My my CMS...cannot Believe this

russelltw

Guru
1000 Post Club
1,257
Don't you love it when CMS sends you an email on "top tips for writing emails"

Their words....
1) Emphasize the deadline: This could well be the most incentivizing point, so make sure to include it! If people miss the deadline, they’ll likely have to wait another year to get covered. That means going another year without the peace of mind that comes with coverage when they need it – if they get sick, break a bone, or need emergency surgery – and being required to pay a penalty for not having coverage. We’ve found this type of messaging to be most effective, starting about a week before each deadline.

Language to get you started:
o January 31st is the final deadline for coverage and the last chance to avoid the penalty in 2016.
o Open Enrollment only happens once each year. This year’s Open Enrollment for 2016 coverage runs from November 1 through January 31. Don’t miss your chance to get covered.
o If you don't get covered by the January 31 deadline, you could face a penalty on your taxes next year of $695 or more.


Are you kidding me!?!? CMS (who runs medicare and medicare advantage plans) says it's against the law to "pressure" seniors into signing up before the deadline. One of my companies had a secret shopper report a guy at a seminar for med adv because he said "remember, December 7th is the last day of AEP." Secret shopper felt like the agent was pressuring the attendees...
 
My e-mail marked it as a possible phishing attempt. I had to check several times before I realized it was actually from CMS.
 
Feds don't care about the state laws. Not at all.

CMS is there to punish agents only. How easily do they look the other way when insurance carriers change or cancel compensation mid OEP.

Not to mention, The Marketplace engages in HIGH PRESSURE SALES TACTICS, like what is clearly written in your e-mail, without any regards to state laws that prohibit those practices. Any one who enters their e-mail in there gets 2-3 emails a day. Enter your phone number they will call you EVERY DAY.

I have yet to see regulatory agency say a word about any of that. My guess is they put out a report or some worthless statement after OEP.

Sent from my iPhone using InsForums
 
Feds don't care about the state laws. Not at all.

CMS is there to punish agents only. How easily do they look the other way when insurance carriers change or cancel compensation mid OEP.

Not to mention, The Marketplace engages in HIGH PRESSURE SALES TACTICS, like what is clearly written in your e-mail, without any regards to state laws that prohibit those practices. Any one who enters their e-mail in there gets 2-3 emails a day. Enter your phone number they will call you EVERY DAY.

I have yet to see regulatory agency say a word about any of that. My guess is they put out a report or some worthless statement after OEP.

Sent from my iPhone using InsForums

Yes - it's akin to harassment - people were so upset leading up to the 12/15 deadline this enrollment. They told me they were getting emails, calls & texts daily . . . .
 
On a sunny day on Oct 1st 2013, i created a HC.gov account to see the new system, an did not select a plan.

Since that day, and more recently, I receive 2 emails, 2 calls, 2 texts almost every day during OEP.

Eat your own cooking and be subjected to the same harassment that your clients experience. Get in line!
 
Haven't heard of text message harassment.

Now I am impressed.

I am officially afraid to give my customer's info to the... Government.

Maybe we are all clicking on the wrong link or the FFM Web Address has been hijacked and we are entering the customer's info into a Russian/Chinese website posing as the government? That may explain why the emails and phone call to customers sound like Nigerian Extortion Fraud Schemes;

"Hey you American, you enroll now or you pay thousands in tax money later. We steal your tax refund if you no buy plan now. Not too late to save yourself. American with no plan lose everything. Hospital will come, take your house, sell your daughter. You ENROLL PLAN NOW"!

After all, where did the government learn to apply high pressure sales tactics like that? Only an expert at gaming the system and bending the rules would use advanced techniques. Harassment by text is worse than the most annoying persistent door to door sales man.
Could they have come up with that on their own?

It's not like they are being bought off by insurance companies, conspiring with them to wipe out agents.....nah....now I'm being paranoid.

(
"<UILongPressGestureRecognizer: 0x18277f80; state = Possible; view = <UITableViewCellContentView 0x18220dd0>; target= <(action=_longPressGestureRecognized:, target=<ThreadSummaryTableItemCell 0x17451600>)>>"
)
 
You had me up to here:

(
"<UILongPressGestureRecognizer: 0x18277f80; state = Possible; view = <UITableViewCellContentView 0x18220dd0>; target= <(action=_longPressGestureRecognized:, target=<ThreadSummaryTableItemCell 0x17451600>)>>"
)

Then you lost me...

----------

Ahh...seems to be an iOS thing...
 
Back
Top