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Medicare Sales Tips

 Let’s be honest: generational differences are real, and people do change as they age. And they should! Priorities change as your life changes, and with advanced age usually comes advanced experiences and perspective. As Medicare insurance agents, the majority of your client basis is likely going to be 65 or older. Here are four Medicare sales tips to keep in mind when communicating with this population:

Use the proper terms

Ever had to hesitate before using a term for older people in a conversation? Do they prefer seniors? The elderly? Aged? No one wants to be offensive, and everyone has different preferences for how to be referred to. The good news is that there have been studies done on which terms for older people are the most well-received. In general, the term “older” is the most widely accepted by this age group. There’s nothing wrong with being an older person, and it’s true to their experience. Most people also like “seniors,” although not “senior citizens,” as they feel that it’s patronizing. The least liked term according to these studies was “elderly,” as people thought it made them sound frail. “Elder,” however, has a positive connotation associated with advanced wisdom and experience. Now, there are always exceptions to every rule, but with this knowledge you’ll be less likely to unintentionally offend your clientele.

Don’t use Senior Speak

This is one of the important Medicare sales tips when dealing with individuals over 65.  Speaking of seniors, there’s a verbal phenomenon that we’ve noticed that they really don’t like. Ever heard of Senior Speak? It’s when people use simplified language and even a higher pitched voice while talking to older people. Sometimes they use names like “sweetie” or “dear” instead of the person’s actual name. They might even be unaware they’re doing it. It can come off as extremely patronizing and condescending, since they wouldn’t be doing that with younger clients. It’s based on the assumption that the older clients cannot understand what you’re saying as well as younger ones, which is not only a rude assumption but, most of the time, completely incorrect. Making a conscious effort to communicate normally with older clients will prevent you from unconsciously slipping into Senior Speak and risking your sale.

Medicare Sales Tips – Practice patience

Let’s just be frank: You’re going to have to repeat yourself with clients over 65. Not because they are slower or don’t understand what you’re saying, but because for most of them this is the first time hearing all of the information you’re telling them. And it is a lot of information, with jargon and acronyms and things that take time to understand. They will have questions that seem obvious to you because you work in the industry and deal with the information every day. For people outside the industry, it can be very complicated. Using analogies and real-life examples can be very helpful for clarification.

Guide, don’t decide

Everyone wants to be in charge of making their own decisions. While you may think you know what’s best for your client, you still need to allow them to make the final decision on the best plan for their healthcare needs. A good mantra here will be, “Guide, don’t decide.” You cannot make the decision for them, but you can gather enough information about their healthcare needs and desires to guide them in the right direction towards choosing a plan that compliments their lifestyle.

Putting these four tips into your toolbox can help ensure that you’re practicing effective and respectful communication with a large portion of your client base.

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Improve Website Conversion Rate

There’s endless ways that the ubiquitousness of the internet has changed the insurance industry. Agents who sell Medicare can now enroll people over the phone from their computer, all while being in compliance with all of the rules and regulations from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This is also why it’s so vital for your business to have a user-friendly website. Your website is free advertising, and it will be how many of your clients will find your services. But, if your website isn’t driving possible clients to contact you, or take other related actions, it needs some work. Here are some tips to improve your website’s conversion rate and provide more actionable steps for your future clients.  Improve your website’s conversion rate with these tips.

Understand the importance of conversion rate

Conversion rate is the percentage of online visitors that take a desired action when they visit your website. For many agents, that would be clicking a “contact us” button, or even a “request a meeting” button. Conversion rate is such an important metric because it is a way to measure how successful the website is at advertising and representing your services. It’s a marketing metric.

• Optimize your website

If the call-to-action buttons aren’t prominently displayed, your conversion rate will likely be lower than it could be. If your interface is clunky, or the graphics are cheesy, or the website isn’t streamlined for ease of use, all of these things can lead to lower conversion metrics. Review your website as if you are a customer. Is it doing the most it could be doing to convince visitors to act?

• Write engaging copy

The copy on your website should be clear and concise, yes, but this is also an opportunity to engage with your prospective clients. Let your voice come through as well, because your likability can be helpful in motivating people to act.

• Use social proof

Social proofs are customer testimonials, reviews, or real-life examples that show that your previous clients are happy with their experience. These count for a lot with encouraging prospective and new clients to act when they visit your website.

If you think of your website as an extension of your agency, then visitors are really experiencing a first-impression of working with you when they are on your website. Make it a good first impression with these tips and watch your conversion rate increase.

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 Medicare Advantage Year in Review

In nearly every line of work, circumstances can evolve and change at a rapid rate. In the Medicare field, there are so many moving parts because of the involvement with the federal government, assorted agencies, state governments, and private insurance carriers, it is vital to review the data from previous years to see what the rundown is. This can help inform savvy agents as to what to expect from the coming year as well as offer valuable perspective. These are some of the key trends and takeaways from Medicare Advantage in 2023.  Here is the Medicare Advantage year in review.

