Save Big: Medico + USA Senior Care Network

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.

Save Big with Medico + the USA Senior Care Network

Medico is introducing a brand new program that is designed to save your client’s money. This new program, the USA Senior Care Network program, is a completely voluntary program designed to help save you money when you obtain inpatient services at a USA Senior Care Network hospital. Best of all, this new program costs absolutely nothing!

About the Program

USA Senior Care Network has contracted with hospitals across the U.S. to waive all or a portion of your client’s Medicare Part A deductible if they’re admitted into a participating hospital. This allows them to pass some of those savings on to your clients in the form of a $100 premium credit on their next months Medicare supplement premium payment. For a list of participating hospitals in your area, click here!

USA Senior Care Network

How do You Receive the Premium Credit?

Beginning on June 22nd, 2018, when your clients are admitted into a hospital in the USA Senior Care Network, show your new insurance card with the USA Senior Care Network logo on the back (mailed on June 7, 2018). When Medicare applies a Part A deductible to their claim, the hospital will waive all or a portion of that deductible and will notify your client that an upcoming premium payment will be reduced by $100.

There are two groups of policyholders who will not be eligible for this program:

  1. Medicare Supplement Plan A policyholders are not included, because Plan A does not pay the Medicare Part A deductible.
  2. For legal reasons, this program is not available in the state of Missouri.

Current Coverage

Your clients Medicare supplement policy will remain unchanged by this program. They are not required to use a participating hospital, and you can still go to any hospital you choose. Your clients can now access their policy information on Medico’s secure customer portal at www.gomedico.com or they can call Customer Care Center at 1-800-228-6080.

Medico offers a whole suite of products that are designed to protect your clients from a multitude of situations! If you would like to get contracted, or learn more about their product offering, give me a call directly at 1-800-997-3107!

Medicare cost-sharing
Sales Champion Summit
Annual Enrollment Period

Video: RBI Carrier Hall of Fame Week 1

Video: RBI Carrier Hall of Fame Week 1 (ICYMI)

So if you’ve been following along this week on all our emails and event calendar, you know that April is “Carrier Spring Training” month! We are so excited for this new initiative, and just finished up our first week of webinars! But if you missed these webinars and don’t have time to re-watch them, here’s the RBI sales team to break down the highlights of each carrier, and what they do for your portfolio. Watch the videos below: RBI Carrier Hall of Fame Week 1!

This week, we heard from three tremendous carriers: Aetna/American Continental, Equitable and Medico. A big thank you to our presenters, William Davis (American Continental), Bill Ellsworth (Equitable), and Carrie Haubensak (Medico) who did a really amazing job introducing their products and telling us why members like their plans!  We have three videos below so you can get all the highlights on what makes each carrier a perfect fit for your portfolio!

Video: RBI Carrier Hall of Fame Week 1

Look for this symbol on all our new “Carrier Hall of Fame” videos!

When you think about these three carriers, each has something a little different to offer. And at RBI, we like having all three carriers in our portfolio so that we can speak to any client’s individual needs.

Watch the recording: American Continental. Watch the recording: Equitable. Watch the recording: Medico.

Click here to get contracted. Click here to see all our contracted carriers.

Sign up for the next webinars today! Click here to see the full calendar.

Subscribe to the RBI Agent’s Advantage Blog today!


All videos are for agent use only.



2 Simple Sales Tips
easy tax season deductions
Medicare Marketing Madness Roll-up
Targeting your ideal lead list for direct mail
Dual Eligible New Plan Member Outreach

Increase Your Cash Flow with Hospital Indemnity plans

As the National Sales Manager, I have spent countless hours on the road, teaching agents, conducting training sessions, and hosting recruiting events. I have realized that, no matter how diverse my audiences may be, certain things are universal- such as the unmistakable way my audience’s eyes glaze over as soon as I mention Hospital Indemnity plans. Most agents understand Indemnity plans in theory. They also agree that it is important to include a variety of ancillary products in their portfolio. But when it comes down to it, the majority of agents do notHospital Building bother to pitch Indemnity plans to their clients. Whether they don’t fully recognize the value, or the flat out don’t know how to sell it- RBI is here to help!

“Never leave money sitting on the table.” The old sales adage rings true. If you are not selling your clients an indemnity policy to complement their low-premium Medicare Advantage plan, that is EXACTLY what you are doing! Indemnity plans are extremely affordable, and you will quickly become your client’s hero once he or she experiences the benefits after that first hospital visit.

The primary concern of my Medicare Advantage clients is often, “How on earth will I pay for a hospital stay?!” I have also had several clients who grew frustrated with the high cost of Medicare Supplements, yet were afraid to switch to Medicare Advantage with their higher Hospital co-pays.. In either case, my solution was to enroll them into a low-premium (or no-premium) Medicare Advantage plan, along with a hospital indemnity plan for added coverage.

