Update from December 8 – December 31st, 2018 See the video below MAPD people can apply now for February 1 effective date for a Medicare Supplement if they still wish to get off of Medicare Advantage. Once approved by the Medicare…
AEP for 2019
MedicareAgentTraining.com
Medicare training on how to sell Medicare Supplements by phone
medicare advantage
Wildfire SEP for California
Due to the devastation in California from the wildfires, FEMA has declared the area a disaster area, triggering CMS to initiate a Special Election Period for all affected directly by the fires and those adversely impacted by those they rely…
Telemarketing for Medicare Advantage Leads
See the video below.. but the short conclusion: It is established that cold calling seniors as the basis for generating Medicare Advantage sales, using the premise of Medicare Supplement calls, is known as “bait and switch” and is illegal, per…
Medicare MSA Info for 2019
The Lasso Medicare MSA launches for 2019 business. Enrollment begins AEP 2018 for January 1, 2019 start date. Here is my take on it, then the overview webinar is below. {“@context”: “http://schema.org”,”@type”: “VideoObject”,”name”: “Lasso Webinar”,”description”: “This video contains Lasso…
Medicare Advantage Penetration by County – from CMS
Data provided by CMS (Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services) can help you pinpoint where you should focus your marketing efforts. This information helps to find the Medicare Advantage saturation numbers for each county in the U.S. Why? They will tell you,…
March 2018 Medicare Update
After a meeting in Palm Springs with some top producers, I came away with some good news for those in the Medicare business. On location in San Diego, here's my update on the industry and what's coming. Also, what do…
OEP Coming back in 2019
In the first quarter of the year, starting in 2019, seniors will be able to make ONE change in or out of MAPD or PDP into another one, if they wish. This expands the “disenrollment period”, which has been in existence…
CMS: Errors continue to plague Medicare Advantage plans’ provider directories
by Leslie Small | FierceHealthcare
Medicare Advantage organizations (MAOs) continue to do a poor job of maintaining accurate provider directories—and it’s landing some in hot water with the federal government.
In its second round of online provider directory reviews, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found that 52% of the provider directory locations listed had at least one inaccuracy.
Those errors included providers who weren’t at the location listed, providers who didn’t accept the plan at that location, providers who weren’t accepting new patients despite the directory saying that they were, and incorrect or disconnected phone numbers.
When CMS conducted its first review of MAOs’ provider directories, it found that 45% of locations listed were inaccurate. While the report does say that the first and second reviews aren’t directly comparable “due to minor updates to the review methodology,” at the very least, the latest review’s results indicate the problem isn’t getting any better.
CMS also noted that its findings were not skewed by a few organizations but instead were widespread in the sample reviewed, which was about one-third of all MAOs. “Very few organizations performed well in our review,” the agency said.
At a minimum, provider directory errors can make members frustrated with an MAO, the report noted. But they can also cast doubt on the adequacy and validity of the MAO’s network as a whole, and even more seriously, prevent members from accessing services that are critical to their health and well-being.
RELATED: Study takes stock of MA hospital networks
Based on the results of its reviews, CMS has sent 23 notices of noncompliance, 19 warning letters and 12 warning letters “with a request for a business plan” to Medicare Advantage insurers.
However, the agency emphasized that MAOs themselves “are in the best position to ensure the accuracy of their plan provider directories.” It also said it was encouraged by pilot programs aimed at developing a centralized repository for provider data that would be accessible to multiple stakeholders.
In the near term, CMS added, MAOs should perform their own audits of their directory data and develop better internal processes for members to report errors.
See the original article here:
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/cms-chip/medicare-advantage-provider-directory-errors-network-adequacy
Texas TRS-Care Update
If you are selling in Texas, you are probably familiar with the TRS (Texas Retirement System). It has been getting lots of buzz lately as seniors are fleeing the program and wanting to be on original Medicare with a Medicare…
September 15 Update – Getting Ready for AEP
Four Videos here on AEP, including a unique Part D opportunity: Here we talk about what you should be doing to get ready for the Annual Election Period (AEP) which is officially from October 15 through December 7th. During…
Medicare Update – Special Saturday Edition
Lots of updates with reference links added. THIS IS A VERY HELPFUL WEBINAR on MANY topics! You need to know: From December 3, 2016 See the video: Update: On 12/5/16 Chris' request of CIGNA was granted. Chris requested that those…
Medicare Advantage for Turning 65
Approximately 30% of Americans turning 65 are opting for a Medicare “Advantage” plan. In my experience, this most often happens for the following two reasons:
- They have been relatively healthy up to 65 years old
- They believe this great health will continue into their senior years
- Medicare Advantage plans at $0 per month can be quite attractive
- They miss, or minimize the often $6,700 Maximum Out-of-Pocket PER YEAR
Sadly, there are many situations that we have seen where a Turning 65-senior has chosen one of these “free” Medicare Advantage plans only to have to experience the limitations and large hospital admission co-payments by having a serious illness that takes them into full usage of their chosen plan.
