How are we expected to sell?

[somarco]

AARP Insurance Company.

Are they still in business? Which states?

 

[somarco]

United Health care requires you to get certified for their Med supp just like you do for their MA & PDP plans

Don't you mean AARP Insurance Company?

 

[insurancechic127]

Ok, so for those of you that only sell Med Supps, I'm just curious, what do you say if your clients asks about Medicare Advantage? Do you simply tell them you don't market that particular product, and then refer them to someone who does? Do you bring it up at all?

Not to beat a dead horse here, but I'm truly trying to figure out how this all goes down:

You approach a person, any person, by phone, the supermarket, parking lots, anywhere, right? And you ask them if they'd be interested in learning more about Med Supps that will fill in the gaps of Original Medicare (or whatever marketing line is appropriate to grab their interest and attention.) You probably make an appointment to show them the line of products you are authorized to sell...

And off you go...hopefully to close a sale. What about PDP? How do you perform a needs analysis without asking them about medication? And PDP's fall under the same rules and regs as MA, correct? So now you have to get an SOA. And you're in different territory, so was the approach you just used (the cold call) NOT allowed?

Before anyone answers, PLEASE keep the snarky answers, sarcasm and withering comments to yourselves. I'm truly hoping to LEARN here. Thank you in advance...
-Robin

 

[GreenSky]

Paralysis by Analysis. That's my diagnosis.

Analysis paralysis - Wikipedia

Rick

 

[rousemark]

Paralysis by Analysis. That's my diagnosis.

Analysis paralysis - Wikipedia

Rick

A condition I have struggled with for years but you have to come to a point where you say, "To heck with it. I have to do something, even if it is wrong".

 

[somarco]

Focus on Medigap only at first and gradually break into PDP and MA. Almost impossible to get in trouble selling Medigap.

Almost.

 

[Chazm]

Ok, so for those of you that only sell Med Supps, I'm just curious, what do you say if your clients asks about Medicare Advantage? Do you simply tell them you don't market that particular product, and then refer them to someone who does? Do you bring it up at all?

Not to beat a dead horse here, but I'm truly trying to figure out how this all goes down:

You approach a person, any person, by phone, the supermarket, parking lots, anywhere, right? And you ask them if they'd be interested in learning more about Med Supps that will fill in the gaps of Original Medicare (or whatever marketing line is appropriate to grab their interest and attention.) You probably make an appointment to show them the line of products you are authorized to sell...

And off you go...hopefully to close a sale. What about PDP? How do you perform a needs analysis without asking them about medication? And PDP's fall under the same rules and regs as MA, correct? So now you have to get an SOA. And you're in different territory, so was the approach you just used (the cold call) NOT allowed?

Before anyone answers, PLEASE keep the snarky answers, sarcasm and withering comments to yourselves. I'm truly hoping to LEARN here. Thank you in advance...
-Robin

People who only sell med supps by phone aren’t trying to convince anyone to buy a med supp. You’re trying to save them money. You have a med supp, which plan letter, which company and how much?

You’re not worried about their drug plan because they are already on one.

If you only want to sell med supps and you do F2F T65’s then a different story. I guess you could educate on what Medicare covers and explain how part c and med supps work while putting an emphasis on how important a med supp is.
If you choose not to sell part d and they ask about it, let them know you’d help them find one. Go to medicare.gov, input their drugs and tell them to call Medicare or do it online themselves.

 

[bluediamond]

The topic I was responding to was NOT "cold calling" beneficiaries for MedSupps, nor did it have anything to do whatsoever with determining if and when an SOA was required. Rather, the topic was approaching a beneficiary in person, in this case, by tackling said beneficiary in a store. Two completely different types of solicitation, and thus, different solicitation rules. Read the details; that's where the devil resides.

To recap the rules: A producer cannot approach a beneficiary in person to solicit business without first being approached (in person) by said beneficiary. If the producer claims that he or she was simply approaching a beneficiary in person in order to solicit "only MedSupp," my point is that the solicitation is still improper and subject to CMS sanctions against the producer (and potentially any MAPD or PDP carrier that producer is contracted with). This is because, by definition, the vast majority of people eligible for MedSupps also are eligible for MAPD and PDP.

What is so difficult to understand about that rule folks? If you don't understand the logic therein, perhaps you should consider a new career in automobile sales.

It is something quite different to initialize solicitation of a MedSupp via phone. So long as MedSupp is ALL you are soliciting (excluding MA, MAPD, PDP, etc.) then CMS does not technically prohibit such solicitation. That being said, a significant percentage of complaints against producers are lodged due to soliciting PDP or MAPD via phone under the guise of soliciting "only MedSupps."

Tread lightly folks. Again, if you don't understand the rationale behind the rules, the car business is hopping. They need peddlers, bad, especially truck sales. And you don't have to pay too close attention to details.

Since when does CMS oversee a Medicare Supplement? You don't know what you're talking about, you can approach anyone to talk supplement's all day long.

 

[sman]

Ok, so for those of you that only sell Med Supps, I'm just curious, what do you say if your clients asks about Medicare Advantage? Do you simply tell them you don't market that particular product, and then refer them to someone who does? Do you bring it up at all?

Not to beat a dead horse here, but I'm truly trying to figure out how this all goes down:

You approach a person, any person, by phone, the supermarket, parking lots, anywhere, right? And you ask them if they'd be interested in learning more about Med Supps that will fill in the gaps of Original Medicare (or whatever marketing line is appropriate to grab their interest and attention.) You probably make an appointment to show them the line of products you are authorized to sell...

And off you go...hopefully to close a sale. What about PDP? How do you perform a needs analysis without asking them about medication? And PDP's fall under the same rules and regs as MA, correct? So now you have to get an SOA. And you're in different territory, so was the approach you just used (the cold call) NOT allowed?

Before anyone answers, PLEASE keep the snarky answers, sarcasm and withering comments to yourselves. I'm truly hoping to LEARN here. Thank you in advance...
-Robin

You don't get to ask questions and then dictate how people respond.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, a person who isn't contracted and certified to sell MAPD/PDP doesn't have to get a SOA signed when they are going over the basics of either product. Therefore they can say something like:

"As part of my service to my Med Supp clients, I'll be happy to run a prescription plan comparison for you and let you know which prescription plan is the lowest cost for you based on your specific medications. In order to do that, I'll need to know the names and dosage amounts of your medications and which pharmacy you prefer to use."

The broker can even complete the enrollment into a PDP for the client directly from the Medicare website. The broker doesn't get paid for it, but he/she is adding value. Again, since the broker isn't contracted or certified, no SOA needed.

I feel like all of this has been explained multiple times on this thread. At some point you have to sh1t or get off the pot.

 

[insurancechic127]

Okay, thank you for your gracious reply.

I'm done. Good luck to everyone; I'm off to start on my journey.