BREAKING NEWS....AGENT ALERT: YOUR CLIENTS WILL NEED MORE HELP IN 2013….

BREAKING NEWS....AGENT ALERT

 YOUR CLIENTS WILL NEED MORE HELP IN 2013….

EVEN WHEN COVERED BY MEDICARE, MEDICARE ADVANTAGE AND MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTS

Earlier this year, prior to AEP and the Medicare Supplement sales season, we at Senior Marketing Specialist published the article below; Why Cash is King, Hospital Indemnity Insurance. In three short months the landscape has changed in the senior market and we have seen significant growth in the sale of indemnity products with CASH benefits paid directly to the clients. What’s changed???

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have three proposals on the table to prohibit first dollar coverage for Medicare Supplements with proposed caps of $7,500 out-of pocket, EVEN WITH A SUPPLEMENT!!! 

• 2013 Medicare deductibles have increased for both Part A and Part B!!!
• Medicare Supplement Plan K has an out-of pocket of $4,800 for 2013!!!
• Medicare Advantage Maximum Out-of-pocket can run into thousands of dollars!!! 

Both our independent agents and our career agents at Barnes Group are using this product to supplement their client’s coverage, even when they have programs that supplement Medicare!!! 

Here’s a reprint of the original article:

Why Cash is King
Hospital Indemnity Insurance

Indemnity insurance plans were one of the first health plans to ever be sold in this country. A very simple concept, if you have an illness or accident and accrue medical bills we, the insurer, will pay you a set dollar, indemnity, amount based upon the policy provisions for coverage. 

Many policies in the health insurance field today are so complicated in their benefit structure that even I, with 30+ years’ experience, have a have a hard time understanding what is covered and how much am I going to get paid. The Hospital Indemnity Policies being offered today are a classic example of knowing what you’re buying and understanding the benefits. These policies provide cash to the policyholder that can be used for any number of items after they have been confined to a hospital: 

• Paying health insurance deductibles, whether underage, Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement.
• Paying for Home Care
• Paying for charges not covered by other insurance.
• Paying bills at home.
• Paying for housekeeping while you recover.  

Many of these policies also offer riders to pay for doctors, surgery, cancer, and prescription drugs.  In most cases the cash indemnity is paid to the policyholder direct and they can then use the money as they see fit. The underwriting is minimal and premiums are affordable, starting at just a few dollars a month. Even those on a fixed budget may able to afford this coverage.

The largest medical bills that a person receives are when they end up hospitalized for illness or accident. So, why not insure that risk and make sure you have the money when you need it the most, after being confined to a hospital for illness or accident. After all, CASH IS KING!!!

Your clients will have medical bills that exceed the payments made by Medicare, Medicare Supplements and Medicare Advantage. Today we have a solution and we at McNerney Management Group, along with our subsidiaries Senior Marketing Specialists and Barnes Group will be developing new products and solutions to help to help you and your clients in 2013!!!

(This article was written by Philip Warren of Senior Marketing Specialists.)

The Medicare Reality

Consumers Have Spoken:

THEY PREFER KEEPING THEIR MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTS!!!

Every year at this time some agents watch anxiously awaiting the rate increases that come annually from companies for Medicare Supplements. Some even begin to schedule appointments in order to “help their clients save money”.  

With the advent of larger companies entering and dominating the Medicare Supplement market: Central States Indemnity, Aflac, United HealthCare, Continental/Aetna, and Mutual of Omaha, we at Senior Marketing Specialists are seeing this old way of thinking becoming less of an issue. Here’s why:

AHIP commissioned American Viewpoint, Inc., to conduct a national survey of Medicare supplement (Medigap) policyholders. As in past years, the survey asked enrollees about their satisfaction and experience with their coverage.

Here’s what CMS and Medicare tell the client:

Your Medicare health or prescription drug plan can change how much it costs and what it covers each year. Even if your plan’s cost and coverage stay the same, your health or finances may change. Review your plan each year to make sure it will still meet your needs. If you’re satisfied with your current coverage, you don’t need to change plans. www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/10050

So???