When they were first turning 65, they thought their great health would continue far into their senior years, only to discover that this is the time frame where most all medical claims are experienced in life. Sadly, when they signed up for a Medicare Advantage plan, particularly an HMO plan, they find that the restrictions now imposed on them, the trade off for little or no monthly premium, now can significantly and adversely not only affect their availability of specialty care (replaced with tight networks) but also expose them to more money spent for medical care than their non-“Advantage” plan senior counterparts.
On the contrary, the biggest proponents of Medigap (Medicare Supplement) plans are those who have had to use them with a serious illness. For example, those with a special kind of cancer who can now choose the best cancer treatment centers in America without consequence because their Medicare Supplement plan allows them to go anywhere. Those who would have otherwise been exposed to a $6,700 out-of-pocket cost with their Medicare Advantage plan for a series of hospital admissions who though, because on a SUPPLEMENT plan instead, pay $0 for their admissions and, more importantly, get to CHOOSE their hospital instead of only being able to go to the one that was the lowest bidder that joined the “Advantage” plan's restrictive network.
In an illuminating article by the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation, the choice of a Medicare Advantage plan when a senior is turning 65 can prove disastrous for future healthcare choices for the rest of a senior's life. See the article here:
http://kff.org/medicare/perspective/traditional-medicare-disadvantaged/
It is very important that now-Medicare-eligible seniors have the full information on the good, the bad, and the possible devastating effects of picking their Medicare plan.
Chris Westfall is an independent Medicare agent and has been a licensed insurance agent for over 20 years.
New Requirement for MAPD Sales
Do you sell Medicare Advantage plans or Part D plans?
If so, in addition to the AHIP test, there is now another, separate test administered only through CMS and it is required.
This test is on Waste, Fraud, and Abuse, as there always had been in the AHIP test already, but now it's required separately.
Courtesy of United Healthcare, this is a link to the instructions as to how to find and take this simple test:
Questions over Medicare Advantage Fraud
A report from PublicIntegrity.org details new, and not-so-new investigations into Medicare Advantage potential fraud and abuse around the country. In multiple states, and across providers, Congress is trying to get a handle on the overpayments that are happening with this managed care approach to replacing original Medicare.
See the story here:
Why Medicare Advantage costs taxpayers billions more than it should
Regulators have kept problems secret, and there's no fix in sight
Asking Doctors if they Accept Medicare Supplements
Have you been asking a prospective client's doctor if they accept your proposed Medicare Supplement plan? This is something we used to do all the time, via a three-way call with the client, and it would help us to enroll…
Is it legal to call folks about their Medicare plan?
Excerpt from SeniorAgentPodcast on iTunes:
Can I legally call someone and talk about Medicare Supplement plans?
This is a question that was asked by a new agent this week.
The agent said she had heard that you can lose your license, pay a fine, etc. for cold calling someone about Medicare plans.
What the agent is referring to is the marketing of Medicare Advantage Plans.
You can find the marketing rules from CMS about Medicare Advantage plans here.
However, in most all states, it is perfectly legal to telemarketing / cold call, door knock, and approach seniors about Medicare Supplement plans. Only one state, that I know of, has restrictions on the marketing of Medicare Supplement plans.
That state is Ohio. Their law prohibits the following for both Medicare Advantage AND Medicare Supplement marketing.
(2) Any of the following unsolicited contacts with a Medicare-eligible person:
(a) Door-to-door solicitation including leaving information such as a leaflet, flyer, or door hanger at a residence, or leaving information such as a leaflet or flyer on someone's car;
(b) Approaching individual prospective applicants in common areas (e.g., parking lots, hallways, lobbies, sidewalks, etc.);
(c) Telephonic solicitation including leaving electronic voicemail messages;
(d) These prohibitions on marketing through unsolicited contacts do not extend to mail and other media (e.g., advertisements, direct mail), or unsolicited contacts with prospective applicants with whom the entity or insurance agent has a business relationship.
