Welcome to Our Home Health Care Vlog!
Guarantee Trust Life Home Health Care – Plan Basics
In this video our marketer, Juliane, reviews the base of the home health care plan and how the prescription drug benefit will help your client.
Guarantee Trust Life Home Health Care – Optional Riders
In this video our marketer, Juliane, reviews additional benefits for Guarantee Trust Life’s Home Health Care plan. Find out how your clients can benefit from these optional riders!
Guarantee Trust Life Home Health Care – Sales Pitch
Find out how you can learn a successful sales technique for Home Health Care.
The Open Enrollment Period (OEP) is from January 1st to March 31st
Now is the time your clients are able to switch Medicare Advantage policies. Since this opportunity hasn’t been available for Medicare Advantage clients in a while (since 2011!) here’s some clarification of the OEP Rules:
If your client is enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, they’ll have a one-time opportunity to:
- Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan (Please remember: clients can only switch one time and the effective date would be the 1st of the month after which they apply)
- Drop their Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare, Part A and Part B
- Sign up for a stand-alone Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan (if they return to Original Medicare). Most Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug coverage already. Usually the client can’t enroll in a stand-alone Medicare Prescription Drug plan if they already have a Medicare Advantage plan, but there are some situations where they can.
- Drop their stand-alone Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan
Please remember that the OEP is not the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) and the agent cannot solicit or advertise the OEP to switch their client to another Medicare Advantage policy or back to regular Medicare.
Want more details? Check out this article found on CMS.gov.
Over the years there have been many different terms used to describe the time of the year Medicare Beneficiaries can add, change, or drop their Medicare Advantage or Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. The two main acronyms that agents refer to are the AEP and the OEP, which have been used interchangeably over the years, but it’s important to note they both have very separate definitions.
The AEP stands for Annual Election (or Enrollment) Period. The Annual Election Period is October 15th – December 7th and is the one time of the year that Medicare Beneficiaries can switch their Medicare Advantage, or Part D plans, or return to Original Medicare. Please note that during this time the Medicare Beneficiary can switch Medicare Advantage or Part D plans as much as they want until they decide on their new coverage effective January 1st. To find out more information on the AEP click here to review the Medicare Advantage – The Basics.
The OEP stands for Open Enrollment Period. Typically agents hear “OEP” and think of the guaranteed issue period in which someone is new to Medicare can purchase a Medicare Supplement without underwriting. But in this context the OEP is actually Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. Beginning in 2019 the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period will start January 1st – March 31st. During this time the Medicare beneficiary has an opportunity to:
- Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan
- Drop their Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare Part A and Part B
- Sign up for a stand-alone Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan (only if the beneficiary returned to Original Medicare)
- Drop the stand-alone Medicare Prescription Drug Plan
The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period replaced what was previously known as the Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period that ran from January 1st to February 14th. The Disenrollment Period is where clients had an opportunity to switch from a Medicare Advantage Plan to Original Medicare and enroll in a Part D Prescription Drug plan.
Outside of the Annual Election Period (AEP), the OEP is also available for those new to Medicare that enroll when they are 65 or obtain their Part B. The OEP will run for the 1st month with an additional 2 months. So for example if a Medicare Beneficiary enrolls in a Medicare Advantage plan effective July 1st then their OEP will be from July 1st – September 30th.
Hopefully this gives you some clarification on the AEP vs the OEP. For more detailed information about Election Periods check out this link to the Medicare Plan Enrollment/Election Periods Job Aid for Agents.
Any questions or comments? Feel free to reach out to us!
This concludes the 5-Part Series on Medicare Advantage and I hope you found this helpful! If you didn’t get a chance to check out the full series then click on the links below to our previous articles.
Part 1 – The Basics
Part 2 – Marketing Medicare Advantage Plans
Part 3 – Educational Events vs Marketing/Sales Events
Part 4 – During The AEP
– updated October 2019 –
- https://q1medicare.com/q1group/MedicareAdvantagePartDQA/FAQ.php?faq=What-is-the-difference-between-Annual-Election-Period–AEP–and-Open-Enrollment-season–&faq_id=557&category_id=124
- https://medicare.com/medicare-advantage/new-open-enrollment-period-for-medicare-advantage/
- http://medicareadvocacy.org/reminder-medicare-advantage-disenrollment-period-madp-ends-february-14th
The Annual Election Period (AEP) has arrived! Now is the time you can enroll your client in a Medicare Advantage (MA) or Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) from October 15th to December 7th. If you already checked out our previous articles in our Medicare Advantage series we reviewed the basics and the marketing guidelines for MAPD plans and PDPs (see below for article links!). So now let’s review what you can expect during the AEP.
What The Agent Can Do For The Client During the AEP
- Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan
- Switch from their Medicare Advantage plan to Original Medicare
- Switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another Medicare Advantage plan
- Switch from a Medicare Advantage plan that doesn’t include prescription drug coverage to one that does (and vice versa)
- Enroll, switch, or drop a Prescription Drug Plan
While the above seems pretty basic on what you can do for your client during the AEP there are some details that the agent should keep in mind. During your clients’ appointments make sure that you also touch base on the following details to avoid confusion in the future.