• Should you see your client every year? Absolutely
• Should they switch their Medicare Supplemental Coverage? Depends on their circumstances
• Do they need other coverage’s: Hospital Indemnity Plans, Home Health Care Plan, Final Expense? Quite possibly!!!

At Senior Marketing Specialists we have a unique tool to help you find out what your clients TRULY need this year, our  “Medicare Supplement Prospect Warm Up”.  This was designed after 30+ years of field experience from our sister career agency The Barnes Group.

As we approach 2013 let’s take a look at how we are working with our clients and find new and better ways to serve our clients.

(This article was written by Philip Warren of Senior Marketing Specialists.)

Just Another AEP… I THINK NOT!!!

Aetna has purchased Coventry. United Health Care bought Care Improvement Plus (the most innovative program for Medicare Advantage to date).

CSG Actuarial reported last week:

CMS released 2013 Medicare Advantage (MA) plan data last Wednesday, September 19th revealing almost 5,976 new plan combinations and the non-renewal of more than 6,056 plans for 2013. In many cases non-renewing plans are being replaced by a new plan from the same carrier in that area.

Due to non-renewed plans, approximately 1.7 million seniors are being dis-enrolled from their current plan. Most non-renewed insureds (1.3 million) will be offered a replacement by their current carrier; however, according to CMS data, 393,819 will actively be looking for coverage—a 36% increase over the number of seniors this time last year. The top four states for non-renewed insureds are Washington, Virginia, California, and Texas.

The 36% increase in non-renewals year over year provides opportunity for agents and carriers to fill in the coverage gaps.

So, what does this mean to you, the agent serving the senior market? An opportunity to enroll more people in programs that supplement Medicare in the last quarter of 2012 than most agents will all year long.

Also, 60% of the Medicare Supplements are sold in the last quarter of the year as well.

At Senior Marketing Specialists we’re ready… ARE YOU???

(This article was written by Philip Warren of Senior Marketing Specialists.)

*http://www.csgactuarial.com/news/cms-data-show-non-renewed-plans-for-2013/?utm_source=Campaigner&utm_campaign=CMS_Data_Show_Non-Renewed_Plans_for_2013&campaigner=1&utm_medium=HTMLEmail

Medicare Sales Trend Upwards

While our economy is continuing on a flat-line and the politics are promising to fix all of society’s ills after the November election with no plan or substantiation of action one thing in our business is shining through; sales of plans for supplementing Medicare are exceeding the projections made by one of our marketing associates, CSG Actuarial. Here’s what Doug Feekin had to say in an article last week:

Turns out, the Medicare Supplement market is growing even faster than we originally predicted.

Last June, CSG Actuarial published its 2nd annual Future of Medicare Supplement Market research paper. We predicted the Medicare Supplement market would grow in 2012 to 10.4 million lives, generating $22.8 billion of premiums. Based on strong trends through August, however, CSG Actuarial predictive models are now showing the Medicare Supplement market will grow in 2012 to more than 10.5 million lives, generating over $23 billion of premiums. The number of 2012 Medicare Supplement lives is up more than 3% from 2011 while the premiums are up almost 5% over 2011.

Companies are recognizing this growth and pushing hard to achieve greater market share in the Medicare Supplement market. In the last 12 months, Aetna and Cigna have purchased Medicare Supplement blocks to increase their presence in the Medicare Supplement market. Also, more than 5 companies have entered or re-entered the Medicare Supplement market in 2012 and 3 other companies have re-priced their premium rates to get more competitive in the market

http://www.csgactuarial.com/news/medicare-supplement-market-growing-faster/

To add to this major carriers are telling us at Senior Marketing Specialists that, in the Medicare Advantage arena, they are predicting this AEP will be one of the best for overall sales to date. With new plans, lower out of pocket costs in all areas and increased network access they’re probably right.

