Wellmark Agent "Forum"

[ctg]

I know most of you Iowa agents don't write much Wellmark BC/BS and probably won't be there, but I'll be at the Iowa Events Center on Thursday for their agent forum.

If given the opportunity, is there anything you would like me to ask?

 

[anonymous1]

Did you learn anything yesterday. We have pipac coming to us next month. Should be interesting to what Greg has to say

 

[ctg]

Yeah, it wasn't a waste of time. They went through their reasoning behind why they won't be on the exchange next year, tried to justify their $1.3B reserve, how much they're spending on IT and data analytics, went through the product offerings starting next year. Stuff like that. Rates will be submitted to the commissioner next week, so no idea what premiums will be, but members can renew through Dec 2014 saving a year's worth of increases. More tech stuff to come out in the fall agent training.

They said they want to shave 18% off administrative costs over the next few years, so the 250 or so agents that were there all cringed. But they said it won't come out of commissions and we'll be paid the same as now.

They spent a considerable amount of time trying to convince us that agents a big part of their plan. "We want do it with you, not to you." Apparently someone asked John Forsyth if he thought agents were an expense or an asset. He said "Expensive asset"

So it was pretty good. A little networking and a free lunch.

 

[anonymous1]

Thx. Seems interesting. Do we gave any Short tem med in iowa besides UHc one

 

[timsip]

Thx. Seems interesting. Do we gave any Short tem med in iowa besides UHc one

Assurant does...not very competitively priced, but it's there.

 

[anonymous1]

Wellmark will continue same commissions for 2014 So they have that going for them

 

[anonymous1]

Mutual med just had their contract terminated for Bc/bs of iowa Now the only place to get Bx is pipac. I think that is called a monopoly

 

[ctg]

My GA is trying to get some answers. Apparently, MuMed wasn't expecting it. I fully believe I'll be able to write Wellmark, I just don't know through whom...

Purely speculation, MuMed signed on with CoOp within the exchange. I wonder if that angered some of the Blues folks?

 

[anonymous1]

Yeah that could be. Greg Saul at pipac was really bashing co op I believe they now are the only bcbs ga left.

 

[ctg]

I talked to my GA in Iowa City last week. He sent his stuff through MuMed. My terminology may be off, but I'd submit an app to Wellmark, they paid MuMed who then paid Mike, who then cut a check to me.

He seemed fairly confident that he could work something out with someone else if MuMed is out of the picture. He's pretty dialed in and has been around for a long time. Mike's one of those guys who has forgotten more about health insurance than most of us will ever know.

Wellmark has a plan, we just don't know what it is yet.