Comments on: 2009 Medicare Advantage Commission Update (6)

By: annonymous

annonymous — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:32:42 +0000

How are the seniors suffering? If you go to a seniors house and between their med supp and part D they are paying 3k a year and you put them in a MAPD with a $2900 OOP max with a premium of under $50 and all their docs and hospitals except the plan.Call me crazy but the seniors I’ve run into over the last couple years love it.Not to mention the extra benefits and lower drug pays, yeah those poor seniors we are taking advantage of I feel so bad I want to make enough money to pay my gas,phone,office supplies,computers,insurance and extra space in my house to survive. How do I sleep at night!!!!

By: Grateful

Grateful — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:07:00 +0000

At $300 or even $200 per plan, agents who are captive consider this a feast. Some captive agents will be receiving only $120 for new plans and $40 or $50 for renewals.

Like many, I see the MA’s going away rather quickly. I believe they were put out there for a trial run, with way more seniors switching to them than the gov originally anticipated. So many seniors have benefited and continue to benefit from the plans inspite of the rising premiums/decreasing benefits.

True, there have been way, way too many seniors hurt/misled by untrained and/or money hungry agents. Even worse, put yourselves in the shoes of seniors who trustingly allowed an appt for an agent to come to their home in an effort to ‘help’ them with savings and/or additional benefits, only in reality to be visited by an imposter who took advantage of them financially and in some cases physically. There were some horrible events experienced by many of our innocent and trusting seniors in the name of ‘Medicare Advantage.’ I can’t blame the gov for taking ‘big’ steps toward protecting it’s seniors.

Perhaps if EVERYONE had been better informed (agents, the medical community, and the senior themselves), we would not be experiencing the tight restraints we are now experiencing.

Ask yourself, “Will I refrain from placing a senior on a MA if that is indeed what is in their best interest or in fact the only Medicare assistance they can afford, just because I won’t receive a few extra dollars in my own pocket? How much will I miss those few extra dollars in my pocket knowing my own grandparents may face bankruptcy if they are faced with having to pay the Part A&B deductibles and copays out of their own pockets?”

Sure, I’m not happy about the lower commissions, but will I make seniors suffer because of it? Will you?

By: Jack

Jack — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:22:30 +0000

Take a look at this link it’s an udate from today.

http://federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2008-27041_PI.pdf

By: Joe B

Joe B — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:23:33 +0000

I posted all of the congress health care committee contact info here earlier but I don’t know where it went so I created a link with the info.

http://www.mysenioradvisorsgroup.com/Misc.html

There’s also a great toolbar I created with links to “Healthcare”, “Medicare”‘ and other health insurance companies here if anyone wants it.

I’ll be adding sites to the dropdowns under Health and MA-PD over time.

Enjoy, and write, fax and e-mail those congressmen today!

By: Don

Don — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:29:18 +0000

You should all get used to it. They are just starting the Obama “Share the Wealth” program. We really getting paid $500. But they are taking $200 of that to give to someone else. Then the additional taxes at a later date..

By: Independent

Independent — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 03:48:37 +0000

This is a very informational blog and I appreciate all of your comments.
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Instead of moving against us the gov’t could work with us.

We are the individuals whom encounter first hand what the client’s needs are.

We deal with the carriers and provide insight into the quality of service they as well as doctors, hospitals, and other related health facilities provide to their clients.

We could provide insight to what is needed to better the quality of life for our clients.

We are delivering this great message to the senior population.

“Take care of the bottom line, the rest will flourish for better to all that surround.”

By: Dan Heskett

Dan Heskett — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 03:01:35 +0000

Thanx for the info Joe B!

A couple lines on the blog and a Paragraph or 2 to CMS and our rep’s.

Can anyone tell all of us if there is an organization that one can contribute a couple $’s to that represents or stands up for agent’s in “The Capital Bldg.” in Washington, D.C. (specifically)?

By: Brenda Jo

Brenda Jo — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 20:48:15 +0000

I’m all for level commissions as we work just as hard for everyone every year whether they remain in their plan or make a change due to the changes their plan made in benefits/premium. I am not sure why there has to be any decrease over what was paid last year and then make it level. Any agent out there doing the job as it should be done already has mucho time and money invested in the training / certification / licensing / appts / printing / comparing / gas / postage, etc. and it makes sense for it to be level. But, does this mean (as I read something on CMS making changes so they can be tracking years in an MA per enrollee) that if I get a client in year 3 of being in MAs and they enroll through me that in 2 years their commissions are up and even though their premium and benefits change each year and they still require assistance every year that the agent is no longer compensated. A five year compensation schedule per enrollee as the government really does seem to want to migrate the business vs. pulling back just to the products of the past. Or is the 5 years level commission for the time an agent has the client, ie; when I enroll someone I get 5 years of compensation. They truly do look at this as though the agent is just someone making a sale with disregard to us being a professional. Doesn’t that piss anyone else off? I am not sure that anyone beyond the independent agent has a clue of the frustrations of the medicare beneficiary trying to elect a good plan and receiving massive amounts of mail and spoonfed info on the benefits (ie; notice the changes in marketing pieces where a products strengths are highlighted and the weaknesses aren’t even included in the summaries anymore.) I am just trying to understand what they are doing to the client and their ability to get professional guidance and as a means to an end, be sure that I can continue to offer my services to this segment of the population. I enjoy doing something that you can tell really does make a difference. Ask the clients. I am also not sure why it is so important to be working on compensation for this year. With the AEP days away, they could have put together their “powers-that-be” that play with this stuff and make decisions for next year well in advance where the little guy isn’t hanging out there in the wind.

By: Joe B

Joe B — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:09:31 +0000

$300 is an OUTRAGE! I hope you are wrong.

If it’s true Get MAD people! The profit is there to pay as much as $500 or the insurance companies would not have offered it.

NOW $200.00 each year/each enrollee, that YOU would have earned is retained by the insurance companies.

This is not a cut back in funding, just a give back by YOU. I’m curious how much they cut the FMO. (Nothing personal Craig)

I guess that means bigger bonuses for Ins Co. Execs.

The little guy gets screwed again, this time by OUR representatives!

By: Joe B

Joe B — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:25:09 +0000

The gov’t is not shutting off spending on Medicare and they never will. The people with power just want to keep all the profits.

Humana CEO (last year) made $2.9 in Pay and $16 million on exercised stock options, and wants gov’t to restrict how much we make.

This is an outrage! (along with some other covert activity in Washington) People need to understand the difference between spending and cronyism.

Athought the idea of a “union” may be mistated, I think the point is — we as agents need better representation in Washington, and we don’t have it.

Please, everyone write, fax, and e-mail your individual representatives and whoever is applicable in Congress.

We should be flooding fax machines, mail boxes, and e-mail, not to mention the phones for those so inclined. And the release of commissions tomorrow or tuesday should not put this to rest.

I have written, Faxed and e-mailed:
Stark
Baucas
Grassley
Rockefeller
and Hatch
And called and spoke with my local representative.

EVERYONE SHOULD FLOOD THESE PEOPLE WITH YOUR POSITIONS. Even if it just 2 sentences. Send it to everyone via all 3 methods ( I did) I want to make sure they get the point.

I started a blog just to highlight and address this incompetence, and will add all the contact info for the above contacts to make it easy for everyone who’s also inclined to act.

http://medicareadvantageplan.blogspot.com/

If you find anything on the blog helpful or interesting please let me know. I may need the inspiration to continue the fight.

Thanks