So, what does this mean to the agent serving consumers in the Medicare market today for us at Senior Marketing Specialists:

·         Consumers still see Healthcare as the #1 concern in retirement. (ASK THEM)

·         We have more plans in more price ranges to supplement Medicare than ever before, Plan F, Plan G, Plan N, Plan HDF and Medicare Advantage.

·         Do we have better information and ways of communicating the facts? I think so!!!

·         When properly approached, from a place of knowledge, education and most importantly SERVICE consumers will be responsive to real solutions offered to them.

It’s reported that 60% of the Medicare Supplements sold are purchased in the last quarter of the year. At McNerney Management Group, which includes Senior Marketing Specialists and Barnes Insurance Group, that is our experience as well in the past few years.

With sales trending up will your business trend up as well? I hope so!!!

(This article was written by Philip Warren of Senior Marketing Specialists.)

The Medicare Market Potential

Yesterday I addressed a group of agents who had been in the Medicare Supplement Market for a very long time. They STILL sell Plans G&F primarily. They were resistant to including Medicare Advantage in their portfolio. Here are some of my remarks from that meeting:

In the last decade we have seen the face of the market for people participating in Medicare change more than any other time since Medicare’s inception in 1966. The variety of plan choices, growth in demographics, new models of sales distribution, fewer licensed agents, Health Care Legislation, pricing wars and constraints from carriers, and government cutbacks on Medicare benefit payments have created, not a problem, but an unprecedented opportunity for organizations marketing insurance to the over 65 market.

In 2012, we will have over forty-one million people in our country over age 65.

·         13,000,000 enrolled in Medicare Advantage programs.

·         10,000,0000 carrying private insurance (Medicare Supplement).

·         3,000,000 becoming eligible for Medicare benefits.

·         Countless retirees losing health benefits.

Google lists 88,700,000 results when key words “Medicare Plan Choices” are used.

·         Original Medicare

·         Medicare Supplement

·         Medicare Advantage

·         Continuation of Group Coverage

·         Prescription Drug Coverage

·         Low-Income Subsidy (LIS)

·         Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)

·         Medicaid

How many prospects were they ignoring due to their old, myopic view of the market???

Dallas County, where I live, Demographic Profile:

·         Ages 64 – 80: $0 - $100,00, All Households - 84,657

·         Ages 64 – 80: $20,000 - $100,000 Homeowners - 61,950


·         ADDITIONAL PROSPECTS - 22,707

·         27% of market potential being ignored

In the last quarter of each year it’s reported that 60% of Medicare Supplement sales for the year will be made. And we all know the impact of AEP on Medicare Advantage. So this begs the question: WILL WE/YOU CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT AND APPROACH THE MARKET AS WE ENTER THE FOURTH QUARTER????

The business is out there!!! It’s our job to go get it!!!

(This article was written by Philip Warren of Senior Marketing Specialists.)

Contract With Senior Marketing Specialists Within 72 Hours & Receive an Incentive!

Contract with us within 72 hours and receive your choice of the following:

•  250 Turning 65 Names in Your Selected Counties
• CE Voucher for 16 Hours of CE
• $25 Gas Card

Call 800.689.2800 and let us know what you decide!

Medicare Advantage | Changing the Way Health Care is Provided to, and Paid for by Seniors

Last week I had the privilege of attending the United Health Care kickoff meeting for Annual Enrollment Period for Medicare Advantage and Part D Prescription Drug Programs. This was a high level meeting held for the National Marketing Alliance’s,  and I felt fortunate to be able to attend. Much of the information looked like the following press release:

UHC Maintains Lead in Medicare MarketsMedicare Supplement market leader UnitedHealthcare (UHC) reported today it added 35,000 more lives in the 2nd quarter.

The UHC financial report features Standardized and Modernized policy in-force counts of 3,075,000 as of 2nd quarter 2012, a 35,000 increase over 1st quarter 2012 and a 215,000 increase over 2nd quarter 2011. The 215,000 policy count growth over the last 12 months is a 7.5% increase over the policy counts at 2nd quarter 2011.

