$100 to be certified this year

Wellcare is wellcarepro.com. It's not available until Sept. 15 for certification. At least, that's the info I got from the FMO.

You may be right on classroom for Humana. When I wrote for them, it was always classroom.


There is no classroom for Humana agents that were already certified. There is the $100 fee, however.
 
Its so typical for an insurance company to not let the sales force know what is going on. Not one agent was informed about this, until they actually went in the training portal to get certified.

Either way, Ill pay $100 to take ONE test. Although UHC is not participating, and yes its a loooooooooooooooooooong test.
 
I'm going to wait and see what develops.

This might be a good strategy. Perhaps if everyone does this, come close to enroll start date the carriers might be afraid they won't have enough agents and will start to pay the AHIP fees.

I won't pay $100 for the certification on principle. I'm not going to pay my money to make YOU money! But it is moot for me as I'm not going to play in the sandbox this year.

I won't sell PFFS plans at all (UHC out here) and I'm no great loss to Anthem (PPO) as I don't find much demand in my client mix for MA as opposed to supps... which I prefer for my older (and always sicker) clients. MA is good for the 65 to 70 group on a budget... who tend to be healthier, but after age 70 supps seem to be a better choice. I believe that IF you can afford a supp, it is always a better choice than an MA... but YMMV.

This year I will just send the few MA prospects I come across to another agent here who does a lot of work in the MA field... in return for either a small split or a big lunch at a nice restaurant or maybe a life lead from her book since she only does MA/Supp, IFP, small group, and DI.

The Creeper
 
I got the same email stating the 100 charge and if you sold 5 MA/s you would get your 10 back. But I went on to recert and I was not charged. Took the AHIP and Humana test. I am certified and had to pay nothing.
 
I didn't have to pay to be certified/recertified for any of the carriers: Anthem, UHC, Humana. I am appointed with Coventry but don't do any of their products except the occasional PDP with Advantra.

This year I'm not sure what I will be doing with the MA enrollment because of the new law that prohibits outbound solicitation calls or appointment setting.

Last year I was involved with an FMO and its appointment setting service that worked out pretty well. I was able to see 10-12 appointments a day (with mixed qualifications) and average about $1000 a week with that, along with cross-selling life insurance and doing other non-senior related business.

This year I am very wary of the new crackdown by CMS even though I don't worry too much about my particular ethics or practices. I just know that with the new laws prohibiting outbound calling and other marketing restrictions that the complaints will be insane.

I really don't need the headaches. I don't know if I'll do much at all with MA products this year. I am currently seeking other work to fill the gap.

I'm doing "educational" seminars at senior gathering places and senior high rises for future appointments. This is the best way I have found to leverage the MA products.

The good news is that there will be no more sleezy agents churning clients and putting them in WellCare when their doctors don't take it, or any inept agents able to knock on doors or scare people into signing things.

The bad news is it has made it nearly impossible for a good, ethical agent to make a living with MA.

Throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
 
I didn't have to pay to be certified/recertified for any of the carriers: Anthem, UHC, Humana. I am appointed with Coventry but don't do any of their products except the occasional PDP with Advantra.

This year I'm not sure what I will be doing with the MA enrollment because of the new law that prohibits outbound solicitation calls or appointment setting.

Last year I was involved with an FMO and its appointment setting service that worked out pretty well. I was able to see 10-12 appointments a day (with mixed qualifications) and average about $1000 a week with that, along with cross-selling life insurance and doing other non-senior related business.

This year I am very wary of the new crackdown by CMS even though I don't worry too much about my particular ethics or practices. I just know that with the new laws prohibiting outbound calling and other marketing restrictions that the complaints will be insane.

I really don't need the headaches. I don't know if I'll do much at all with MA products this year. I am currently seeking other work to fill the gap.

I'm doing "educational" seminars at senior gathering places and senior high rises for future appointments. This is the best way I have found to leverage the MA products.

The good news is that there will be no more sleezy agents churning clients and putting them in WellCare when their doctors don't take it, or any inept agents able to knock on doors or scare people into signing things.

The bad news is it has made it nearly impossible for a good, ethical agent to make a living with MA.

Throwing out the baby with the bathwater.


Putting clients into a plan that they know a Dr won't take is wrong. No matter what company. If there is a problem with Wellcare in your area, they should not enroll. Here, Wellcare is the best option where it's available. Especially in "A" counties. There is no problem with acceptance and it's a far superior plan to Pyramid, Coventry, Humana, Sterling, Cigna, Chesapeake, UHA or any other you can find.
 
Putting clients into a plan that they know a Dr won't take is wrong. No matter what company. If there is a problem with Wellcare in your area, they should not enroll. Here, Wellcare is the best option where it's available. Especially in "A" counties. There is no problem with acceptance and it's a far superior plan to Pyramid, Coventry, Humana, Sterling, Cigna, Chesapeake, UHA or any other you can find.

The WellCare plan in this are (northern Ohio) is all PFFS, as was Advantra. There are some very good PPO and HMO plans in this service area that cover all the major hospitals (either University Hosp or Cleve Clinic owned) and WellCare has been rejected by Cleve Clinic hospitals lately because of some problems with it.

The reason I didn't enroll anyone in WellCare when I was first involved is because of the PFFS blackout last summer/fall. I enrolled people in SNPs but not WellCare Duets. Later, when the PFFS freeze lifted, the UHC and Anthem plans covered 99.99% of the eligible enrollees, and I mopped up more messes made by unscrupulous WellCare agents than I can count.

I will always have a sour taste in my mouth because of that. Word on the street is that WellCare is for sale.
 
The WellCare plan in this are (northern Ohio) is all PFFS, as was Advantra. There are some very good PPO and HMO plans in this service area that cover all the major hospitals (either University Hosp or Cleve Clinic owned) and WellCare has been rejected by Cleve Clinic hospitals lately because of some problems with it.

The reason I didn't enroll anyone in WellCare when I was first involved is because of the PFFS blackout last summer/fall. I enrolled people in SNPs but not WellCare Duets. Later, when the PFFS freeze lifted, the UHC and Anthem plans covered 99.99% of the eligible enrollees, and I mopped up more messes made by unscrupulous WellCare agents than I can count.

I will always have a sour taste in my mouth because of that. Word on the street is that WellCare is for sale.


In that situation, I would feel just as you do about it. In my area, it's all PFFS with every company. The only PPO here is Anthem and it's a non factor. I do a lot of the Wellcare Duet/Melody, or, I did until they shut it down in Ky and In in May. I have potential clients calling me constantly for the Duet, {referrals from current clients}. I bet I have a list of 50 or more to call as soon as it becomes availabe again.

They had something happen like you describe with Humana in Lexington, Ky. One of the large medical facilities there decided to not accept Humana anymore. Knowing that an agent should not put someone in Humana there. I imagine some still are, though.
 

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