Can You Make Money Selling Medicare Advantage?

[moonlightandmargaritas]

There are quite a few Medicare Beneficiaries that cannot afford a supplement...

What do they do when they run into the sometimes significant out-of-pocket costs of MA plans?

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

What do they do when they run into the sometimes significant out-of-pocket costs of MA plans?

They then call their agent and tell him/her that they would like to buy a med supp now...

 

[sshafran]

That is up for debate. In many areas the cost odd a med Supp for two years can be more than the max out of pocket on an ma plan. There are a lot of great ma plans and seniors in many areas would be foolish to not have one, even if they do end up using it.

This is very, very true. Agents sometimes conveniently ignore the fact that the MAPD plans have max OOP. Many times, MAPD plans have a better Rx system. For instance, here in Columbus, there is an HMO for $0 plan Premium, $0 generics, & $0 PCP. I had a lady during AEP who took a ton of generics - and her "med-supp only" agent had her on a Med Supp + Part D that was costing about $1k more per year in Rx's alone. And the med supp with with United of Omaha - so you know it wasn't cheap.... She about hit the same dollar amount as the max OOP in premiums alone..

Having said that, most of my clients are on Med Supps for numerous reasons. But, keeping the options open and understanding both the MAPD & Med Supp market has been very good for me & my clients.
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Originally Posted by Centralsolution
There are quite a few Medicare Beneficiaries that cannot afford a supplement...

What do they do when they run into the sometimes significant out-of-pocket costs of MA plans?

If they truly can't afford a supplement, they can normally qualify for assistance on their OOP.

If they just don't want to pay the money for a supplement because they are cheap, and their income isn't low, then they should have thought through their options a little better.

 

[Stephen]

What do they do when they run into the sometimes significant out-of-pocket costs of MA plans?

It depends on the person, and situation.

 

[Josh]

What do they do when they run into the sometimes significant out-of-pocket costs of MA plans?

Give the hospital and/or other providers $5/month or stick it to the provider altogether. Lots of options.

 

[Chazm]

So I've only looked into Medicare Supplements mainly because I spoke to Frank a long time ago and he pointed me in that direction. Only reason I am asking about Medicare Advantage today is because some of my dialer leads for Med Supps is putting me in contact with folks on MA.

I apologize for the mix up and explain that I cannot help them since obviously being on MA is much cheaper than Med Supps.

Am I throwing business away? I've been on this forum for awhile now and hardly notice anyone even talking about MA
plans or selling them.

If you are in FL and not doing MA plans, I hate to say it but you are missing out on a lot of $. Over half my sales are MA plans because they are very rich in benefits in FL. A lot of agents in this thread live in other states where MA plans cost money and have high MOOP.
I can give you two options....
1) Call me anytime @ 321-287-7331 and I'll be glad to take your MA leads
2)Take the AHIP and get trained, bring in the dough

 

[Todd King]

There are quite a few clients out there that will TELL you they can't afford it when, in fact, they could. They just don't want to, and the agent buys into it.

I often wonder what these people who "can't afford a med supp" did before the MA's came out. Most of them were on a med supp!

 

[Norwayguy]

They then call their agent and tell him/her that they would like to buy a med supp now...

Nope then they call CMS and say the agent lied and file a complaint to get a SEP.

 

[MedSuppPro]

MAPD’s are part of the sales landscape. In general, some counties may have 25% of the seniors on a MedSupp’s and 25% on MAPD’s. Why walk away from half your market?

States can crack down on agent’s cold calling without using an approved script. Most agents don’t realize their state may require them to file and use an approved script. Some states have outlawed cold calling. If you cold call an AARP UHC MedSupp you will get a swift kick in the arse.

 

[yogooglethis]

MAPD’s are part of the sales landscape. In general, some counties may have 25% of the seniors on a MedSupp’s and 25% on MAPD’s. Why walk away from half your market?

States can crack down on agent’s cold calling without using an approved script. Most agents don’t realize their state may require them to file and use an approved script. Some states have outlawed cold calling. If you cold call an AARP UHC MedSupp you will get a swift kick in the arse.

In most Florida counties UHC/AARP med supp has the lowest premium , terrific customer service and VERY stable rate history.Don't replace an AARP supplement plan J,F,C with another carriers plan N.Do the right thing and alert the consumer that AARP will allow policyholder to switch to their plan N and retain original issue age rate band.

If you are an independent agent cold calling for med supps in Florida and don't offer UHC/AARP you are not implementing full disclosure if you are truly an independent broker and if you are an independent broker and you mention that you can offer the AARP/UHC on your cold call you are breaking UHC marketing rules for med supps.It would be somewhat difficult for UHC to prove your cold calling for their med supp since there isn't many consumer complaints made about med supps but they will terminate your contract if they catch you.