As indicated in the following Exhibits–compiled by CSG Actuarial analysis using historical UnitedHealthcare financial reports–UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Supplement policy in-force counts continue to grow at a faster rate than previous years.

UnitedHealthcare also remained in 1st place in the Medicare Advantage and Medicare PDP markets, reporting 2.6 million and 4.2 million lives respectively.

But with the acquisition of Care Improvement Plus and XL Health by UHC some things are starting to change. We’re all used to our companies providing the services and support that insurance has promised both us, the producers, and our clients. BUT WHAT IF THE COMPANY PROVIDED THIS TO ALL NEW MEMBERS???

• House Calls- In home visit with physician or nurse practitioner
• PharmAssit- Specialist Pharmacist provide personalized private counseling, Reviews medications, communicates with the members  provider where appropriate, and provides member follow up.
• Social Service Coordinators—Helps determine if member may be eligible for community programs that can assist with medical cost, prescription drugs, energy bills, heating cost, meals and more…
• Nurse Care Management-  24/7 Hot line, patient advocacy, Health care related coaching calls, and care coordination.

Would our clients receive better care? YES

Would our clients take more responsibility in managing their health and chronic conditions? YES

Would we and our clients feel better about the future of health care knowing that FINALLY the health care providers and the insurance companies paying the claims were all working together for a common goal, helping people live better, fuller, healthier lives? YES

Well, that is exactly what is happening as I write this. United Health Care, with the acquisition of care Improvement Plus,  is integrating this system and taking the leading role in; “Changing the Way Health Care is Provided to, and Paid for by Seniors”.

U.S. Medicare Chief Donald Berwick said in 2010;

“Those who wish to preserve status quo are not going to be contributors to our nation’s future. They can’t be effective partners. All of us will have to change the way we do business.”

I wonder… what should we do next???

(This article was written by Philip Warren of Senior Marketing Specialists.)

Medicare Advantage Certification | Challenge or Opportunity?

This time every year thousands of insurance agents across the country join their brethren in a common task; procrastinating on getting their MA certification done. Here’s what CMS says:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) require that all sales representatives, agents, and brokers who are licensed and appointed to sell Medicare Advantage or Medicare Prescription Drug Products complete an annual certification program. You must be properly certified to receive commission for group Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plan sales.

I know but it’s one more thing I have to do in a business that already has too much regulation. The companies keep pressuring me with new rules, advertising guidelines and changing things without notification. Sometimes I wish I’d listened to my grandfather and gotten a real job (that’s what my grandfather told my brothers when they entered the business in 1960. They became wealthy!).

Well everyone agrees it’s a hassle! But let’s look at what might motivate us this year so we can get the job at hand done. Here’s five good reasons:

1. We have to get certified in order to represent the plan provider for MA and PDP and get paid commissions. Okay, fair enough. Now that I think about it, my MA commissions last year during AEP were as much as my Medicare Supplement commissions during the previous quarter of the year.
2. Sixty percent of Medicare Supplement throughout the year is sold in the last quarter. Wow, my earnings so far this year are down over the same period from last year. That gives me an opportunity to bring those earnings up.
3. The companies participating in MA have shrunk in numbers and the plans are some of the best being offered with better networks, some on a regional basis. Really, now that you mention it that would make it easier to decide who I want to represent.
4. 14 million Medicare recipients have chosen Medicare Advantage in only seven years (that’s compared with 10 million Medicare Supplement policyholders). I guess that means we can actually increase the demographic base of people for prospecting who need help  supplementing their Medicare by as much as 30+% in some cases.
5. To truly be in the Medicare market you need to represent both Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage. You’re right, with everything that’s transpiring in our business and world, I should be able to give my clients what they need and deserve, respect and choices. It’s hard enough out here today, people are nervous and scared. Maybe I can help some of them!

Okay. I’m going to do it tonight!!!

This article was written by Philip Warren of Senior Marketing Specialists.

