Allegian and Harbor Health Plan expand their market share for 2016!

RB Insurance is ready to make more sales happen for our affiliated agents in Texas and Michigan. Allegian Health Plans in the Lone Star State and Harbor Health Plan in the Great Lakes State are set to offer extremely competitive Medicare Advantage plans in new counties for 2016, expanding their total market share.

Allegian Health Plans Shines in an under-served market

Formerly known as Valley Baptist Health Plans, Allegian started as a physician’s network in southern Texas over 15 years ago, providing health care services to Texas residents under Allegian Advantage Insurance Company. It contracted with employers in the lower Rio Grande Valley to administer health benefits to employees. On January 1, 2014, Allegian Advantage made its debut as Texas’ newest HMO providing medical, hospital and prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries in the lower Rio Grande Valley. The plan was huge success and offered some of the best care in an under-served market.

Harbor Health Plan offers coverage to Motor City members

Since 1996 Harbor Health Plan has provided health care services to Michigan residents, first as ProCare Health Plan and now as Harbor Health Plan, administering Medicaid benefits to residents of Wayne County. Offering what some would call a superior Care Delivery System with over 1,500 contracted physicians and 10 major hospitals in the Detroit area. On January 1, 2014 Harbor Health Plan officially launched Harbor Advantage, a Michigan-based HMO that provides medical, hospital and prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries living in Wayne County.

Why should you pay attention to these excellent plans

Simply put, these two plans are in a great position to build on their momentum and they want to share their success with independent agents by providing you direct carrier leads. In Texas, Allegian is expanding into San Antonio and El Paso counties for 2016. If you’re an agent working in these markets, add Allegian to your portfolio of senior products to give your clients the freedom to choose the specialist that’s right for them.

In Michigan, Harbor Health Plan is set to hit a home run as it expands into Macomb and Oakland counties for 2016.

As an agent, you’ll love how easy it is to work with these carriers. Even though the benefits aren’t available yet, their Unique Care Delivery System (Open Access, No Referral Networks) provides an unique selling position for you as an agent. Keep checking The Agent’s Advantage and bookmark our redesigned website to say updated!

Your clients will appreciate the freedom to choose how they receive their healthcare as part of a member-focused health plan. Best of all, you’ll receive the maxmium CMS-allowable commission when you choose to represent one of these great plans paid to you directly.

So, are you ready to take advantage of this expansion opportunity? Click here to begin your easy, two-step Harbor Health Plan contracting. Allegian Health Plans contracting is just as easy — just click here.

 

 

Get out there and market yourself! Part Two

Here’s my second post in a series of three about different kinds of events you can be a part of to market your senior insurance business. Read Part One here.

I loved working informal sales events when I was in the field full time because it’s an effective and compliant way to set appointments.

Informal sales events include popular senior expos, county fairs, church meetings and just about any gathering that’s likely to attract groups of Medicare beneficiaries. I’ll go over a few simple dos and don’ts below that can help you set more appointments, but you should always check CMS’ Medicare Marketing Guidelines for the complete set of regulations regarding marketing yourself at informal sales events

 

If you’re going to work an event, you’ve got to register as soon as possible. Choose one of your contracted Medicare Advantage carriers to represent and use their registration process (Call us at (800) 997 3107 if you’ve never done this before or need an assist). You only need to register with one carrier even if you are displaying materials from several plans. Captive agents can only offer the products from their company, but independent brokers and agents can offer a broad range of products from multiple companies.

By all means, do not sit down at your table or booth. Instead, have a chair or two for attendees to sit down so you can then start a conversation. Greet seniors as they pass by with a good morning or hello. Always make eye contact, and for goodness’ sake, smile! Seniors can be reluctant to discuss their health, well-being and finances, so it’s up to you to break the ice.

Contacting your carrier broker reps and asking for all the gewgaws and brief plan brochures they can muster is another great way to prepare. Get them from all your carriers and restock the table after a while. Who among us doesn’t love free stuff?

Have an Internet-connected laptop at your table. You can show a senior anything displayed on a carrier’s website or demonstrate Medicare.gov’s plan finder features. However, try to avoid researching docs, drugs or copays at the event. Offer to do the research for them and promise them a call back or appointment.
You should use a Permission To Contact Form (PTC) to collect seniors’ call back information in a compliant manner. Most carriers have these available. Try to get a Scope of Appointment if you’re working with Medicare Advantage, but keep in mind the PTC is a lot less intimidating to the average senior. Why most agents don’t use PTC forms is a mystery to me. Let me be very clear, though: Do not do enrollments at informal events. Keep a minimum number of enrollment packets available from the event registering plan (especially for Secret Shoppers, something I’ll cover next time).