MAPD

• More than half of the people eligible enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MAPD) for 2023. That’s approximately 51% of beneficiaries, or 30.8 million people. As a piece of the eligible Medicare population, that means that that figure has jumped up by 19% in 2007 to 51% in 2023. Since 2022, the population enrolled in Medicare Advantage has increased by 8%. In the next decade, the percentage is expected to rise to over 62% enrolled in Medicare Advantage.

• One in five beneficiaries of MAPD are enrolled in a plan offered by a union or an employer. That is about 5.4 million people, or about 20% of the population. In the following five states, the group enrollees counted for a third or more of all enrollments: Alaska, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, and West Virginia.

• In the past five years, enrollment in Special Needs Plans (SNPs) has doubled. This means than 5.7 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in special needs plans.

• Two private insurance carriers, Humana and UnitedHealthcare, account for nearly half of all Medicare Advantage (MAPD) enrollment nationwide. Together, the two companies account for about 47% of Medicare Advantage enrollment

This brief overview of some of the more variable statistics from this year may help agents to plan ahead for the future. For instance, the market for Medicare Advantage plans is expected to continue to grow. What can you do now to optimize your business?

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Tips for AEP 2024

Fall is on its way, and that means that the Annual Enrollment Period, or the AEP, is fast approaching. It’s often the busiest time of the year for agents and brokers. The vast majority of Medicare sales happen in that short 54 day period, and it can be stressful. Here are four questions to ask yourself and your agency before the AEP begins so you can optimize your success:

Am I following the new compliance rules?

As you surely know by now, the new rules from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are out and they have made some changes to their categorization of agents. All insurance agents and brokers are now considered Third Party Marketing Organizations (TPMOs). This comes with some new rules, including these disclaimers, which are required by law to be on all communications (website, emails, print, etc.).

If you are marketing fewer than all of the plans available in your area, use this one: “We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent [insert number of organizations] organizations which offer [insert number of plans] products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.”

If you are marketing all of the plans in the service area, use this one: “Currently we represent [insert number of organizations] organizations which offer [insert number of plans] products in your area. You can always contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) for help with plan choices.”

Am I recording phone conversations with clients eligible for Medicare?

This is another new regulation from CMS for this coming AEP season.  All calls with people who are Medicare eligible must be recorded (not just sales calls). This is to protect both the agents and the clients. There are many programs available to help make this process as streamlined as possible, like CallVault.

Who have I had the most success helping lately?

It is a good time to reflect on the last few successful client interactions you’ve had. Is there something they have in common? Did you use a certain approach with all of them, or did they share a common thread? Are they all from a certain background, of a certain age, or did the lead come from a particular source? And, are the clients you’re having the most success with also the clients that you’re spending the most time and money to access?

What does my Medicare portfolio look like?

Do the Medicare Advantage plans, prescription drug plans, and Medicare Supplement Insurance plans (or Medigap) fulfill the needs of your clients? Are they finding these plans appealing, or are they looking for something you currently don’t carry? If the products you have are what the clients are looking for in your area, that makes sales all the more simple.

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Maximum Medicare Advantage Commissions 2024

Being a Medicare Advantage insurance broker can be a rewarding and lucrative career. Rewarding because a broker is able to help their clients access the healthcare that is right for them and their families, thus helping to increase their quality of life, and lucrative because there are commissions for doing so. Commissions are always paid on top of salary, as they are in return for services rendered or products sold. In the case of Medicare Advantage, the insurance carriers are the source of the commissions. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sets the maximums for commissions each year, and released the following information for the coming insurance year, 2024.

CMS has increased their maximum commissions for the ninth year in a row for Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D plans, also known as prescription drug plans or rx plans. It is important to remember that insurance carriers are not required to pay the maximum commissions to their brokers, but will release their commissions rates individually.

For Medicare Part D, the maximum broker commissions increased from $92 per member per year to $100 per member per year. This is an 8.7% increase from the previous maximum.

For Medicare Advantage, the maximum broker commissions are broken down by state, because they consider cost of living in that region.

Other States

In California and New Jersey, initial Medicare Advantage maximum commissions increased from $750/member/year to $762/member/year. For renewals, the commissions increased from $375/member/year to $381/member/year.

In Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and DC, initial Medicare Advantage maximum commissions increased from $678/member/year to $689/member/year. Renewals in these states increased from $339/member/year to $345/member/year.

In all other states, initial Medicare Advantage commissions increased from $601 to $611/member/year.   Additionally, renewal commissions went up from $301 to $306/member/year.

The territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have their own rates, which increased for initial enrollments from $411 to $418/member/year. Their renewal commissions also increased, from $206 to $209/member/year.

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Tips For Selling Medicare Over The Phone

The vast majority of Medicare beneficiaries will have their first conversations with an agent either over email or over the phone. Particularly since the pandemic, many people are more prepared to discuss, choose, and even purchase their plans over the phone rather than in person, in an office. With this in mind, here are some basic tips for successfully marketing and selling Medicare insurance plans over the phone.

