Medicare's New Rules

That's how government operates. When holes are discovered, instead of just filling it, they post guards around it.

Me, I just started with annuities - doing luncheons. See how much I can make before they put annuities under the incompetent SEC.
 
Most of CMS activities are through contracted entities. Claims and 1-800Medicare are examples of sub-contracted entities. And we agents are sub-contracted and certified entities. However, we have no say in the contract. It is a take it or leave it proposition. The FMO's did nothing!

And so we have good meaning people at CMS who have education and lots of experience running the CMS business. These administrators are now looking at a new job description that they have had no experience with. They now have to regulate sales activities and develope a set of rules to regulate this new responsibility. This is something that has taken state's years and years to figure out.

CMS has created a new sub-contractor definition called "RENT-A-AGENT". The unitended consequence of their newly created rent-a-agent will be to harm the senior client whom needs our services and advise. This is not a Win-Win solution. And one could argue that their rent-a-agent will ultimately help the insurance carrier's bottom line! CMS should have gone with a levelized commissions model like Anthem has offered for years. Levelizing commissions would have eliminated the quick buck agent and would have meet the requirement set by congress. Instead CMS went overboard on this one.

Should we RENTA-AGENT's fully disclose our limited relationship to perspective clients?
"Mr. and Mrs. Jones, I'm required to disclose that I am compensted by this plan... A MA / PDP works differently than a Medicare supplement plan... Due to CMS rules, I will be prohibited from servicing your future MA / PDP needs beyond {insert 6 or less} years." After {insert 6 or less} years you may go to any agent willing to accept the terms and conditions set by CMS and you will then need to switch plans in order to have a local agent to assit you with your health insurance needs. Or you may call the carrier direct. These home office people are compensated differently then an independent agent and may on a case by case basis accept the terms and condition of an independent agent and agree to service your needs and or advise you of your insurance choices:D. If at that point you unable to get service and advice that you feel you need and have come to appreciate, you may call 1-800Medicare.:D

I seriously believe we will need to disclose our Rent-A-Agent relationship to our clients. I don't want to assume the liability in outlying years. The client needs to know this upfront. Isn't this the ethical thing to do? What would AARP say?​


Perhaps this is the dawn of a new type of Medigap coverage - The Medi Agent Gap service agreement. " Picks up agent support where other agents leave off "


Not a Medigap policy thats pays the balance for Medicare covered A and B benefits after Medicare pays but a Medigap service agreement that pays for expert and unbias advice from a licenced and certified MA agent after the six years of CMS covered MA certified and licensed agent service agreement runs out.

This is not anymore absurd than what CMS is doing now.​
 
The commissions rule is to stop what CMS is calling "churning." This is taking your book of MA business and moving clients from one to the other whether it is a benefit to them or not. We had former employed agents telling clients they were just updating their existing contract or that one company merged with the other. We are all paying for this gross misconduct just like we are in the financial markets
 
The commissions rule is to stop what CMS is calling "churning." This is taking your book of MA business and moving clients from one to the other whether it is a benefit to them or not. We had former employed agents telling clients they were just updating their existing contract or that one company merged with the other. We are all paying for this gross misconduct just like we are in the financial markets


What about moving them because it is in their best interest? You in favor of stopping that too?
 
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