Remember, the goal of your attendance at the event is to set as many appointments and call-backs as you can. Provide seniors with enticing factual hors d’oeuvres, not the full meal! Plan a call-back or make a home appointment to look up docs or medications or to report back any research. You’re much more likely to close the appointment with a sale if you can show you’re able to do due diligence for your clients.

For more informal sales event tips, call RB Insurance at (800) 997 3107 or email me. Subscribe to our blog here. RB Insurance-affiliated agents can call us for pointers or assistance with planning sales events.

Take the fast-track for senior insurance sales success

We’re rolling out our fast-track appointment application just in time for the 2016 senior insurance sales season. So what is it?

It’s simple: Our fast-track application is up to 22 different appointment applications in one. We’ve gone through each of our carrier partners’ appointment processes and combined them as much as possible to substantially reduce the amount of time and toil it takes for you to build a compelling portfolio of senior insurance products.

Why complete up to 300 total pages of paperwork by yourself when you can fill out a fraction of that and let us make it happen for you? Offer your clients a choice between multiple carriers for Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, Hospital Indemnity and Final Expense without getting a migraine.

We estimate our fast-track application saves agents up to six hours of time that could be better spent marketing themselves at educational or sales events or at appointments they’ve scheduled through our Medicare Sales Engine if they were looking to appoint with just our top carriers.

You will still need to go through certification for MA plans in order to be Ready To Sell, but we have worked hard to eliminate the hassles of representing new carriers so you can focus on taking care of your clients.

AHIP 2016 is here. Start planning your successful senior insurance sales season now with RB Insurance by calling (800) 997 3107 or emailing me to learn more about our most competitive carrier products available in your target markets.

Get out there and market yourself! Part One

Wondering about marketing opportunities? Well it’s time to “Get out there and market yourself! (Part One)” Here’s my first post in a series of three about different kinds of events you can be a part of to market your senior insurance business.

I’ve got a buddy who’s been a successful senior insurance advisor here in Arizona for the past 20 years who just refuses to schedule or participate in any type of educational events. He likes to say his wife’s the social worker, not him.

I’ve attempted to change his mind about how valuable this type of marketing is — and it is marketing — but he just can’t see it. I have regaled my agent friend with the example set by a successful Las Vegas agent I know who only does educational event meetings to market himself. This guy works home and office appointments gleaned from those encounters all year long. My Sin City agent friend does at least two events a week and has contacts with just about every professional, fraternal, veteran and charitable organization in the county.

His CMS-regulated business consists of about 50 percent Medicare Advantage and about 50 percent Medicare Supplements with a Part D plan. He loves presenting final expense and add-on hospital indemnity products. Not bad for an agent who’s a senior himself. He never leaves a venue until he has answered every lingering question, and he tells me he goes through more than 500 business cards a month.

Market Yourself

“What?” you say, “you can’t sell or market at an educational event?” You are absolutely correct! The Medicare Marketing Guidelines tell us specific CMS-regulated products cannot be sold or discussed at these events (Here’s a much shorter compliance cheat sheet). While CMS does not require formal registration for these events, they are regularly evaluated by Secret Shoppers.

No marketing activity is allowed at educational events like those my Las Vegas friend puts on. What does that mean? It means you cannot steer to a specific plan, hand out marketing materials, gather Scopes of Appointment or Permission To Call forms.

So how does this agent generate leads and referrals from events?

He or she makes an announcement at the end of his or her formal presentation. Something like this does the trick: “This is an educational event, so I can’t put my business cards on the table, but some of you have asked for one. I will be at the back of the room as you leave, so if you want a card just ask. If you have any other questions just give me a call — I don’t charge for advice!”

That’s all it takes to successfully market yourself at educational events.

For more detailed training on conducting compliant and profitable events, our affiliated agents can call me at 1-800-997-3107 or email me. I don’t charge for advice, either.

Next week, I’ll tell you more about informal sales events, stay tuned!

Want to get more information on how to market yourself? We love helping you out! Give us a call at 1-800-997-3107 or watch this great webinar! Sign up for the “Make Community Marketing Work for You” webinar and go even further!

ICYMI: Our senior sales seminar was a smash!

In case you missed our Power of the Portfolio Approach seminar series we held in our home state of Arizona, I’ll give you a quick rundown. Though it wasn’t without its hiccups, we had a great turnout! The open house at our office last Friday was well attended with a barbecue lunch courtesy of our favorite local restaurant, Can’t Stop Smokin’.