How to Get Prospects to Call

In general, the nature of Medicare insurance plans means that outgoing calls or cold calls are not the most successful way to sell Medicare. Agents can call pre existing contacts, of course, and beneficiaries ready for re-enrollment, but in general, it is best to let potential clients come to you.

One marketing tip is to get involved in the local and wider community. An agent having a presence in their community means that, when people are ready for Medicare insurance enrollment, that agent will be the one they think of and are most likely to call. Some of the ways agents can do this is by writing newsletters in local papers, giving free seminars at local libraries, and getting involved with local business groups to network with local business owners. Community is where sales come from and opportunities as well. If the agent develops a reputation as an expert in their community, that will drive members of the community to them as needed.

How to Make Outbound Calls

There are many rules about making outbound calls as a Medicare insurance agent. They are rather strict, and the following is a list of what an agent can do:

• Call current enrollees, including those in non-Medicare plans, to discuss plans

• Return phone calls and messages to those who contact them

• Call with permission.  Examples include an online phone call or contact request or a business requesting a return call from the agency

These rules exist to protect beneficiaries, and are related to the ethics of selling Medicare insurance plans. The following are some of the things that agents cannot do:

• Make unsolicited phone calls to prospective beneficiaries and clients

• Call about other business and then switch topics to Medicare

• Agents cannot call about referrals – the referred person must call the agent

• Call someone who attended a sales event – the only exception to this rule is if the agent has express permission for this phone call from that sales event.  Proof of permission must be documented.

• Agents cannot call about whether or not prospective clients received something in the mail

With those rules in place, the most ethical and easiest way to generate business for a Medicare insurance agent is by getting people to call them; not the other way around.

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How To Become A Medicare Agent

Although there are many facets to becoming a licensed Medicare agent, the job description at a glance is rather simple. You are marketing Medicare insurance to two groups of people: those who are 65 years or older and eligible for Medicare benefits, and those who are under 65 years old, disabled, and also eligible for Medicare benefits.

Here are seven simple steps:

Get your health insurance license

It goes without saying that agents should be well-versed, experts even, in all things Medicare. Some of the most common topics to study are deductibles, compliance, health care laws in your area, claims, and the general ins and outs of how Original Medicare works, as well as Medicare Advantage. There are courses that offer Medicare training, which must be state-specific. For most states, the prospective agent must take a course to study for the health insurance license. The course is led by an instructor, lasts about a week, and has an exam that must be passed at the end of the course. The other option is self-studying to take the same exam.

Some courses also offer life insurance certifications simultaneously – many agents choose to take advantage of this opportunity as the marketing group for Medicare and life insurance is often very similar.

Complete the AHIP Medicare training

Once licensed, the next requirement is passing (with a 90% minimum) the annual Medicare training and certification through America’s Health Insurance Program (AHIP). The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is the agency that regulates Medicare plans, the agents who sell them, and the insurance carriers and brokers. AHIP certification typically starts in June and certifies those who pass for selling the following year. The exam is currently a cost of $175.   Our agents take AHIP at the discounted rate of $125.   Click here for details. 

Errors and Omissions Insurance

Even with the best of intentions, every agent will make a mistake eventually. This coverage, known as Errors and Omissions Insurance (E&O), will help in the event that a client decides to take legal action against you. If they feel that you gave misleading or incorrect information and decide to litigate, these policies can cover between one and three million dollars in coverage. Their cost however, is only $300 to $500 a year. Most carriers will not work with agents who do not have Errors and Omissions Insurance.  Purchase E&O here.

Contract with a Medicare Field Marketing Organization (FMO)

A Field Marketing Organization is a company that distributes health insurance plans to agents and agencies on behalf of the insurance carriers. Once contracted with an FMO, that organization will be able to help you get contracted to sell with multiple insurance companies, which increases both your clientele options and potential income. Some FMOs provide E&O insurance, as well as other benefits.

Get contracted with multiple Medicare companies

Each insurance carrier requires its own individual contract to sell their products. Most carriers require the following criteria be met before contracting with an agent:

• A copy of the agent’s health insurance license
• Proof of an E&O policy
• Legal questionnaire written by the carrier
• A background check
• Some carriers require their own specific annual certifications that pertain to their plans.

Complete annual certifications

Depending on the state, you may be required to complete additional continuing education training and certifications annually. These are essential to keeping your license active in your area. Some of the most common ones are hours of Ethics and Anti-Money Laundering Training and hours in your area of concentration as an agent, whatever that may be.

Maintain continuing education when required

Your FMO will provide additional information as to what is required to maintain your contract with them.  Most states have individual continuing education requirements. 

Through these relatively simple steps and some effort on your part, a career in Medicare sales as a licensed Medicare Insurance Agent is well within your reach.

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