Scope Question

[supersupps]

I got this email blast from a carrier:

[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Waiting Period:[/FONT][FONT='Times New Roman','serif'] There is a mandatory 48-hour waiting period for hardcopy signed Scope of Appointment forms and recorded scope of appointments scheduled from outbound calls not initiated by the prospect. The 48-hour waiting period does not apply to scope of appointments made from inbound calls, and outbound calls requested by the prospect through the medicarenewswatch.com website, or business reply cards.[/FONT]

[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']Would one interpret that there is no 48 hour waiting period if you sent out a mailer and got a reply to contact the prospect and then contacted them and set up an appt to see them?[/FONT]

 

[ksigmtsu]

If they contacted you, there is no waiting period, as long as they called you, sent you a reply card, or went through the website, according to what you said.

 

[supersupps]

This scope stuff is confusing.. For those that do lead drops, do you agree that there is no waiting period if a prospect sends in a reply card. I know the scope makes a big deal about walk-ins and no 48 hours is required. Is a reply card sent to an agent the same scenario? no 48 needed?

 

[ksigmtsu]

My understanding is that you need consent to contact to initiate a scope or outbound call, and once you have that there is no longer a need for any cool down unless you discuss different lines of business.

MA or PDP is NEVER supposed to be sold by outbound sales call with no consent to contact in the first place.

 

[midwestbroker]

From what I understand, the 48 hour period is if you were talking to a client about another product (calling them outbound about final expense) as outbound cold calls for MA or Part D are not allowed.

If the client calls or contacts you, there is no 48 hour cool off period.

However, CMS likes to revise what they say, then revise it 10 more times, then think about it and revise it again...

 

[Superchief]

What if you're on an appointment, doing a presentation for med supp and the client asks you about med advantage?

Do you get the SOA signed then come back in 48 hours for an MA presentation?

Can you just have them sign it right then and proceed?

Alternatively you could walk away from a sale.

 

[thall]

Does anyone really know for sure what you can do and cannot do? CMS needs to give an example of every possible scenario. If they say wait 23 hours after they clip their toenails, if they put it in writing then there can be no mistake. I can read what it says, but to have someone say thats what it means seem to be two different things.

 

[myinsurebiz]

CIP and Universal want a SOA regardless of lead / contact type. All appointments need a SOA. they even want you to comment on lead type, etc. If a friend comes over to a clients house while you are on an appointment - you need a SOA for the guest too.

Almost seems like CMS doesn't want everyone to be informed as well as they could be. Guess rogue agents / untrained agents brought this on?

To be done right - it's a cluster f&*% to get someone info and enroll them. Example:

Client mails in reply card. Agent has to call client and let them know the agent is mailing / faxing out a SOA, that needs to be signed and mailed / faxed back to the agent. Then the Agent can go on the appointment.

How many seniors have access to a fax machine?

To mail - will take days - maybe a week to get back. By then the client will probably lose interest / get cold feet.

Why have to get a SOA 48 hours before IF the client sent back in the dang card?

The was part of a CIP email today concerning SOA's:

[FONT=Arial,sans-serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]" As a reminder, CMS and Care Improvement Plus want to stress the importance of garnering Scope of Appointment and the importance of abiding by CMS and Plan guidance as it relates to SOA practices. CMS and the Plan's expectation is that Scope of Appointment will be gathered prior to the appointment unless it is not feasible. The following are examples of how to document these exceptional circumstances.
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] Example 1:
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] Sales Agent schedules an appointment with Medicare beneficiary, Ms. Doe to discuss her Medicare healthcare options.

Prior to the sales appointment, the Sales Agent sends an SOA form to Ms. Doe and asks that she sign, date, and return at least two days before the appointment. "



There is an out clause of -



[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][ However, Ms. Doe is unable to return the form before the sales appointment.

In this instance, Ms. Doe should sign and date an SOA form at the beginning of the sales appointment. The Sales Agent will then mark "It was not feasible..." and "Other". Additionally, in the space provided, the Sales Agent writes a brief explanation such as, "Ms. Does was unable to send me the signed SOA form prior to the sales appointment." ]


Wonder how many agents will have ALL the apps sent it as "unfeasible" ????

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[policy doctor]

Majority of my SOA's are unfeasible...due to SEP and no time to do the pony express circuit.

On another note...remember the discussin we had about the SOA's not being dated next to the signature.? ..well..lookee..lookee lookee

Just got a new SOA from CIP that requires signature and date by bene. It's a new 2-page form. Bye bye 1 page form. LOL....

 

[AgentPipeline]

I'm putting together a more comprehensive list for a blog post, but here are a couple helpful PDFs.

Today's Options: 2011 Scope of Appointment Requirment
UnitedHealthcare: Scope of Appointment Job Aid