Ask a Humana Medicare Agent

The demand for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement insurance plans is large now and will only continue to grow. Now is the time to capitalize on this amazing explosion of growth in the Medicare industry and start selling Medicare Insurance as an Independent Insurance Agent. During the past several years, CMS has made significant strides to improve the beneficiary experience and the breadth of resources and tools available to understand Medicare and beneficiaries’ options. These efforts, with continued and direct patient and user feedback, should continue as more beneficiaries rely on online tools for information and guidance. Enrollees are unprepared for trade-offs related to benefit selection (i.e., traditional Medicare + Medicare Supplement + Part D vs. Medicare Advantage + Part D). Onboarding into Medicare requires beneficiaries to make decisions that result in trade-offs they are not likely to fully understand.

Yet beneficiaries have limited ability to gauge the caliber of their agent, as there is no systematic or transparent way either for them or plans to avoid a bad actor. Often, friends or family can provide a referral to an agent, but in other cases it is up to the beneficiary to screen agents. Our Scorecard ranks every state’s health care system based on how well it provides high-quality, accessible, and equitable health care. Agents work on a commission based on the Medicare policies they sell.

But after spending a few days researching Medicare online, she was still confused. Before applying for group coverage, please refer to the pre-enrollment disclosures for a description of plan provisions which may exclude, limit, reduce, modify or terminate your coverage. View plan provisions or check with your sales representative. Humana group life plans are offered by Humana Insurance Company or Humana Insurance Company of Kentucky. The biggest concern for most customers is keeping their primary care physician, so I help pinpoint plans that have their doctors in network.

If you prefer to work for yourself but appreciate strong support, consider working as an independent insurance agent for Assurance. Take the marketability of each product into account as well. Many carriers have minimum product requirements, for example, at least one enrollment per product. Certain carriers allow you to skip the contracting process if you already sell their other products. Others require you to contract for each new product line you sell. Double-check with your point of contact at each carrier to make sure you understand the proper procedure.

Plus, every service area has different rules or guidelines regarding plans, making consistency difficult. Working with an FMO generally gives you access to much better contracts and product offerings. These organizations have connections with multiple carriers and can offer you more connections and better commissions than you would earn by trying to work directly with individual carriers. They also often offer assistance with training and certification requirements.

Further, agents play an important role and share a common interest in ensuring high degree of compliance and adherence to regulations as well as customer satisfaction. Beyond the information that beneficiaries need, advocates also expressed concern about policy changes to Medicare Advantage that do not have equivalents in traditional Medicare. First, Medicare Advantage plans are permitted to offer nonmedical benefits that are health-related, such as transportation services and meal delivery. Second, regulations make it easier for beneficiaries to switch into and within Medicare Advantage carriers and plans, compared with switching into a Medicare Supplement policy. You can check with Medicare to find agents and brokers and with your state insurance department to verify the license status of someone who claims to be an insurance agent or broker.

Many of these types of courses give you access to a licensed individual via an 800# or web chat. A Medicare sales career can be very rewarding personally, professionally, and financially as it allows you the ability to build strong relationships and help a lot of people. We offer a wide variety of plans to ensure there is a good fit for each beneficiary you meet with.

You can also enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan during the Annual Election Period , which occurs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. We never take your clients; they are ALWAYS yours to keep even if you decide to leave us. I have marketed my website for only a couple of months and seen amazing results. As I get ready for my 6th AEP, I am so excited to be under AGA! I have never been treated so well as an agent and sometimes I can’t believe just how supportive AGA has been. Brandon Clay, “How to Become a Medicare Insurance Agent,” redbirdagents.com, June 2, 2020.

One of the key benefits that consumers should know about is that they have a financial safety net, called the maximum out-of-pocket . This helps protect the consumer from unexpected and often expensive events, like a hospital stay. To understand how agents’ business decisions might affect a beneficiary’s plan choice, we simulated an online plan-shopping medicare agent experience and compared plan choices against the options provided through Medicare.gov. Our analysis shows the important role licensed agents play in shaping Medicare choice for beneficiaries and the extent to which carriers rely on them for growth. It also shows how the agent business model may affect beneficiary choice and overall Medicare literacy.

Currently a licensed health agent, she draws on her knowledge and more than 15 years of experience with the Medicare benefits counseling program. She also teaches health care insurance at UC Berkeley Extension and works with a non-profit, After-Innocence, that helps exonerees transition to life after wrongful incarceration. A licensed agent can quickly and efficiently search dozens of plans from different insurers, saving you time and money in the process. Many enrollees do not realize that other companies charge different premiums for a policy with the exact same benefits.