- The Scope of Appointment form will need to be signed – Make sure the client knows that this is like a permission slip to review what plans and products they want to discuss and they are not required to enroll in any plan during the appointment. While the previous 48 hour rule has been lifted by CMS, the agent will still need to have the client complete the Scope of Appointment form before discussing any plans or plan details. Download the generic SOA form here.
- The client will still be paying their Part B Premium – Even though the client decides to enroll in a MA plan, make it clear to the client they will be paying the Part B Premium for the following year in addition to any costs of the MA plan.
- Review the service area and network for each MA Plan – The availability of MA plans can vary by state and county so double check the client’s location to make sure they can use their new plan. In addition, make sure to double check the client’s network. Some MA plans are available in the client’s county but the client’s doctor or preferred hospital might not be in the network. This is important especially if the client has a HMO plan and will absolutely need to receive care within the plan’s network.
- There is no penalty to switch plans and the client is guaranteed approval – Many clients do not think they can switch plans once they decide on something. Make it clear to the client that they can switch anytime from October 15th – December 7th and they are guaranteed a policy effective January 1st. The only exception is if the client has End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) – They will not be approved for coverage and will need to look for a specific Special Needs Plan (SNP).
- Clients cannot have a Medicare Supplement plan and a MA plan – If the client switches from Original Medicare to a MA plan they will have to cancel their Medicare Supplement plan (if they even have one) effective January 1st, when their new MA policy takes effect. Make sure the client doesn’t cancel their Medicare Supplement insurance right away or else they will be without coverage until the New Year.
- This is the one time of year clients can switch plans – Make sure the client knows that this is the time to join, switch or drop a plan. Whether it’s a MA plan or a PDP, reach out to your clients to make sure they know they have the option to change their current MA or PDP coverage.
- Clients can enroll on their own – The client is free to enroll in a MA plan or PDP on their own. They can do so by calling the carrier direct, contacting 1-800-Medicare (1-800-633-4227), or by utilizing the Plan Finder Tool on www.Medicare.gov to enroll online (read more about the new Plan Finder Tool here). However, let the client know that if they have any issues with their new plan you, as the agent, might have a more difficult time resolving any problems (if you can help out at all!) since you did not complete the original application.
Conclusion
There’s a lot going on during the AEP so if you any questions or feel as if we missed something please feel free to comment below! Hopefully this guide will help you during your Medicare Advantage appointments or give you some more insight into selling Medicare Advantage plans during the AEP.
Check out our previous articles about Medicare Advantage below:
Medicare Advantage Part 1 – The Basics
Medicare Advantage Part 2 – Marketing Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Advantage Part 3 – Educational Events Vs Marketing/Sales Events
The calendar. Invented in 4AD and has helped people schedule their day for centuries. Okay, so I’m exaggerating…but the calendar has been around for the non-literal forever and STILL people are not using it! If you find that you’re constantly losing time or there are “just not enough hours in the day.” It’s not that you are too busy; it’s more that you need to organize your day. The calendar is your friend so start scheduling your day!
Take back the time that’s rightfully yours!
There are constant outside forces lurking around you offering distractions from your daily objectives. This includes distractions form coworkers, emails, social media alerts, and everything else that makes your computer and phone ‘ding’. To avoid these common distractions start scheduling what you need to get done. (If it’s in the calendar, it will get done!) Your scheduling should include your 3 main goals for the day (See our previous Productivity Article) and the daily activities that you need to get done.
Here’s an example of my workday on Monday:
My goal was to get 3 to-dos done by the early afternoon:
- Finish the summer promo design
- Teach our intern how to post a blog to our website
- Call my agents
As you can see above I schedule in what I need to get done in combination of what I do every day, such as check email, send out daily eblast, and a 30 minute meeting with the Marketing Team. While the tasks are on my calendar back to back I know that 30 minutes really is 20 minutes and 60 minutes is really 45 minutes. This gives me some wiggle room to deal with any daily interruptions to my schedule such as a new agent calling in about a particular product (not that I’m complaining, we love to hear from you!)
….Start Scheduling Your Week
I shared my typical Monday schedule, but I highly suggest you start scheduling your entire week. If you’re not one for scheduling, the best way to start is by writing down all the things you want or need to accomplish in your work week. For example you might decide that some of your weekly work goals are:
- Call Medicare Supplement leads
- Schedule 5 appointments
- Follow up with existing clients
- Work on letters to clients
- Study one new insurance product
Look at your calendar and decide when the goals listed above should be accomplished. If you want to schedule 5 appointments then this should start earlier in your week. So on Monday write in “call client leads” from 10 – 11:30am and 1:30 – 3pm. If your calls are successful and you have appointments, make sure you add them to the calendar and remember to give yourself traveling time (if necessary). If you find you’re out in an area where your warm leads are and you couldn’t get them on the phone, then schedule time to stop by their home if you’re the door-knocking type!
We find that most agents are scheduling their appointments on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This opens up your Friday to studying an insurance product, or working on letters about a Medicare Supplement review, or calling your existing clients. It’s also helpful to have “extra time” in case everything doesn’t go 100% according to plan.
Of course these are just ideas for how to schedule your day and your day might be completely different from what I just discussed. Just remember what I told you in the beginning of this article, Take back the time that is rightfully yours! And you’ll start see an increase in productivity and better time spent on making your business more successful!