Hello, I’m new here

[WittyWren]

After 29 years in corporate HR/benefits I started a new career less than 2 years ago selling Medicare, Med Supps, PDPs and ancillary benefits in Tennessee (also licensed in KY and SC now). Due to the loss of income and employer benefits, I'm also working a night shift 3 nights a week at our local Amazon warehouse. That was really rough during AEP last year, when my Medicare business was going well but Amazon also required mandatory extra shifts.

My plan is to drop to flex hours at the warehouse this fall and do well enough in AEP that I don't have to go back after the holidays, even though it means finding my own family insurance. I also have two kids in college.

Anyway glad to have found this forum and eager to learn more from y'all.

 

[Newby]

After 29 years in corporate HR/benefits I started a new career less than 2 years ago selling Medicare, Med Supps, PDPs and ancillary benefits in Tennessee (also licensed in KY and SC now). Due to the loss of income and employer benefits, I'm also working a night shift 3 nights a week at our local Amazon warehouse. That was really rough during AEP last year, when my Medicare business was going well but Amazon also required mandatory extra shifts.

My plan is to drop to flex hours at the warehouse this fall and do well enough in AEP that I don't have to go back after the holidays, even though it means finding my own family insurance. I also have two kids in college.

Anyway glad to have found this forum and eager to learn more from y'all.

You realize that Obamacare is dirt cheap unless you have a high income?

 

[DonP]

After 29 years in corporate HR/benefits I started a new career less than 2 years ago selling Medicare, Med Supps, PDPs and ancillary benefits in Tennessee (also licensed in KY and SC now). Due to the loss of income and employer benefits, I'm also working a night shift 3 nights a week at our local Amazon warehouse. That was really rough during AEP last year, when my Medicare business was going well but Amazon also required mandatory extra shifts.

My plan is to drop to flex hours at the warehouse this fall and do well enough in AEP that I don't have to go back after the holidays, even though it means finding my own family insurance. I also have two kids in college.

Anyway glad to have found this forum and eager to learn more from y'all.

That's pretty damn risky banking your future on what's happening in the Medicare world . I'm putting pretty good odds agent comp changes or massive commission suppression highly likely this aep.Id suggest learning life ins and annuity's and not banking your future on govt subsidized products

 

[WittyWren]

You realize that Obamacare is dirt cheap unless you have a high income?

Medical benefits at Amazon are hard to beat; we have the Premium plan and for about $580/month we have $0 deductible family coverage. I was hospitalized in March for 3 days which required multiple tests including an MRI, stress test and a cardioversion and my total out of pocket was $1000. But honestly while I build a book of business the extra pay has been welcome too. I took a big pay cut going from corporate benefits to self employed agent. But the plan is to go on Obamacare this fall when I cut back my warehouse hours.

That's pretty damn risky banking your future on what's happening in the Medicare world . I'm putting pretty good odds agent comp changes or massive commission suppression highly likely this aep.Id suggest learning life ins and annuity's and not banking your future on govt subsidized products

Thanks for the encouragement!
Leaving the corporate world was a deliberate decision after being RIF'd twice since 2015. Plus the more I advanced, the less I actually helped people and the more I had to focus on budgets and cost cutting and making more money for the C-suite and investors. I absolutely love sitting at a kitchen table with a couple getting ready to turn 65 and help them understand what their options are and to get what they need. I'm not going to worry about what the future of Medicare looks like, since it's no more volatile than the future of corporate HR management. If I need to pivot again in the next few years I will. I've got a decade or less before I'll be retiring myself and I want to spend it doing something I enjoy and being my own boss, not dreading work every morning.

 

[DonP]

Medical benefits at Amazon are hard to beat; we have the Premium plan and for about $580/month we have $0 deductible family coverage. I was hospitalized in March for 3 days which required multiple tests including an MRI, stress test and a cardioversion and my total out of pocket was $1000. But honestly while I build a book of business the extra pay has been welcome too. I took a big pay cut going from corporate benefits to self employed agent. But the plan is to go on Obamacare this fall when I cut back my warehouse hours.