I never sign up a client for the “bare minimum.” It is better to have more coverage and not need it – than to not have it when you need it! Hospital costs continue to rise, and insurance plans evolve, but the health of my clients is generally not improving. I make sure to cover them for a hospital stay a little above and beyond the current hospital copay amounts. I do this because if a higher amount of coverage is needed at a later time, chances are they probably will not be healthy enough to pass the underwriting necessary to increase coverage. So far, not one of my clients has turned down the extra money they received from filing a claim.
RBI offers agents a variety of ancillary product carriers- GTL, Equitable, American Continental and Medico. GTL’s Advantage Plus plan is the only plan with a guaranteed issue period for ages 64 ½ to 65 ½. Bill Ellsworth, Vice President of Equitable, recorded an excellent presentation last year on how to sell hospital indemnity during a Medicare Advantage appointment. Frankly, it is probably the best training example I have ever seen, and I strongly recommend all Equitable agents seek it out on the Equiline broker site. Following Bill’s outline, I am confident you will be able to increase your commissions throughout the year.

Health products are the only products you can discuss during a Medicare appointment. You must make sure your client understands the need as you make your presentation. Show them the holes in their current plan, then fill it with an indemnity policy. All of the indemnity products can be cross-sold during an MA appointment. There is even a “Hospital Indemnity Plan” checkbox on the generic CMS-approved Scope of Appointment form most of us already use.

An Indemnity Webinar Invitation

Join us on Thursday, April 7th at 10:00 am (MST) for a webinar about how to cross sell indemnity products year round to protect your clients and increase your commissions. This is particularly important since carriers are now prorating all MA commissions other than a person that is new to Medicare.

 

 

 

Don’t leave money on the table this AEP: Sell Hospital Indemnity with Medicare Advantage

My first insurance sales trainer loved to tell me, “Don’t leave money on the table.” When it comes to coupling hospital indemnity plans with Medicare Advantage, his advice resonates a little louder. Hospital indemnity plans are very affordable for your clients and pay excellent first-year commissions, often in the 50 percent range (Of course, commission varies by states).

Most hospital indemnity plans offer inpatient confinement benefits ranging from $100 to $600 as well as an ER benefit. Depending on the carrier, optional features include benefits for skilled nursing facility days, follow-up appointments, outpatient surgery and even payment for the dreaded observation status. A cancer rider is an important option you can review with clients when discussing hospital indemnity.

Guarantee Trust Life, Equitable and Medico are carriers we are proud to affiliate with and offer to our agents. Just click on our Carriers page for more information or contact us at the number below. For those of you who concentrate on the T-65 market, note that GTL’s Advantage Plus plan is guaranteed issue for ages 64 ½ to 65 ½.

Bill Ellsworth, VP of Equitable, recorded an excellent presentation last year on how to give a good explanation of hospital indemnity during a Medicare Advantage appointment. Frankly, it’s the best training example I’ve seen, and I refer all of our Equitable agents to Bill’s training located on the password-protected Equiline.com broker site. My contact information is below if you’re an Equitable agent and are interested in learning more about Bill’s winning presentation.

In fact, Bill came out to our Arizona office last year to give us additional pointers on presenting Equitable’s EquiCash product. He definitely made me a believer. If you follow Bill’s outline, you should be able to double your MA commission for a surprisingly large number of your AEP and Lock-In appointments.

Cross selling you say! Presenting a hospital indemnity plan with a Medicare Advantage plan is totally compliant with the Medicare Marketing Guidelines.
Hospital indemnity plans are right there on the Scope of Appointment form. If the CMS-approved Scope form you are using does not list hospital indemnity, Medicare Supplements and DVH products, I’ll be glad to email you a copy.

Finally, don’t forget the younger members of the household. Many of these hospital plans are offered from 40-80 years of age. They’re particularly reasonable for the younger folks and can really help fill in those hefty ACA deductibles. Just remember that hospital indemnity coverage is not minimum essential coverage.

For contracting opportunities with GTL, Medico and Equitable, and to receive more useful training content, call RB Insurance at (800) 997 3107 or email me.

Hospital indemnity coverage is not minimum essential coverage

Hospital indemnity plans, often referred to as HI, have become a valuable add-on for many Medicare beneficiaries. With Medicare Advantage plans’ increasing copays and coshares, these HI options can be a relatively inexpensive solution for your senior clients. Yet seniors are not the only ones who can benefit from HI — you have the opportunity to sell these plans to younger prospects who are not eligible for Medicare.

Your non-Medicare clients may also benefit from a hospital indemnity plan. Just make sure clients have a health plan that fits minimum essential coverage requirements before you write. (Image courtesy of iStock)

Make sure your non-Medicare client is enrolled in a health plan that meets the minimum essential coverage guidelines as defined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before you write. All Medicare clients enrolled in Medicare Part A or who have a Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan are deemed to have minimum essential coverage. The on-exchange and off-exchange ACA plans also meet the guidelines, as do most of today’s employee group plans and a limited number of other health plan types.

If your non-Medicare client does not have a plan that complies with the minimum essential coverage guidelines, you should not write him or her a hospital indemnity plan. The carrier will most likely not issue the policy, which would result in a declined application and a disappointed client. An explanation of CMS’ regulation and guidance on the matter is available — start at page 54 after clicking on the link.

RB Insurance works with numerous carriers offering Hospital Indemnity coverage, including GTL, Equitable, Medico and others. Visit our Carriers page to find immediate contracting opportunities.

RB Insurance-affiliated agents can explore the excellent commissions HI can generate with our available online training and one-on-one training. Call (800) 997 3107 or email me for more information.

Click here to get our agent’s original content once a week by email.