Opinions on what is expected with the final rule for Medicare

[somarco]

Gawd, so the Feds are regulating STMs now? I haven't sold STMs in several years, but the limits on the length of coverage were always set by the states. Some states like Texas allowed them to be as long as 12 months, while other states limited them to 6 or 3 month periods.

Since STMs don't receive any kind of federal subsidies, what business does Fed.Gov have regulating them?

You must have been sleeping in 2014 and later when Obama and friends decided to take the regulation of individual health insurance away from the states and make it the purview of CMS, et al.

Carriers rolled over and said scratch my belly one more time.

Mandated coverage. No underwriting. No pre-ex.

Carriers and agents alike thought they were going to get rich.

Didn't quite work out as DC planned. Damn near killed the under 65 health insurance market.

 

[sman]

You must have been sleeping in 2014 and later when Obama and friends decided to take the regulation of individual health insurance away from the states and make it the purview of CMS, et al.

Carriers rolled over and said scratch my belly one more time.

Mandated coverage. No underwriting. No pre-ex.

Carriers and agents alike thought they were going to get rich.

Didn't quite work out as DC planned. Damn near killed the under 65 health insurance market.

I have to hand it to the agents who stuck it out. They now have a nice size book of business and are starting to make decent money. In my county, we got down to one carrier, VERY skinny HMO network and paid $10 per month for an enrollment during open enrollment. And that was $10 whether it was an individual or a family of 6. The plans were terrible and a complaint waiting to happen. I just wasn't willing to go through that.

 

[somarco]

@sman not much better here. Three carriers, KP, BX and Ambetter. That's when I bailed on the U65 market and never looked back. Wish I had made the jump sooner.

 

[Jim Wright]

@sman not much better here. Three carriers, KP, BX and Ambetter. That's when I bailed on the U65 market and never looked back. Wish I had made the jump sooner.

It must be a few years since you've sold. There are at least 8 carriers in GA that I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[sman]

It must be a few years since you've sold. There are at least 8 carriers in GA that I can think of off the top of my head.

Seeing that he said he bailed when it was down to 3 carriers, your assumption is correct. I'm guessing around 2014 or so. Maybe it didn't happen in your area, but here in Georgia, especially on the outskirts of Metro Atlanta and beyond, the carrier selection became very minimal. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my county was down to one carrier with a VERY skinny network. One county over was down to two carriers, same issue with the network. Not to mention the terrible pay for enrolling people. The juice wasn't worth the squeeze for me.

 

[Midlevel]

Anyone not writing Obamacare should really reevaluate it. With the Health Sherpa platform it is literally the easiest enrollment you will ever do. Ambetter is far cheaper then any other Company in our area so it's a no brainer. Writing a 26, 25, 4 and 2 year old tomorrow. Will make $960.00/year for possibly the next 20 years for maybe 20 minutes work. Far easier then anything Medicare related. Never a health question either which is right up my alley.

 

[sman]

Anyone not writing Obamacare should really reevaluate it. With the Health Sherpa platform it is literally the easiest enrollment you will ever do. Ambetter is far cheaper then any other Company in our area so it's a no brainer. Writing a 26, 25, 4 and 2 year old tomorrow. Will make $960.00/year for possibly the next 20 years for maybe 20 minutes work. Far easier then anything Medicare related. Never a health question either which is right up my alley.

Definitely worth reconsidering. Just not sure I want to add to my end of year workload. It's challenging enough with AEP. Have been considering getting my wife licensed for a couple of reasons. One, so she can continue receiving renewals if something happens to me. And two, to maybe add something like ACA so she can build that or takeover the Medicare side and I build ACA.

 

[Midlevel]

Definitely worth reconsidering. Just not sure I want to add to my end of year workload. It's challenging enough with AEP. Have been considering getting my wife licensed for a couple of reasons. One, so she can continue receiving renewals if something happens to me. And two, to maybe add something like ACA so she can build that or takeover the Medicare side and I build ACA.

If nothing else it's worth it just to have a slam dunk when they t-65 and go on Medicare. Some of these clients can become decades long clients rather then just from age 65 to 80 or whatever. As far as AEP I do my Obamacare clients from 12/8 -12/15. Literally renewing is the easiest for these plans also. Did your income change? OK, have a great year and we will talk next 12/8.

 

[DonP]

If nothing else it's worth it just to have a slam dunk when they t-65 and go on Medicare. Some of these clients can become decades long clients rather then just from age 65 to 80 or whatever. As far as AEP I do my Obamacare clients from 12/8 -12/15. Literally renewing is the easiest for these plans also. Did your income change? OK, have a great year and we will talk next 12/8.

I agree aca super easy to write and rarely get calls . But persistency is horrid over a multi yr time frame if you’ve used leads to built your book . Young people drop like butter as they get jobs and aca is a pit stop . Same thing with some family people who might rent it till they get a job . The best mkt is 55-60 yr old retired or self employed family people .Also yes Ambetter supposedly has Aor lock but other CO’s don’t and tons of flipping still going on . Yes it’s nice side money but Medicare much much stable . I have many friends who sell and we all have the same agreement

 

[somarco]

3 carriers, your assumption is correct. I'm guessing around 2014 or so.

I could see what would happen when Obamacare passed in 2010 and figured I had 4 years to remain in the market or transition to something else. Had I not shifted when I did my income would have dropped to almost zero within 3 years. By adding Medicare in the mix those commissions were rising (all as earned) while my U65 comp was dropping.

Overall, my income was steady from 2014 on and around 2018 started to rise again.

The marketplace software was a complete mess the first 3 years, maybe longer. Almost all of my client base would pay the full, unsubsidized premium so I saw no reason to do anything but maintain existing clients as long as I could, at least until their pre-2014 plans were cancelled.

I hated to lose those relationships but at that point, the U65 market would have been a hobby, not a profitable business model, and I didn't need another hobby.