If Selling Med Supps, at what Point Does a County's MA Penetration Become Too High?

[Devin01]

The demographic matters less then how you explain MA vs Med Supp. When a client comes to my office 95% of they time they choose Med Supp because I explain the MOOP and what happens if they get sick and the benefits of a supplement

When I am selling over the phone I would not call into areas that have >30 MA penetration.

Devin

 

[Glen Shelton]

Are cities with 40% MA a problem if they have a lot of rich enclaves? I assume the people in the richer zip codes have less MA and more Medigap—but that's an assumption.

You can try to target higher income zip codes in counties that have a high MA% Penetration but income data is really a "best guess".

I have called into counties/cities ranging from 5% - 50% and have seen successful campaigns in areas as high as 35% MA Penetration,

I always recommend 30% or lower if you are exclusively targeting Med Supps.

Here is a link to a national Medicare Advanatge Penetration % Heat map I have on my website - Buy Insurance Leads - Lead Heroes

 

[Todd King]

100% penetration is a no go. Anything less means someone is buying Medigap. Your challenge is to figure out a way to find those folks.

And there is this.

Quite a few agents on this site complain that most folks can't afford a Medigap plan. I call BS on that.

My client base is mostly middle income but some folks are living off SS only while others are building new homes on the coast in their retirement years. Not a single client has ever said they cannot afford a Medigap plan.

When someone calls that is trying to decide, we discuss the merits of each then let them decide. I can probably count on one hand the number of people who were on the fence that opted for an MA plan.

I used to give away MA leads to an agent I trusted. Can't recall the last time I had a referral for him.

If you think only "rich" people will buy a Medigap you are missing a lot of low hanging fruit. The good news is, rich people will be the only ones who buy from you.

I'm right there with you. I can't tell you how many times I pulled up to a house, no matter if it was a shack or a mansion, they all said, "Now you know, we're on a fixed income". They all claim to be short on funds at some point.

Think of this another way. Before MA plans with $0 premium came out, there were very few that didn't have a med supp. How in the world could they afford it then, but not now? That's right, they could if they really wanted to.

I seriously believe that the growth of MA penetration is due to 1. Lack of understanding from the client and 2. Agencies hiring order takers who don't understand the differences in MA plans and Med Supps. AmeriLife was the big culprit here, IMO. They hired people to ONLY sell MA plans and some they hired ONLY to sell Part D. They gave them no education on the Med Supp side, so all the agents knew was to promote the wonderful $0 premium! Amerilife made order takers out of them.

Disclaimer: As in all cases, there are exceptions to the rule.

 

[BillBateman]

There is NO perfect answer to that.

All Medicare Advantage plans are subject to the whim of the government. Remember all they have to legally do is mimic Medicare A&B. That can leave a LOT of holes in covering the expenses of the average citizen.

Healthy people with a few bucks to buy insurance SHOULD buy supplements and stay on original Medicare A&B.

They keep their options to see who they want and have very little financial risk even if they have a high deductible Plan F.

Any questions?