Articles For Agents
Preparing for a Virtual AEP + New COVID-friendly Retention Letter
AEP comes every year – but this year, it might be a little different. The coronavirus continues to disrupt nearly every aspect of life, and this will likely continue through AEP and beyond. As a result, you will need to take extra steps to keep your clients and safe...
Medicare Beneficiaries with ESRD Now Eligible for Medicare Advantage
End-stage renal disease (ESRD) occurs when a person’s kidneys stop functioning. According to CMS, patients with ESRD will need either a regular course of long-term dialysis or a kidney transplant in order to stay alive. Both options come with a hefty price tag....
Nursing Homes, Medicare and COVID-19 Safety
Nursing homes have been especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many nursing homes have had to take careful measures to protect their residents, including closing to visitors or even relocating residents. CMS has recently announced new guidance to help nursing...
New COVID-19 Medicare SEP Announced: What it Means for Your Clients
CMS has announced a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for Medicare beneficiaries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. If your clients qualify, they will have another limited opportunity to make an election change for the current plan year. Coronavirus Disruption The...
New Non-Medical Benefits for Medicare Advantage Enrollees
Good health is a complicated puzzle. It contains many pieces: genetics, environmental factors, habits and so on. While traditional health insurance benefits only address part of this puzzle, new rules let Medicare Advantage plans look at the whole picture to help...
What the Texas Stay at Home Order Means for Insurance Agents
Texans are being told to limit non-essential activities in order to stop the spread of coronavirus. This means that people are only supposed to go out for essential work and activities, and they may face additional requirements regarding social distancing and the use...
Help Your Clients Make the Most out of Medicare’s Telehealth Benefits
Everyone’s been told to stay home as much as possible to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. For many Medicare enrollees, the threat is especially high because older people and people with underlying health conditions may be more likely to experiencing severe...
Helping Clients Protect their Mortgages with Life Insurance
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, your clients are more financially vulnerable than ever. Some may have lost their jobs or had their hours reduced. Others may be dealing with added health care costs. Now is a great time to be there for your clients. Let them know...
How to Serve Medicare Clients Remotely
The CDC has warned that older adults and people with heart disease, diabetes or lung disease are at an increased risk for serious illness from COVID-19. This means that all of your Medicare clients may have an increased risk, and some are especially vulnerable. You...
Medicare and Glaucoma – How to Help Clients Protect Their Vision
Your clients may be suffering from glaucoma without realizing it. According to the CDC, glaucoma refers to a group of diseases that cause damage to the eye’s optic nerve, resulting in vision loss and even blindness. If people seek medical treatment early, however, it...
Texas SNPs – How to Help Clients Get Extra Help
Do your Medicare clients have special needs? Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are available for Medicare enrollees who have chronic health conditions, qualify for Medicaid or need institutional care. If any of your clients fit into any of these common categories, learn how...
Goal Setting Strategies for Insurance Agents
Many people like to kick off the new year with a resolution or two. Unfortunately, these resolutions are usually abandoned by summer – if they even last that long. According to Business Insider, 22 percent of people think it’s OK to give up on their New Year’s...
Everything Agents Need to Know About OEP
AEP is ending, but the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period is right around the corner. To help you prepare, here’s a reminder of what you as an agent can do during OEP, as well as what your clients can do. For Clients – Enrollment Options The Medicare Advantage...
Just in Time for AEP: Medicare Plan Finder Update
Whenever new technology is released, bugs are a common problem. The redesigned Medicare Plan Finder has been no exception. Problems and missing features have led to widespread complaints about the new system and concerns about the annual election period. Problems and...
New Medicare Plan Finder
This annual election period, Medicare beneficiaries will have many Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans to choose from. To help enrollees compare options, Medicare provides the online Medicare Plan Finder tool. This year, the tool will be a little different...
10 Client Retention Strategies for Medicare AEP
By now, you’ve probably heard the news: It costs much more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain a client you already work with. In fact, the probability of selling to an existing customer is as high as 60 to 70 percent according to ClickZ. With that in...
Medicare AEP Outlook – What Agents Should Expect
Medicare insurance agents are gearing up for a busy season. The Annual Election Period starts October 15 and ends December 7. It’s an important time for the Medicare enrollees selecting coverage for 2020, and it’s a hectic time for the insurance agents helping them....
Insurance Marketing: Use Videos to Educate Clients
Want to amplify your success this AEP? Add videos to your insurance marketing mix. Why? Because not everyone learns well by reading. Many people are auditory or visual learners, meaning they need to hear or see information to understand it. Videos can appeal to these...
Medicare Agent Comp, Training and Testing Requirements for 2020
Believe it or not, but it’s already time to start looking toward the next Open Enrollment Period. CMS has released information on agent compensation rates, as well as training and testing requirements for 2020. The busy season will be here before you know it. Here’s...
Do Your Clients Have the Electronic Medicare & You Handbook?
Between now and May 31, you can sign up to receive a digital copy of the Medicare & You Handbook. It has all the same information as the traditional paper version, but the electronic format comes with advantages over the physical book. Tell your clients to sign up...