A number of our guests are just getting started in the senior market. After appointing for the first time with our fast-track application, they’re well on their way to selling multiple carrier products to maximize their earning potential. Several agents who have been in the industry for a while said they didn’t realize how easy it can be to pick up an additional carrier or five — yes, I’m serious! — with just one packet.

We had some great discussions about what’s happening in the senior market and ways to keep your clients from being poached by other agents. The No. 1 question, though, was about Lead generation. I don’t know how many times I was asked “How do I get in front of more people compliantly?” in the past two weeks!

RB Insurance is all about partnership. Call us at (800) 997 3107 to learn more about our senior insurance marketing products and services and our unique portfolio approach to sales. Image courtesy of iStock

RB Insurance is ready to share community marketing strategies with the Medicare Compare brand that can get you out meeting more people and making more sales. We’ve found that the more involved an agent is in the community, the more successful he or she is overall. Brandon Clay says it the best: “As you serve, you deserve”.

Something else that was on the top of agents’ minds was how to manage a large book of business without letting valuable Leads fall off the radar. We have a great solution with the Medicare Sales Engine (MSE), either standalone or paired with our Massive Response Mailers, which we print ourselves and send out three weeks earlier than any of our competitors.

I’d like to give special thanks to Susan Hayward from Fox, Hayward and Associates for being my MSE tester. We uploaded her humungous client file. She helped us with our processes to ensure a smooth delivery for the client mailers she purchased as part of her marketing efforts.

We’d like to welcome agents that are new to RB Insurance and Medicare Compare. We’re looking forward to a long and prosperous partnership.

RB Insurance is here to make it happen for you. Call us at (800) 997 3107 or stop by our home office if you have a question. Check out our  calendar  to stay up to date on our trainings and events plus carrier certification events. Get our weekly newsletter by subscribing here.

This year, save time and ace the AHIP on your first try

AHIP has announced a June 22 release date for the 2016 annual sales training.

Now that most Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plan insurers accept or mandate America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Medicare training, we would be remiss not to assist our affiliated agents with some tips regarding the navigation of this annual rite of passage. Be advised though — a few carriers have their own internal training available in lieu of the AHIP courses.

Many agents who have successfully completed AHIP for several years probably are spending more time than necessary to complete the courses and prepare for the test. New agents often invest days in study and rote memorization efforts. Hopefully, we can ease any trepidation with a few simple tips and reminders as we head into the sales season.

Beside remembering that learning and accountability are why we take the AHIP, keep the following in mind:

  • AHIP is an open-book test. Remember that term from school? It means you can print the entire course slideshow or even order a booklet. Call us at the number below to learn a better way to keep information in front of you while you take the test.
  • Pace yourself. The comprehensive test phase of AHIP takes two hours, and you have three attempts to pass with a minimum score of 90 percent. Eliminate all distractions while you’re taking the test — leave your phone in another room, close out of other programs or websites on your computer, etc.
  • If you don’t pass AHIP within your three allotted attempts, you’re done for the next six months. Some carriers do have alternative training available, so check with their broker support. Do not re-register for the course and pay another $125 or $175. You can re-register, repay and go through the course to take the test again, but Medicare Advantage carriers will not recognize the pass grade for the fourth or subsequent attempts. Last year we assisted three agents who made this rather expensive mistake.
  • You’re not finished after you pass the test. You still must complete the Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA) module and test before you are totally done. You’ll know you’re done when you receive a certificate.

RB Insurance-affiliated agents can call us at (800) 997 3107 or email Tom O’Neil, our Senior Broker Trainer, to discover simple strategies to pass the AHIP with a 90 percent or better score. He’s scored 100 percent three years in a row — we’re ready to make the same happen for you this sales season!

Medicare enrollment is mostly a matter of time

I’m not about to tell you the senior market is set to explode as 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every day in this country because I’m sure you’ve already gotten word by now. Instead, I want to remind experienced agents or those just getting started in this market that it’s mostly a matter of timing for seniors when it comes to getting the most out of Medicare.

You can strengthen your business as an agent by helping your prospective clients navigate the complex Medicare enrollment schedule. If seniors enroll without knowing about possible penalties, their decision could literally cost them for the rest of their lives.

Let your turning-65 clients know there may be penalties for not enrolling in Medicare Parts B and D.

Medicare Enrollment is a matter of time

Most seniors and agents aren’t aware Medicare enrollment is sensitive to time. In fact, the program will only let you know you are eligible to enroll if you are already on Social Security. If a senior waits until full retirement age to enroll in Medicare, he or she will probably owe a late enrollment penalty for the rest of his or her life. And as the full retirement age for Social Security inches past 65, the penalty increases, too.