Thanks for the encouragement!
Leaving the corporate world was a deliberate decision after being RIF'd twice since 2015. Plus the more I advanced, the less I actually helped people and the more I had to focus on budgets and cost cutting and making more money for the C-suite and investors. I absolutely love sitting at a kitchen table with a couple getting ready to turn 65 and help them understand what their options are and to get what they need. I'm not going to worry about what the future of Medicare looks like, since it's no more volatile than the future of corporate HR management. If I need to pivot again in the next few years I will. I've got a decade or less before I'll be retiring myself and I want to spend it doing something I enjoy and being my own boss, not dreading work every morning.

I speak reality . I hope it lasts for yrs to come as I'm one of the top Medicare agents in the country . It's been a hell of a 5 yrs . Just wish I got into 10 yrs ago instead of 5.

 

[goillini52]

I speak reality . I hope it lasts for yrs to come as I'm one of the top Medicare agents in the country .

No sh*t?

 

[WittyWren]

Meh, after browsing these Senior Insurance threads a bit more, I think I'll bow out of this message board. Way too much negativity and MAGA brain rot. Y'all enjoy.

 

[DonP]

Meh, after browsing these Senior Insurance threads a bit more, I think I'll bow out of this message board. Way too much negativity and MAGA brain rot. Y'all enjoy.

Check back with us in 2 yrs and post your deposits . I'll give you a 1% chance of netting $100 k a yr in ins . You say it's negativity. It's reality that few want to hear .Prove the statistics wrong and come back and show us you made it

 

[Northeast Agent]

WittyWren said:

But the plan is to go on Obamacare this fall when I cut back my warehouse hours.

You are aware that the expanded silver subsidies for ACA plans expire at the end of the year, right? We don't expect them to be made permanent, OEP is being shortened from 11/1-1/15 to 11/1-12/15. most people will be on a bronze plan with high OOP costs, etc.

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/how-medicaid-reconciliation-bill-could-help-slash-aca-enrollment-one-third?utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm_campaign=HC-NL-FierceHealthcare&oly_enc_id=4902E6421778H3I&fbclid=IwY2xjawKhelxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFSRkxWWkhtc3VYY3lxQlppAR5bom_VC8dFQ594YSvvD3GwEuV-mW8JenOrjh86uEb36K6pJG65E4zTVjPLZQ_aem_jofDQewbshWP_qcNLJtmSQ

 

[DonP]

WittyWren said:

But the plan is to go on Obamacare this fall when I cut back my warehouse hours.

You are aware that the expanded silver subsidies for ACA plans expire at the end of the year, right? We don't expect them to be made permanent, OEP is being shortened from 11/1-1/15 to 11/1-12/15. most people will be on a bronze plan with high OOP costs, etc.

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/how-medicaid-reconciliation-bill-could-help-slash-aca-enrollment-one-third?utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm_campaign=HC-NL-FierceHealthcare&oly_enc_id=4902E6421778H3I&fbclid=IwY2xjawKhelxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFSRkxWWkhtc3VYY3lxQlppAR5bom_VC8dFQ594YSvvD3GwEuV-mW8JenOrjh86uEb36K6pJG65E4zTVjPLZQ_aem_jofDQewbshWP_qcNLJtmSQ

Wow so the people who made $10 k or even $2 k in old days and estimated $18k will have to pay the full subsidy back as they never initially qualified . In the old days if that happened you paid nothing .Also in the last 5 yrs let's say in 2020 you made $18 k and got a silver plan with full cost sharing . In 2021 you make $30 k , 2023 you made $45 k , 2024 you made $55 k . You never touched your plan and it auto enrolled yearly into the silver plan . Obviously you owed a lot of the subsidy back yearly . No big deal . But you maintained the huge cost sharing of $0 deductible and $1300 max out of pocket . That's over with if you must manually enroll yearly as it will change the plan . I read about 10 mil people autoenrolled yearly . At least 1/2 of those enrolled directly and many won't know they have to reenroll manually or they'll lose their subsidy . . Come Jan they'll be shocked when their Jan bill jumped from $140 to $700. . They're doubly screwed because there's no sep to apply for a new plan for feb 1 to get the subsidy back . Sep's are going to be very strict . All this was designed to knock off 30-40% of people and it's going to happen