Here is a link to the CMS Press Release. cms_agent_testing
In 2009 for the 2010 selling season, the CMS training/testing portal will be available on a limited basis (about 8,000 – 10,000 agents). Beginning in 2010 for the 2011 selling season, the portal will be open to all brokers.
CMS will require all MAO’s and PDP Sponsors to accept the training and testing for purposes of compliance certification.
Humana’s telling me that they won’t accept this in place of AHIP.
Linus:
Not sure who at Humana is telling you this. I’d foward them the CMS Press Release and see what they say. Here is the exact quote, “it is our expectation that the agent and broker testing and certification provided through our pilot program will be recognized by MAOs and PDP sponsors not participating in the pilot.”
CMS’ expectation seems pretty clear to me.
[...] August 7, 2009 by Craig I initially blogged about this here. [...]
Maybe the government does listen; here is a paragraph from my letter to CMS, Baucus and about 10 other government officials…
…What CMS and regulators need to focus on is the structure, cost, and supervision – including the authorization and knowledge base of agents…….Force individual agent accreditation – i.e. next year an additional 8 hours of CE are required in PA to sell Long Term Care. CMS should provide or require similar education on Medicare, along with a knowledge base requirement for every county or market… Too much training has been pushed online absolving the insurance companies of providing any real education and training. I believe this (online programs) are a good start but they are too simple and require very little commitment to get appointed with one or two companies. Not to mention the “gaming the system” that is done by exactly those we are trying to eradicate from the system…
You can see the entire letter atCMS – Opposition to Final Ruling Letter
To see what I’ve been suggesting regarding the current Healthcare Reform abomination. Healthcare Reform
This is good news! I was hoping last year that the AHIP model would have been accepted throughout the industry by brokers, but, alas, it was not and individual company certification was still required by many carriers.
As we all struggle to keep up with new Medicare guidelines, I would welcome a centralized testing site to eliminate the need for duplication of certification requirements!