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain | What This Means to Insurance Agents

From the book by L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, comes one of my favorite quotes “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”

In our age of sound bites, self-appointed pundits and mega-hype, we need to take heed to this sage advice. Let’s take the future of Medicare for example:

Medicare will go bankrupt in seven years unless drastic changes are made. So we were warned – in 1969.

Experts pegged the countdown to disaster at eight years in 1981 and four years in 1997. In fact, every report by the program’s Trustees, since the first one was issued in 1970, has projected pending bankruptcy. Some of those reports saw it coming in as little as two years.

Last week, the Trustees reported that insolvency is now due in 2024, five years earlier than they predicted a year ago.*

So, with every warning in the last 43 years the government has adjusted and maintained the solvency of the program, because to not do so would create havoc in the electoral body of representatives and cost them their jobs.

What does that mean to us in the insurance industry today? Well:

• Original Medicare Part A and Part B has remained fundamentally the same since 1965 with an actual increase in benefits due to medical technology while adjusting the program costs to keep up with medical costs and inflation.
• One change is that we have more creative ways to help more people supplement Medicare today than any time since 1965.
• The increasing number of Medicare enrollees will drive more than $3,000,000,000 of annualized new business premium in the Medicare Supplement market in 2012, and that number is projected to increase 50% in the next 3 years.
• Nine out of ten Medigap policyholders are satisfied with their coverage. **
• More than nine out of ten (91 percent) would recommend Medigap coverage to a friend or relative when they turn 65 and enroll in Medicare. **

Our opportunity in the Senior Market is unprecedented!!! Our next few posts will be highlighting this opportunity and how we at Senior Market Specialists, and you, can capitalize on this. Until then; “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”

**http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/healthcare/Is-Medicare-Going-Bankrupt-Not-Really.html#ixzz1yXgszBER

**AMERICANVIEWPOINT AHIP National Medigap Satisfaction Survey

Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law | What This Means for You, the Insurance Agent

Putting aside politics and ideology what does this mean to those of us who work in the insurance industry, and specialize in the over 65 market? Well, to gain perspective, I always like to look at history, because if you don’t know where you’ve been it’s difficult to know where you’re going.

So let’s take a look back in time.

• 1965 – Medicare is enacted into law creating a national social insurance program, administered by the U.S. federal government that guarantees access to health insurance for Americans ages 65 and older. RESULT- INSURANCE AGENTS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!!!

• 1993 – Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (or OBRA-93[1]) became federal law that was enacted by the 103rd United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. States react by leveling commissions being paid to licensed insurance agents selling Medicare Supplement policies. RESULT- INSURANCE AGENTS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!!!

• 2003 – Medicare Modernization Actof 2003 signed into law by President George W. Bush producing the largest overhaul of Medicare in the public health program’s 38-year history. Pursuant to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, the compensation and business practices for insurers that offer these plans changed, and “Medicare+Choice” plans became known as “Medicare Advantage” (MA) plans. RESULT = INSURANCE AGENTS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!!!

• 2010 – Affordable Health Care for America Act (or HR 3962) signed into law by President Barack Obama creating sweeping changes and effectively overhauling the country’s health care system and financing mechanisms (insurance). RESULT = INSURANCE AGENTS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!!!

• June 28, 2012 – SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS HEALTH CARE LAW!!! RESULT- INSURANCE AGENTS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!!!
Since 1965 there has been federal legislation enacted several times that have put insurance agents out of business, while insurance companies have paid, and continue to pay, untold millions of dollars in commission to agents selling health insurance.

Let’s see where we are today:

• 10,000 people turning 65 daily in this country making decisions regarding their health care coverage. LEADS!!!!!
• $3,000,000,000.00 in NEW MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT PREMIUM projected for 2012.
• The widest range of supplemental products, and most creative product line available, to a larger demographic of people enrolled in Medicare at any time since 1965.
• Annual Enrollment Period for Medicare Advantage on the horizon with the best products and best carriers since the program’s inception.
• Guarantee of people over age 65 of needing someone to navigate the Medicare Maze and assist them in the decision making process regarding their health care and coverage.

