Arthur Rudnick
Guru
- 1,652
"Maybe gather the APS first and see whats there. Then you can give a more accurate quote, shop carriers more efficiently, talk to the person with real information at your disposal".
I guess technically that could be done, but logistically? Well, that's another matter.
1) You would need to have your cleint sign a HIPAA authorization, allowing the doctor's office to send you the records.
2) You would have to negotiate a price with the medical records office to determine how much of a fee you would have to pay to receive those records. Payments to a PCP run $75-$150 and, if there are specialists involved, their fees could be $100-$200 each, depending on how many pages of records are involved. I've seen medical records that were 70-100 pages long.
3) You would have to follow-up with the medical records office 2-3 times a week in order to make sure your request was being worked on.
4) You would have to take a language course so you can learn to decipher a doctor's handwriting. Ever see medical records? I have and I have no clue how in the world an underwriter can figure out what's going on. They write in hieroglyphics.
Depending on the doctor, getting an APS could take anywhere from 2-8 weeks. It is nothing short of a pain in the ass to follow up and constantly chase these people. They have hundreds of requests for medical records and one little guy (no insult intended) will be far down the list.
There are a number of major companies that the carriers use to track down records. They are professionals and this is all they do. The time & money spent is way out of reach for most agents. And why would you deal with that when the carriers have vendors to do just that?
Not sure if there's a perfect answer. That's why it's important to pre-qualify on the phone before you even meet with a prospect. Ask them what meds they take and what they're for? There are a number of medical websites that will tell you what specific medications are for (www.webmd.com is one).
Ask as many questions as you can. Pull out an app and ask the medical questions listed. Be sure and ask everyone their ht & wt. Very often you'll qualify someone and they sound like they're insurable at preferred. Then you meet with them and find out they're 5'5"/295 lbs and can barely walk.
This is NOT an easy business and those of us who specialize in LTCi will attest to that. But, if you're good at it and do your job well, it's a great way to make a living.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Wow...
I did something that Arthur liked.
This is an historic moment."
Yup, as historic as the moon landing.
Beam me up Scotty.......
For your information, you do many things that I like.
Just can't remember any at the present time.
I guess technically that could be done, but logistically? Well, that's another matter.
1) You would need to have your cleint sign a HIPAA authorization, allowing the doctor's office to send you the records.
2) You would have to negotiate a price with the medical records office to determine how much of a fee you would have to pay to receive those records. Payments to a PCP run $75-$150 and, if there are specialists involved, their fees could be $100-$200 each, depending on how many pages of records are involved. I've seen medical records that were 70-100 pages long.
3) You would have to follow-up with the medical records office 2-3 times a week in order to make sure your request was being worked on.
4) You would have to take a language course so you can learn to decipher a doctor's handwriting. Ever see medical records? I have and I have no clue how in the world an underwriter can figure out what's going on. They write in hieroglyphics.
Depending on the doctor, getting an APS could take anywhere from 2-8 weeks. It is nothing short of a pain in the ass to follow up and constantly chase these people. They have hundreds of requests for medical records and one little guy (no insult intended) will be far down the list.
There are a number of major companies that the carriers use to track down records. They are professionals and this is all they do. The time & money spent is way out of reach for most agents. And why would you deal with that when the carriers have vendors to do just that?
Not sure if there's a perfect answer. That's why it's important to pre-qualify on the phone before you even meet with a prospect. Ask them what meds they take and what they're for? There are a number of medical websites that will tell you what specific medications are for (www.webmd.com is one).
Ask as many questions as you can. Pull out an app and ask the medical questions listed. Be sure and ask everyone their ht & wt. Very often you'll qualify someone and they sound like they're insurable at preferred. Then you meet with them and find out they're 5'5"/295 lbs and can barely walk.
This is NOT an easy business and those of us who specialize in LTCi will attest to that. But, if you're good at it and do your job well, it's a great way to make a living.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Wow...
I did something that Arthur liked.
This is an historic moment."
Yup, as historic as the moon landing.
Beam me up Scotty.......
For your information, you do many things that I like.
Just can't remember any at the present time.
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