Sterling Life Update

Key points from the Sterling Life announcement:
As a reminder, online enrollment is the preferred method for submitting Med Supp applications and has definite advantages over paper applications:

•  It’s more efficient.
• You get instant, accurate premium quotes.
• Required fields and steps must be completed properly or the application cannot be submitted.
• It significantly reduces errors and missing information, which are key reasons why paper applications pend.
• An application checklist helps ensure all required payment or documentation is submitted to Sterling.
• It’s faster.
• The application is submitted electronically and loaded directly into the enrollment system, so manual keying and processing isn’t necessary.
• As a result, the application is processed more quickly which means quicker commission payments for you!

Sterling Life On-Line enrollment state list:

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NV, NJ, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, WV, WY
The new ones on the list are: 9 additional states: AK, CA, MI, MN, NE, NJ, NC, ND and WI.

Mutual of Omaha - E-app Update Reminder

Temporary ID Card:

Your client will have the option to receive a temporary Med supp ID card via email once their e-App status is App Issue in Progress.

On the Application Information page, you ask your client if they wish to receive a temporary ID card via email. If they say ‘yes’ and they didn’t give you an email address earlier, you will be prompted to provide an email address (it’s required for this service).

Once an application status is App Issue in Progress, you and your client will receive an email with the privacy information and a link to ‘View Message.” Clicking the link opens an email with a temporary ID card PDF attachment. Your client can print and use the temporary ID with providers until they receive their permanent card.

Training Manual<http://blogs.mutualofomaha.com/express/files/2014/01/BKG-Comprehensive-e-App-Training-Manual.pdf>- available on SPA.

If you haven’t tried the Med Supp e-App start by playing in the Sandbox, go to mutualofomaha.com/broker, “Sales Tools” tab, “Resource” page.

Do you know what to look for to qualify a person for a Chronic plan, 12 months a year?

A key to truly helping your clients involves finding the perfect product for a clients situation.

After you find out what matters to your client make sure you find out what health concerns they are dealing with.

Carriers have products that are specially designed to address the specific needs of clients dealing with chronic illnesses. As their trusted advisor you need to make them aware that these plans are available to them.

To qualify a person for a chronic plan they must be diagnosed with one of the following chronic conditions:

––Chronic heart failure

––Diabetes

––Cardiovascular disorders:

       •Cardiac arrhythmias

       •Coronary artery disease

       •Peripheral vascular disease
       •Chronic venous thromboembolism disorder

AARP Medicare Supplement Plans

United HealthCare Insurance Company insures AARP Medicare Supplement Plans. When it comes to size, reputation and rate stability UHC is second to none. One in Three individuals who carry a Medicare supplement carry it with UHC. As an agent that is a statistic you cannot afford to ignore. Don't walk away from a third of your potential sales when you can use it to your advantage.

AARP Medicare Supplement plans premiums have only increased an average 4% annually from 2008 through 2013. So go build new clients while you enjoy the renewals from clients that finally have the stable rates they need.

The professionals at SMS can have your UHC marketing materials that are already CMS approved, personalized, and ready to print in minutes.

2014 is a time to thrive not just survive. Let the best in the business show you how.  With the products from UHC and the marketing support of SMS, success is at your fingertips.

Join Us for an Exciting WebEx Presentation Featuring The Top 10 Reasons to Sell AARP® Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans.  

Thursday, January 16th at 10:00am CST

January Training Opportunities

Click Here to view our complete January Training Calendar, including online and classroom style trainings.  

To Register for classes click on the title of each training on the calendar. 

Eligibility Requirements for Medicare Covered Home Health Services

To be eligible for Medicare-covered home health services, a beneficiary must meet three requirements:

• he/she must be homebound,

• he/she must need part-time or intermittent skilled nursing care and/or skilled rehabilitation, or, after establishing prior eligibility, a continuing need for occupational therapy, and

• he/she must be under the care of a physician and need reasonable and necessary home health services that have been certified by a physician and established in a 60-day plan of care.