Today I had lunch with a lead expert and an insurance compliance attorney. We couldn’t stop talking about the various ways to capitalize on the news of today.
• The attorney – Will be soliciting new clients/insurance companies in order to advise them, and receive retainers, on the Affordable health Care for America act and its ramifications
• The Lead Expert – The ability to create more leads at less cost to help more agents see more prospects.
• Me & Senior Marketing Specialists – We will help you, THE AGENT, serve your clients and the over 65 market!!!

(This article was written by Philip Warren of Senior Marketing Specialists)

Medicare Advantage Versus Medicare Supplement | By Philip Warren of Senior Marketing Specialists

In the past few years there has been an ongoing debate, although the debate seems to be waning, regarding what product consumers should be using to supplement their Medicare program, Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage? Let’s start this post with a review of the numbers:

• Medicare Supplement – 10,000,000 policies in force
• Medicare Advantage – 14,000,000 people enrolled 

Medicare Advantage has enrolled 14 million individuals in the past seven years and is expecting growth again approaching 2013. Medicare Supplement sales projections for 2012 are expected to reach $3 billion annualized premium in new sales. It appears that both products have found a solid position in the market. What Medicare Advantage has accomplished is penetrate deeper into the demographic of those over 65 years in age who are enrolled in Medicare but who did not always purchase a Medicare Supplement. We’ll review that in our next post. For now let’s take a case in point: I received a call from a client of mine a couple of weeks ago saying he was turning 65, retiring and exiting his existing group coverage from work. This call was different in the fact that my client suffers from colon cancer. Since he is guaranteed the right to purchase any program supplementing Medicare, we had a long discussion. I advised him, premium not being an issue in his case, to purchase a Plan F Medicare Supplement. Why???

• His health is not good and he is experiencing huge costs treating cancer.
• This plan offers guaranteed renew-ability, so his policy cannot be cancelled regardless of his health.
• It would help take the stress off of him and his family regarding paying for cancer treatments.

Had he been healthy and coming off of his group plan, then a Medicare Advantage plan may just as well have fit his needs, especially with no premium and a “pay as you go” program. That’s what we’ll discuss in our next post. The fact is both Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage now have a place in our market and practices.

Shut Up & Listen | Sales Tips for Insurance Agents

Rachel Brocksmith, a Marketer at Senior Marketing Specialists, recently read an article titled “Shut Up for a Second: Understanding Buying Signals”. She recognized that the information in that article would be helpful to our agents. So, you will be glad to know that she has summarized that article and you can read the main points below! 

·        Selling is not a process of convincing someone to buy. You learn what the prospect wants.

·        Professional salespeople “listen” people into buying and probe for needs and wants.

·        Most sales are lost because of missed buying signals.

·        Most successful sales are a complete accident.

·        70% of sales are lost because of not knowing when to close.

·        A simple question of “what do you think?” may be all it takes to close a sale.

So, what do you think? Would you agree or disagree with the points above? We would love to hear what you have learned from your experience in the insurance field!

Welcoming Dan Mangus as National Sales Director at Senior Marketing Specialists!

We at Senior Marketing Specialists (SMS) are proud to announce our newest full-time addition, Dan Mangus. Dan has spent the past 20 years in South Eastern Missouri running his own family agency which has always been a top-producing agency in the Senior Market.

Two years ago, Dan began marketing within SMS as a consultant, speaker, motivator and trainer to some of our top agents. He has also played a critical role in the development of our state-of-art, online training campus, SMS-University. He then spent a year growing and leading our Advisory Council made up of the top producing agents in our distribution.

We are privileged to announce that Dan will be joining our office as our National Sales Director! He will be working with our internal marketing and recruiting staff, plus he will be available to assist all of the 7,000+ agents that we represent across the country. Please join us in welcoming Dan and his wife Kelly to Columbia and congratulate them on this new chapter in their lives!