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At first, I thought that it was to protect the benefit holder's right to not have to expose his SSN if the card fell into the wrong hands. But, it has since gotten ridiculous that I can't even verify the member's Medicaid status through the MA carriers with HICN , something which is what the State identifies them with. It was of course, a significant tool to know if a member had been switched to another plan. Otherwise, I might be calling someone with not knowing if the member is disenrolled. This past AEP, I did an in-home to review the plan that I had enrolled her in several years ago. She barely used the plan and had few questions, so I kept her with what she had with an eye toward another AEP review in 2020. The girlfriend later asked me about a week later if I had changed her insurance?, to which I said "NO". I no longer had the obvious EASY tool of looking her up to see if her plan had changed. I only asked the girlfriend if they had talked to another agent or had some other type of interaction?.to which she said "NO". Several months later, I realize that she had in fact been switched. Oh well. I have to say that the extra Corona time lately has helped my organization in making sure that I'm getting paid on what I'm supposed to.
I also couldn't look up to make sure that new business was processed by the carriers. Some of the carriers have informative broker portals, but some of them do not. If I phone their Agent Services, I was often put on hold and could only have them verify 5 enrollees at a time. Some fell through the cracks this way, although I feel lucky that they called me instead of the company. It was still messy though.
I also couldn't look up to make sure that new business was processed by the carriers. Some of the carriers have informative broker portals, but some of them do not. If I phone their Agent Services, I was often put on hold and could only have them verify 5 enrollees at a time. Some fell through the cracks this way, although I feel lucky that they called me instead of the company. It was still messy though.