I'm reluctant to do that, since it is for licensed agents. But if you're not active with T.O. then try your fmo's or call sls & mktg of your respective carriers.
I get the impression they will be cooperative this year, thanks to CMS.
HoosierDaddy is hilarious, but don't miss the (subtle) point. Make your own Medigap script. After a good conversation, and you see the client needs insurance to fill gaps in their Original Medicare coverage, but can't qualify for a Med Sup or able to afford the premiums, you can then suggest that a Medicare Advantage plan may be helpful. Then make an appointment and bring your Medicare Advantage material. I don't think you will be in trouble if you keep the suggestion for MA in general terms, keeping specific plan info until you set the appointment.
Here is where the MA ONLY agents have trouble: not being appointed with a Med Sup carrier or familiar with the pros AND cons of both Med Sups and MA plans, they push the MA plans. One size does not fit all! If you can make an objective analysis of the client's needs, you will serve him in the manner that CMS is seeking.
Then make an appointment and bring your Medicare Advantage material. I don't think you will be in trouble if you keep the suggestion for MA in general terms, keeping specific plan info until you set the appointment.
Isn't that specifically prohibited by CMS? I thought that when you make an MA appointment, you must talk only about that particular plan. If you can't sell Plan A, then you must make another appointment to sell Plan B.
By the way, that's not a judgement call by me. I think many of the CMS requirements are not only ridiculous, but anti-senior. How does an independent agent know what to talk about before meeting and information gathering?
Come to think about it, how can we legally even ask about their doctor to see if he/she is on the plan? Isn't that asking about their health?
Okay, I finally figured it out. CMS sucks! They are the government version of AARP.
Rick
------------------------------------ ILIAA
Training, Community, Support, and Success Independent Life Insurance Agents Assn rick@iliaa.org
Isn't that specifically prohibited by CMS? I thought that when you make an MA appointment, you must talk only about that particular plan. If you can't sell Plan A, then you must make another appointment to sell Plan B.
By the way, that's not a judgement call by me. I think many of the CMS requirements are not only ridiculous, but anti-senior. How does an independent agent know what to talk about before meeting and information gathering?
Come to think about it, how can we legally even ask about their doctor to see if he/she is on the plan? Isn't that asking about their health?
Okay, I finally figured it out. CMS sucks! They are the government version of AARP.
Rick
Let's say you can sell PFFS, PPO and maybe HMO. You have to be able to talk about their needs and maybe even the plans in general terms to determine which one best fits their needs i.e. do they travel out of the service area for long periods, are they ok with a network or do they want the maximum choice of providers possible, etc. To give you the example I'm familiar with, the Humana approved presentation discusses the three types of plans, and then you are to present the one that, after doing a needs analysis, best fits their needs. Obviously if it is a seminar setting, you present the plan that you think will have the broadest appeal and get with those later for whom another plan might be a better fit.
I think the prohibition is aimed at a scenario where the agent would present one summary of benefits and then go into another one. With the amount of time that would take, it would put you well into the 2-3 hour territory where it might appear you are just trying to wear them down, etc.
Last edited by Cenla Agent : 11-12-2007 at 03:02 PM.
Read my post again a little more carefully, Rick. I am speaking of talking to the prospect on the phone from the script I developed. I approach the prospect simply as one who needs assistance understanding Medicare. From that juncture, I inquire if he has a Medigap plan, and if so, how is it working for him? If he is OK with it, I bid him good day. If he complains about it, I probe further to find if I can offer him a better Medigap plan.
If he doesn't have anything but Original Medicare, I explain that there are options at his disposal to cover the gaps in his insurance and ask if he will accept an appointment to discuss this further. I will mention Medicare Advantage plans as ONE of his options.
Once the appointment is set, I take the time to explain what carriers I represent, and probe further to see which plan would best serve him. I.e, I am going to see one of these prospects this p.m, that I discovered has diabetes. I will present him with a proposal for a SNP for diabetics. If he rejects this, I will counter offer something else.
Notice that I don't throw out MA plans like bird shot, hoping to hit something. I go for a specific need, and present the option after a good discussion of his needs. I think this is what CMS is driving for, the way I read the rules, IMO.
Isn't that specifically prohibited by CMS? I thought that when you make an MA appointment, you must talk only about that particular plan. If you can't sell Plan A, then you must make another appointment to sell Plan B.
By the way, that's not a judgement call by me. I think many of the CMS requirements are not only ridiculous, but anti-senior. How does an independent agent know what to talk about before meeting and information gathering?
Come to think about it, how can we legally even ask about their doctor to see if he/she is on the plan? Isn't that asking about their health?
Okay, I finally figured it out. CMS sucks! They are the government version of AARP.
Rick
It's like walking blind folded through a mine field.
Yes, it can be. Your best protection is to study, and study hard.
I don't have a choice. I am contracted with 5 different Med Sups, 5 MAs, and 3 PDPs. Quite frankly, (Not you, Frank!) there is more guidance in the Medicare Advantage plans than in Medicare Supplements. One has to dig deeply to find the information about plan specifics with Medicare Supplements, but Medicare Advantage plans hit you squarely in the face!
This is both good, and bad. The way I play it, is I use the freedom in Med Sup sales to do my prospecting. When I discover an MA possibility, I then can use a plan-specific offer, CMS compliant. The straight-jacket rules of MA sales, to be compliant, come in only when you begin to make a sales approach for an MA plan.
I am an independent agent. I run a business that offers OTHER than Medicare Advantage products, so CMS cannot dictate to me what sales script I must use if I am not presenting an MA plan. When I begin my MA sales approach is when I have to tip-toe through the mine field!
Just say... "Hi I am from Medicare and you qualify for FREE Supplemental Insurance" .... it works like Magic for me!!!
</IMG>
Are you in fact an employee of Medicare or a license insurance appointed with a carrier that offers Medicare Advantage Plans. Be very careful how you introduce yourself and your position. You may get a surprise at that the other end of the phone line.. Just a thought.
Does anyone have a CMS approved telemarketing script for Medicare Advantage plans.
i was told by our MA carrier they do not have an approved script and since we are offering more than one companies MA plan as long as we don't lie or be misleading on the phone we would be ok. Sell4ForeThought
Are you in fact an employee of Medicare or a license insurance appointed with a carrier that offers Medicare Advantage Plans. Be very careful how you introduce yourself and your position. You may get a surprise at that the other end of the phone line.. Just a thought.
Agent045, I notice that you are new to this forum. You have to be around for a while to know the humor that pops up from time to time. HoosierDaddy is throwing this out for laughs.
i was told by our MA carrier they do not have an approved script and since we are offering more than one companies MA plan as long as we don't lie or be misleading on the phone we would be ok. Sell4ForeThought
Whoa! I wouldn't take that advice, if I were you. It is YOUR license that is on the line. You had better spend some midnite oil reading up on the rules before you go sticking your neck out. (JMHO)
telemarketing script
Linear Mode
