advantage. I have never sold supps for one of the "house hold name" companies, yet I have been very successful in the supplement market for a very long time. Continental Life in Brentwood, TN is right now the main company I use and none of my clients have ever heard of them before I mentioned it.

Doctors don't really care who their patient has their supp with. All they want to know is that the patient has one. The doctors do not bill the supplement company. They send the claim to Medicare and Medicare forwards the claim to the supplement company. I have never had problems with any of the companies paying the doctors or hospitals.

The most important part of selling supps is staying in touch with your clients. Seniors love to hear from their agent. They like receiving birthday letters and lose their sense of humor if their agent doesn't promptly return their phone calls.

I have replaced more policies simply because the prospect was mad at their agent because their phone calls went unanswered.

Tell us what state you live in and we may be able to offer more help. if you would like to give me a call I can share in a lot more detail what I have picked up over the years.

Oh, the sweetest close I have ever uses is: "I just need to see your Medicare card to get this started." It is non threatening, I am not asking for either their signature or money, I just want their Medicare card. I'm still amazed when they say, I'll be right back, my purse or wallet is in the bedroom. God, I love this business.

Frank, everything you say is 100% right on.

2.25% of my clients are on the F plan--and that is only because they insisted. I can not believe how many "gurus" seem dumbfounded when I tell them I never recommend the F plan. They are looking for high premium dollars if that is all they sell.

So when I sell a Plan F that is cheaper than any Plan D available in my area, I am after the premium dollars?