Medicare SEP

About the Author: With his signature common sense, quiet good humor, and brilliant customer service, Jim is an integral part of the RBI team — we’d go so far as to say we’d be lost without him! An Arizona native, Jim manages agent relationships for the East Coast and specializes in the RBI agent tools, especially the Agent Market Edge. Jim has been a licensed health insurance agent for 2 years, and has worked at RBI for almost 3 years. An accomplished bassoonist, he is known around the office for his amazing musical skills. In addition to keeping busy around the office, Jim frequently contributes to our blog, bringing a new agent’s perspective to the RBI online presence.

Don’t plan to Fail this AEP

You may have heard the phrase, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.” And you’ve also probably heard that “with great power comes great responsibility.” But I bet you haven’t heard the phrase, “with great planning and hard work comes great success.” That’s because I just made it up and it doesn’t flow as nicely. You can’t just expect to have a successful AEP without putting an ounce of thought into how you’re going to make that happen (much like the phrase I just came up with). Being a Medicare broker that offers a complete portfolio of products means having to comply with many regulations, including the Medicare Marketing Guidelines. Being in violation of these guidelines could cost you your Health Insurance License so it’s crucial that while you start putting together a plan, you remain compliant in marketing for Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans.

AEPBuild your Portfolio

Unless you are a super hero and always happen to luck your way into a successful Annual Enrollment Period, we mere mortals will have to stick to smart planning and hard work. This means having the products you’ll need in your portfolio that allows you to sell to at least 80% of the prospects you meet. Justin Bever, RBI Director of Marketing, gave a great workshop earlier in the year about the “Power of the Portfolio”. I would HIGHLY recommend giving it a look, especially if you intend to make a career in the Medicare market. Click here to watch the recording!

Medicare Advantage

As far as Medicare Advantage is concerned you want to make sure you have different carriers and plan types to offer beneficiaries. I always like to have a few competitive HMO’s, a good PPO option, a DSNP, plus any CSNP’s that are available. It’s your job to research the plans available in your market and determine which ones are likely to be competitive. Four things about all MA plans to consider are Network, Formulary, MOOP and cost sharing. If you need help deciding which carriers you need in your market, ask us, WE CAN HELP! Typically carriers will start to release ‘sneak peeks’ of their plan offerings for the new year towards the end of summer (July/August-ish).

Medicare Supplements

It seems like there’s as many Medicare Supplement carriers as there are stars in the sky. When looking at which Medicare Supplement carriers to add to your portfolio, rates aren’t the only thing you should be looking at. You’ll want to see what their outlook as a company is by using the market analytics in our quoting tool. You will want to look for companies that have been more stable with their rates and have a substantial number of lives insured in case the carrier has a bad year in claims. Click here to watch a demo of what RBI’s quoting software can do! 

Discounted AHIP and Carrier Certification

You will also need to take and pass the AHIP certification or an equivalent test. Just like the past two years RB Insurance will be offering all agents a $50 discount off your AHIP exam, all you need to do is subscribe to our blog and register for the AHIP with using the RBI link. Additionally, all RBI agents had the opportunity to be completely reimbursed. The AHIP exam is usually released the third week in June, so be sure to keep your eyes on the look out for our discount to be released in the coming weeks. Shortly after AHIP is released, carriers generally release their roll out schedule and let us know when we can begin the carrier certification process as well.

Goals – the Start of any Serious Plan

Like I said earlier, you can’t expect to have a great AEP without a plan in place. At RBI we develop marketing plans with our agents the M.A.P.S. way. Your plan should be Measurable, Actionable, Profitable, and Scalable. I’ll be doing a more in-depth article strictly about developing a marketing plan, but the basics of building a good plan starts with a goal. Long-term goals like, “I want to buy a Mercedes” are great, but I’m talking short term. Specifically, how many sales or how much money do you want to get out of the upcoming AEP. Who knows, maybe you’ll hit your long-term goal sooner than expected.

Brainstorming with agents on how they can grow their Medicare business is part of my job, so if you have any questions about how RBI can help you get started or grow your book of business, then give me a call directly at 1-800-997-3107!

2022 AHIP
2020 ahip discount certification
2019 AHIP
2019 Medicare Broker Compensation