Near the end of this podcast, I have several suggestions for various new ways to market Medicare Supplement plans through centers of influence.
Those referenced interviews are found at MedicareAgentTraining.com
Hear the audio of the podcast answer here.
Also on the topic of telemarketing – CANNOT call folks for Medicare Advantage plans, as said before:
Medicare Advantage Cuts Delayed Due to an Election, Again
A bipartisan group of senators, as well as the very powerful AHIP group lobbied the administration to not cut funding. With the mid-term elections coming quickly, the administration listened and has decided to put off the cuts to Medicare Advantage….
Medico New Hospital Indemnity
Medico's New: Hospital Indemnity Plan. This new plan is more competitive, easier to sell, and through their electronic application, easy to enroll. You can contract with Medico now for a pending state and they will begin processing of your contract….
New Round of Medicare Advantage Cuts Announced
Glad we are focused on Medicare Supplements, which remain untouched by this news. - CWInsurers face about 3.6% Medicare Advantage rate cuts
Original Story Here: http://www.telegram.com/article/20140221/NEWS/302219721/1237
By Alex Wayne and Caroline Chen BLOOMBERG NEWS
Health insurers participating in the Medicare Advantage program for elderly Americans, including Humana Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc., face a payment cut of about 3.55 percent next year, the U.S. government said.
The payment reductions proposed Friday are subject to negotiations with the industry and aren't expected to become final until April 1. Insurers had expected cuts of as much as 6.5 percent and had mounted a lobbying campaign to reduce the amount even before Friday's filing, including a Feb. 14 letter to the Obama administration from 40 senators urging the government to freeze rates for the program.About 15.9 million people, or about 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, are enrolled in Advantage plans this year, according to February data from the government.Next year may mark a turning point: Medicare's actuaries estimate that enrollment will decline for the first time since 2004 because payment cuts will cause plans to drop out or reduce benefits.
CEOs' trepidation
“There's a lot of trepidation awaiting this letter and not a few Wall Street analysts and CEOs who are like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs these days,” John Gorman, executive chairman of Gorman Health Group, a consulting firm in Washington, said before the cuts were announced. “There's all kinds of things around that could hurt.”
Consumers who choose Advantage plans are opting for managed care, with benefits including lower out-of-pocket costs, over the traditional government-run Medicare program for the elderly and disabled. Government payments have been under pressure since 2010, when the U.S. health expansion was financed in part by reducing spending on Advantage plans by an estimated $206 billion over a decade.
At the time, U.S. spending for Advantage beneficiaries was estimated to be as much as 13 percent higher than for people enrolled in traditional Medicare, leading to criticism the Advantage plans were overpaid.
Even after the cuts, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which studies the program for Congress and recommends cost savings, estimates that Advantage plans were paid about 4 percent more in 2013, per beneficiary, than the cost of the traditional program.
‘Seniors are watching'
Last year, the administration raised 2014 base payments for Advantage insurers by 3.3 percent, after initially proposing a 2.2 percent reduction.
Still, insurers say that other government decisions — including a new tax on the industry under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and budget sequestration ordered by Congress — reduced their Advantage payments about 6.7 percent in total this year.
Before Friday's announcement, insurers predicted a proposed cut of as much as 6.5 percent. Their lobbying campaign has included posters plastered around Washington that picture an elderly man with a pair of binoculars, with the warning “Seniors Are Watching.”
Senators' letter
The 40 U.S. senators who wrote to Medicare administrator Marilyn Tavenner to ask for payments to be frozen were led by Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Michael Crapo, R-Idaho.
The program “has been a great success and should remain a competitive choice for our constituents,” the senators said. “We urge you to maintain payment levels that will allow MA beneficiaries to be protected from disruptive changes in 2015.”
While Medicare actuaries estimate enrollment in Advantage plans will dip next year, the Congressional Budget Office predicted that participation may rise as much as 50 percent in the next decade to 21 million by fiscal 2023.
Post-AEP Opportunities – Webinar December 13, 2013
Webinar Replay from December 13, 2013 – Year-Round Opportunities This is a year-round business… see the video: Click the image to start the video: > Topics Covered: Cross selling opportunities NOW: First, see this webinar on cross selling final expense…
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