Budget Proposal Seeks Home Health Care Copay

As we head into the wrap up of OEP Congress and the President will be busy trying to work on making Medicare a fiscally viable program. One of the latest proposals would affect Medicare’s Home Health Care benefit:

• A large portion of the proposed budgetary increase is supposed to come from instituting $100 Medicare copayments for Medicare patients who use home health care. 
• The $100 copayment is supposed to produce $730 million from patients who currently use home health care but do not pay for the services they receive.
• The proposed copayment would apply to episodes of care requiring five or more visits over a period of 60 days or less, which in 2008 would have applied to 63 percent of episodes.
• The problem with the assumption that many people are using home health care that could instead seek outpatient care is that home health care prevents a lot of inpatient hospital stays.

Join us at Senior Marketing Specialist for the first of two webinars this Wednesday November 20^th to find out more about an inexpensive answer to help your clients recover at home, regardless of other coverage including Medicare.

Using the Medicare and You 2014 Handbook

NOTE: If you do not have a copy of the 2014 Medicare and You book, CLICK HERE to view how to order and / or download your copy from Medicare.gov.

The Medicare and You publication is a great tool for agents to use in the field.  This is a Medicare approved piece, and many prospects and relate to it since they are used to getting them annually.

We recommend that you not only get a copy, but you also use it to help answer your clients questions.  

Below are some key pages in the 2014 book.  Of course, you may find other pages useful depending your clientele, but these are some great starting points when using the book:

Page 14 - Medicare and the Health Insurance Marketplace

Page 16 – Medicare Choices (Medigap / MA Flowchart)

Page 24 – Other insurance and Medicare

Page 58 – Medicare.gov plan finder

Page 59 – Medicare Choices plan chart

Page 67 – 71 – Medigap plans

Page 73 – MA plan types

Page 78 – How MA plans work

Page 80 – MA enrollment

Page 93 Part D Layout

Page 100 – Other programs and Part D

Page 110 - Medicaid

You cannot mark on CMS approved pieces and leave them behind.  If you have a copy where you take notes (as you should) write OFFICE COPY on the front with black marker so clients do not ask to keep yours.

(This article was written by Mike Gattorna of Senior Marketing Specialists.)

A Day in the Life of a Medicare Advantage Application

Did You Know: CMS defined Standard Benefit Plan changes

Here are the highlights for the CMS defined Standard Benefit Plan changes from this year to next. This “Standard Benefit Plan” is the minimum allowable plan to be offered.

• Initial Deductible: will be decreased by $15 to $310 in 2014
• Initial Coverage Limit: will decrease from $2,970 in 2013 to $2,850 in 2014
• Out-of-Pocket Threshold: will decrease from $4,750 to $4,550 in 2014
• Coverage Gap: begins once you reach your Medicare Part D plan’s initial coverage limit ($2,850 in 2014) and ends when you spend a total of $4,550 in 2014.
In 2014, Part D enrollees will continue to receive a 52.5% discount on the total cost of their brand-name drugs while in the coverage gap.  The 50% discount paid by the brand-name drug manufacturer will still apply to getting out of the donut hole; however the additional 2.5% paid by your Medicare Part D plan will not count toward your TrOOP. Enrollees will pay a maximum of 72% co-pay on generic drugs while in the coverage gap.
• Minimum Cost-sharing in the Catastrophic Coverage Portion of the Benefit**: will increase to greater of 5% or $2.55 for generic or preferred drug that is a multi-source drug and the greater of 5% or $6.35 for all other drugs in 2014
• Maximum Co-payments below the Out-of-Pocket Threshold for certain Low Income Full Subsidy Eligible Enrollees:  will increase to $2.55 for generic or preferred drug that is a    multi-source drug and $6.35 for all other drugs in 2014

Making Medicare Documents Work for You! Home Health Care:

Many clients have misconceptions about Medicare’s role in their receiving home health care. The booklet linked to below can answer the details about what it takes to qualify and how much benefit they can expect.

There is a huge opportunity right now for products that can fill the voids left by Medicare as your clients recover from serious injury or illness.

http://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/10969.pdf