If a senior does not sign up for Medicare during his or her predetermined seven-month open enrollment period, he or she has to pay a 10 percent annual penalty on the Medicare Part B premium along with a one-percent monthly penalty for Medicare Part D for every month without coverage. The good news is the penalty does not apply as long as you have some sort of credible coverage to give you a  special enrollment period to enroll into Medicare Part B with no penalty.

Not everything counts as credible coverage, either. Group coverage based on current employment does count, for example, but a group retiree plan does not. COBRA coverage doesn’t count either. Perhaps to add insult to injury, seniors have to wait until the general enrollment period (January 1 to March 31) to sign up for Medicare, then wait until July 1 to actually use the coverage.

I’ll give you an example of how these penalties might sneak up on seniors and agents:

I have an 83-year-old-client whose husband passed away on April 19. Her group retiree coverage ended on May 20. She told me that because her group retirement plan had great coverage, she never signed up for Part B. I was sure I heard wrong when she informed me she wasn’t eligible for a special enrollment period, but she was right.

When I called Social Security myself to find out why, I was told that a SEP is based on current employment — retiree coverage doesn’t count. My client has Medicare Part A, but won’t be able to enroll in Part B for over a year. I enrolled her into a Part D plan, and Medicare didn’t charge her a late enrollment penalty since she had credible coverage. But Medicare won’t budge on her Part B coverage. One worker even told her that she would have to pay the penalty for not signing up back in 1999, when she first turned 65!

Here is the real kicker though, the retiree group coverage was through the Federal Employees Blue Cross Blue Shield plan and they have provided no assistance whatsoever.

The best advice you can pass along to your clients is: Enroll in Medicare Parts A and B when you first turn 65. If you aren’t drawing Social Security, you can pay your part B premium on a quarterly basis. You will have to sign up within your seven-month open enrollment window. Part D has a stiffer penalty, but at least you have the same enrollment window.

As well all know, the good news with Part D is its Medicare enrollment period is October 15  to Dec 7 with coverage starting January 1.

Subscribe the The Agent’s Advantage weekly roundup to get more sales advice, right in your Inbox. Simply click the link and enter your email address. RB Insurance will never sell, rent or share your information.

 

 

 

Just the facts, ma’am: Get your free appointment prep sheet

The Sarge’s favorite saying can remind you to ask your prospects detailed questions as you help them find the best senior products to meet their needs. Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Free Appointment Prep Sheet

Sergeant Joe Friday of “Dragnet” fame was probably a little too brusque to succeed as an insurance agent. But the ’60s TV character did make an impact on the popular lexicon with his constant plea for “Just the facts, ma’am.” With this quip, the Sarge would direct a verbose witness to concentrate on the matter at hand.

Perhaps there’s a lesson in this for today’s agents.

Senior insurance is significantly more complex today than it was even seven or eight years ago. Successful agents have learned to navigate regulations pertaining to when, where and how they meet with prospects and still sell at least one product to make them a satisfied new client. Rookies, on the other hand, may get the feeling that grievances, complaints or allegation of misrepresentation are easier to elicit from a prospect than satisfaction with an enrollment after they’ve read through the Medicare Marketing Guidelines for the first time.

The plans agents can sell (after they jump through all of the contracting and certification hoops regulators and the industry have laid out for them) have also changed. Prior to 2007, most Medicare Advantage plans had robust provider directories. It was hard to find a plan that did not have the most popular doctors and hospitals under contract. Today we see more limited networks due to Accountable Care Organizations, reduced reimbursements to plans, quality initiatives and consolidations, which all try to manage program spending.

What you ask or say to your prospect makes all the difference, so make sure you get “just the facts, ma’am.”

When a beneficiary makes contact, most agents take care to fill out a Scope of Appointment form for CMS-regulated products like Medicare Advantage. Most agents usually start to ask their prospect questions after they’ve returned the Scope and proceed to check out every doctor, drug, dentist, etc. that the client wants to keep seeing in order to make a one-stop sale. The whole process becomes frenetic — Miss a provider or drug, and you risk getting an email from your favorite compliance department. Mistakes, omissions or a missed status can ruin your day.

It’s not a CMS violation to collect voluntarily shared, detailed information from a beneficiary prior to that appointment, and you will appear more professional to your prospect if you do so. Download RB Insurance’s Initial Contact Worksheet for free to help you confidently make a sale. From docs to drugs, our worksheet covers all the bases. Don’t forget Special Election Periods, chronic conditions for DSNP plans, possible Medicaid eligibility, LIS status and other determinations.

