A third party merketer could easily get by with a staff of 500 to 1000 “unlicensed agents” and cover the entire US. This will probably account for 50% of sales

They could then partner with or form their own FMO to handle those that want home appointments. The handful of agents that work those layup appointments would probably be paid 15% to 25% of what is currently paid. And since a full calendar could be given out, you wouldn’t need nearly as many agents. This FMO/3rd party would have a monopoly.

This will put hundreds of thousands of agents and staff out of business throughout the country.

And the insurance companies will love it because they will get thousands of policies per year and have no commission to pay.

I can’t understand how the state Insurance commissions are not weighing in as this will eliminate many licensees lowering their budgets.

Steer your ship away from this iceberg or become like the Titanic. We have maybe two to three AEP’s left before we become like the typewriter in this equation.

Sad. Very Sad. I thought I was building a career, but little did I know plans were underfoot to remove a many agents from the equation as possible. Why is CMS at war with independent agents? Who has a bug up their patoot so far that they do everything they can to kill the agent?

Craig – you need to get more active and not just watch and see what develops. By the time you find out – it will be fait accompli and adios to those that are not aligned with the monopolistic 3rd Party Marketer (which will be hundreds of thousands of us).

CMS = Communistic Medicare Services

We do not need government funded giant phone rooms filled with green horn idiots to explain plan options to medicare beneficiaries.

Independent senior agents with their years of experience are best positioned to help medicare beneficiaries compare plans.

CMS and its myriad of regulations and limitations placed upon agents and plans is responsible for creating much of the confusion for seniors about which plan to select.

CMS attempts to help potential enrollees comparision shop by spreadsheeting some features and benefits on medicare.gov and their goofy “star” rating system. The “Medicare and You” book has a more general and confusing version that is not county specific.

Such spreadsheets are a good concept but should be in a more easy to understand, county specific, printed form.

Annual comparison shopping is important because, as you know, Advantage plans can change significantly from year to year. Last year’s “best” plan might be in the back of the pack this year. Folks sign up for a plan that looks good, then the plan changes These plans also can vary greatly from county to county within the same state.

Independent agents should be able to obtain a supply of easy to understand county specific spreadsheets AND be able to freely distribute and use such spreadsheets when discussing choices with medicare beneficiaries.

Spreadsheets can be a clear, easy to understand quick reference tool to help folks comparison shop all that is available in their particular county. Spreadsheets do not have to be in their current “CMS Approved” hard to decipher mish mash.

CMS likes to make rules. Why not make it a CMS MANDATE that agents HAVE to show these printed county specific spreadsheets to all potential enrollees.

As an Independent agent I want to help seniors comparision shop and be able to offer them the best available plans and value. So what am I doing wrong that CMS wants us to go the way of the dinosaurs?

I’ve looked for it the past 2 days and haven’t seen it. I’ll give them another day or 2 and then I’ll send them an e-mail request for it.

Craig

First open enrollment now auto enrollment.

This became a final reality for medicaid approx 18-20 months ago. From the actions put forth by the gov’t it seems there is no turning back at this point. The inevitable appears to be on the horizon.

This is just one of many things that I see happening in our country that I find disappointing. We are heading down a road that is a slippery slope to an America that is so fundamentally different than our founding father’s vision.

I am not a negative person nor an alarmist. But this is some scary s_ _ t.

Thank you for all the work that you are doing. As upsetting as it is, thank you. I’ll start looking for a government job soon.. I’m sure they are hiring being not many other companies are right now. Unless it’s a road crew that is paving a road that was just done a few years ago and now has gotten more money to add another layer.
It will be great to have the nice new roads and nothing to drive on them with. Maybe by then there will be a government drive to take us places as well.

Have a great week Comrades