PDP's going Sky-high in 2024? National Base Beneficiary Premium $64.28

[somarco]

Hey all, newbie here, heard an agent on a podcast say they offer MS clients a DIY guide on PDPs to choose and manage their own PDP enrollment, AND/OR they offer a paid service to conduct the PDP enrollment for a one-time fee ($149 for one, $249 for a couple as they age in). Anyone done this? Allowed? Thanks.

The DIY guide is lazy and won't earn the broker any brownie points from their client.

As for charging a fee, that varies by state, and some states require a consulting license if you are charging a fee. Most, if not all, states say you can't charge a fee AND collect a commission.

Agents that promote this via podcast are asking for trouble.

FWIW, there is a national brokerage agency that does charge an up front fee ($699 + $149 for annual reviews) and CLAIMS they do not receive a commission (implying they are unbiased).

AFAIK almost all Medicare products (Medigap, PDP, MAPD) include commissions baked into the product. If they are legally doing this my guess is the fee is paid to the parent company (or a subsidiary company) and is never shared with the "consultants". If that is the way they are handling it then it sounds a bit squirrely and might not pass muster in the case of an audit.

 

[LostDollar]

FWIW, there is a national brokerage agency that does charge an up front fee ($699 + $149 for annual reviews) and CLAIMS they do not receive a commission (implying they are unbiased).

If you are talking about the person with the initials D. O., their site says they are not insurance agents. I have just taken that as true and never tried to check it any further.

 

[somarco]

If you are talking about the person with the initials D. O., their site says they are not insurance agents. I have just taken that as true and never tried to check it any further.

Well . . . they are supposed to be licensed if they want to discuss insurance products. If SOMEONE in the agency is taking the handoff to discuss and enroll them in plans, that person needs to be licensed.

Dave Ramsey supposedly is not licensed but he has no problem recommending a particular agency that supposedly kicks back $$$ to the Ramsey organization in exchange for the referrals.