Use our worksheet or make one for yourself, but be prepared with “just the facts” to increase productivity and professionalism. Always follow CMS rules regarding collection of medication or medical history data from a client. Offer to take down information, but never insist on getting your prospective client’s information.

Click here to download RB Insurance’s free Appointment Prep Sheet to help you prepare for appointments this AEP.

Fed, states push and pull over Medicaid expansion

How the Affordable Care Act (ACA) connects Medicaid expansion to federal funding for state Medicaid programs has been subject to just a portion of the legal and political challenge as other parts of the health care law, like the individual coverage mandate or the requirement that contraceptive coverage be at no-cost to the consumer.

As Montana recently became the 29th state to expand its Medicaid program, other states like Florida, Texas and Kansas have voiced opposition to the government’s push for states to expand their Medicaid programs in order to receive funding for hospitals and doctors who treat low-income individuals.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott filed suit against the Obama administration on April 28, arguing the federal government is coercing his state to expand its Medicaid program by making hospital funding contingent on it.

The Associated Press (AP) reports that Scott believes the Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius that Congress does not have the constitutional power to link state Medicaid expansion with provision of full Medicaid funding applies to the Low-Income Pool (LIP) program, which gives special funding to Florida and several other states to provide care for low-income individuals. According to AP, legal analysts have said Scott’s new case against Obama administration may not be congruent with the 2012 ruling because Congress retains broad discretion over the optional LIP, which may not be an integral part of Medicaid.

The Agent’s Advantage recommends The New York Times and Kaiser Family Foundation for further reading about state-by-state Medicaid expansion.

 

Have Medicare Advantage hassles got you wound up? Work the Portfolio Approach!

Over the next few months we Agents working with Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans will receive dozens of stern re-certification emails as the 2016 AHIP Medicare Training course becomes available in early June (That will be $125, thank you very much). As AHIP descends on the senior insurance industry, carrier broker managers will start gingerly inviting us to their “mandatory” annual face-to-face meetings. It’s about this time each year that an experienced Agent like myself throws up his (or her!) hands and says, “Enough is enough with Medicare Advantage!”

Indeed, how many repetitive online and live courses do we need to digest, year after year? Should I reiterate how hopelessly repetitive they are? Are the routines making us more knowledgeable Agents who better serve our clients?

It often feels like the same ol’, same ol’ each year with AHIP and other prep for AEP. Look to RB Insurance for solutions to your Agent frustrations! Image courtesy of iStock

Answer that one for yourself. And, by the way, I agree with you (I’ve been working in the senior market, in various capacities, since 1992, so I feel your pain).

In addition to these relentless education edicts we Agents must also be current with the CMS Medicare Marketing Guideline‘s annual updates. The “Guidelines” go so far as to decree what a snack can consist of at a public sales event (Please do not serve a piece of cheese with that toast or you have created a federally recognized “meal,” which is verboten.) Let’s not even get into the “Secret Shopper” situation.

Okay, maybe I went a little over the top there. If you actively engage the senior market in most areas of the country, you will miss the boat if you do not certify with some of the more competitive Medicare Advantage plans. Approximately 30 percent of America’s Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in private MA plans according to Kaiser Family Foundation, which means MA is a real sales opportunity.

Many of us who service health plan needs of seniors are willing to endure the pain that CMS and some other companies put us through each year to be officially Ready To Sell. But seriously, how might we Agents make the process more palatable? Most of us enjoy working in this demographic, after all. It’s incredibly rewarding to help a senior in navigating the progressively complex arena of health insurance. I also find that increasing my year-round sales with Medicare Supplement and Hospital Indemnity products — and even dental — and the attendant commissions usually improve my pre- and post-AEP tolerance levels.

In previous posts I have mentioned some other valuable products RB Insurance offers to affiliated Agents, and I am pleased to announce we have put together a total package for success. So let me get a little mercenary now — the following ties in with the paragraphs above and keeps my boss happy. My editor likes to call this the “Call To Action” part of my post:

RB Insurance is now actively promoting the Portfolio Approach, a strategy for achieving a 6-figure income by selling multiple products and multiple product types just in the senior market or in conjunction with your other products. Our fast-track appointment application gets you started with the Portfolio Approach, which eliminates 90 percent of the usual appointing paperwork. And we now offer our exclusive Medicare Sales Engine, a complete online sales system built by Agents, for Agents.

So pick up those contracts for AEP and year-round sales: Medigap Supplements, Hospital Indemnity, DVH, Final Expense, Life, Accident, Family, Chronic Illness, Cancer Plans, MA, PDP and many others from the 22 carriers we now partner with.

Let us make it happen for you and help relieve some of MA’s hassle!