PFFS Plans - STOP SELLING!

[policy doctor]

Just got an email from my Secure Horizons FMO. Evidently non-group enrollments are stopped by Friday. Also, if future customers contact us, we are to forward them to UHC customer service call center.
Hmmmm.....another freebie, I guess.

 

[honestagent]

A Medicare recipient can still enroll in PFFS plans. They can use the Medicare website, the carriers website or call the carrier direct to enroll, but an agent can't enroll a person.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that this could be a trial run to see how effective enrollments can be without paying a commission to an agent. Why else would some carriers agree to the moratorium and others haven't? Of course, I don't believe enrollments will be near as high as with a sales force. Humana already stated that they believe they will be down 8,000 enrollments per month during the moratorium and that it would reduce their bottom line by $.02 per share. In any event, this is one arrow out of the quiver until November. And that's a shame, because when I had someone that just couldn't afford a supplement, I would offer a MA plan. I was averaging 5-10 MA plans per month. If I can't replace those with supplements, I'm down $1650-$3300 per month in income. I don't hold out much hope that the LOEP will reopen (at least not for the remainder of 2007). Time to shift my focus elsewhere for a few months.

Thanks for the explanation; I get it now. I genuinely appreciate it.

 

[honestagent]

I'm getting mixed emails from certain fmos stating it could be a few weeks, few months, or total hault till next year. Time will be most telling.

I also was told the reason for this MA 're-testing' is to weed out the agents who do not know MAs nor have been certified
??!??!?!
Okay I'm confused. CONFUSED Y'ALL... WTF, I thought we had to be certified to sell and apparently, there are agents selling without certification??! Do any of you know of this? (Of course couple it with all of the other issues as well like deceptive agents, inadequate education and PR to docs, etc. etc.)

 

[midwestbroker]

Just because you took a test does not mean you know what you are doing.

No one knows for sure how long the halt will take. They are hoping for a resolution by AEP.

If it was for re-testing, why are is there no re-testing for HMO / PPO MA plans? The reason is provider acceptance. They are trying to figure out how people can use these plans in the rural markets.

 

[policy doctor]

So how come people can call in and get signed up, but not get written up by an agent. Are rural folk going to be screened out because of insufficient providers in their Zip code? That means carrier must have provider directory to do that. We don't.

You would think they would suspend PFFS sales all the way around.....even group enrollments are protected. Just the individual mkt is isolated......

The more I think the more confused I get.

Something

 

[sman]

Just because you took a test does not mean you know what you are doing.

No one knows for sure how long the halt will take. They are hoping for a resolution by AEP.

If it was for re-testing, why are is there no re-testing for HMO / PPO MA plans? The reason is provider acceptance. They are trying to figure out how people can use these plans in the rural markets.

Midwest,

Policy doctor makes a good point. If it has to do with provider acceptance, then why can the carrier still enroll people in PFFS plans and why are seniors allowed to enroll from the Medicare website or the carriers website?

I think it's about the crooks out there that will lie, cheat and steal to make the sale.

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

When they say the agents are selling it that arent certified, they might mean..... Agents enrolling people and then putting them in another agents name(an upline).

 

[InsuranceJosh]

I was told by unicare to keep selling b/c they are not one of the companies that were asked to stop selling.

 

[Guest]

I was told by unicare to keep selling b/c they are not one of the companies that were asked to stop selling.

CMS did not order any companies to stop...it is voluntary and the top carriers are volunteering. Unicare should not be held in a better light because they have not volunteered.

 

[Frank Stastny]

CMS did not order any companies to stop...it is voluntary and the top carriers are volunteering. Unicare should not be held in a better light because they have not volunteered.

Good answer Kyle,

If the media decides to make a "thing" about this and they announce the carriers who did not volunteer to stop selling it could come back and bite B/C in the ass and the agents who are still selling it.

I can see that this might come back on the agent and shake his/her credibility with their clients. Clients may, I said may, wonder why B/C is not following suite with the other "big guys".

Or I guess it could also go the other way where clients may assume that B/C is the only company that has always been in total compliance.

Could be a tough call as to which way it may go.