Medicare Advantage Importance

Medicare sales is important for agents selling final expense. When it comes to helping seniors with their insurance needs, Medicare and final expense insurance go hand in hand. The final expense market is based on folks between 50–80 years old meanwhile, Medicare sales mainly targets folks 65 and older or, people on Medicaid, usually between 45 and 80. Agents selling Medicare on our platform are able to target the Medicaid recipients with our Medicare Advantage direct mail leads. Therefore, we’re able to sell Medicare advantage plans all year long. Yes, not just during open enrollment, which is between October 15th and December 7th but 365 days per year. In this article, we’re going to discuss the differences between Medicare and Medicaid. We’ll also be going over the difference between Medicare advantage (MAPD) and Medicare supplements (Med-Sups) and why every final expense agent should be selling both.

Before we get into the differences between the different plans and how Medicare works, let’s talk about the benefits for Medicare sales agents. Why does it make sense to sell Medicare advantage especially if you’re already selling final expense life insurance? Simply put, the big money is actually in Medicare advantage sales. I’ve made a lucrative income off of final expense sales and that’s my main market. So why would I suggest selling Medicare products with final expense? Well, it’s all about the long-term residuals! We’re always seeing ads and articles about making an income without having to work or having to work with as little effort as possible. Yes, I’m talking about that passive income stream that everyone wants. How enticing! It’s just so darn tempting to get into one of these businesses that have the promise of making lots of back-end money, with very little up-front effort.

Medicare Money

Alright, let’s talk brass tacks! In 2021 Medicare raised the commission for agents selling their products. In most states you’ll make $539 for an initial MAPD sale and $270 for a replacement Medicare advantage sale. Here’s the kicker. You’ll get another $270 every single year that the client keeps their plan. Yes, the good news is that unlike with Medicare Supplements (that usually only pay renewals for 7 years), MAPD pays you an income for the life of the client. If your client stays with you for 10 years, you’ll make at least $2,700 commission during that 10-year period. If you’re working a direct mail lead program like ours, where you don’t even have to pay for the mailers, you can make 5 to 10 new sales each week. Yes, these high-quality leads are free for our agents, due to the lead credit platform we use.

Medicare Leads

The way our direct mail leads program works, is unlike anything you’ll find in our industry. We’ve decided to invest into anyone willing to work our market full time and has committed to earning a very lucrative, six figure income. Here’s how it works. For every MAPD sale that you make, we’ll give you a $75 lead credit. The cost of our Medicare advantage direct mail leads is $25 each. The closing rate is 33% for average agents and around 50% for super talented producers. As an average agent, you’ll be able to take 15 leads and turn them into 5 sales, each and every week. Agents that are serious about making a lot of money and have the work ethic to match will work more leads. 30 Leads each week will easily turn into more than 10 sales each week.

Assuming all 5 sales are replacements, and they all stay on the books, working 15 leads, you make at least $1,350 per week. That’s just during your first year. Do that for 5 years and even if 20% of your clients fall away, you’re looking at a $5,000 profit each week. That’s over $250,000 per year in renewals alone. A producer with a strong work ethic will hire an appointment setter. I recommend finding someone you know and training them how to do this. They will need to act as a team member, working with you each day, assisting you from home, while you’re in the field. Working 30 leads, you’ll be able to make at least 10 sales this way. Assuming all sales are replacements and 20% fall off the books, after 5 years, you’ve grossed over $550,000. This is why I love Medicare sales.

Medicare Advantage Clients

If you’re a final expense agent with clients on the books, you’re missing out by not cross selling Medicare advantage. A majority of our typical final expense clients are the perfect demographic for MAPD plans. In Florida where I work, most of my clients are on Medicaid. So why is this important, and what is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid? Medicare is the federal program which provides health coverage to folks who are 65 and older, or under 65 with a disability, no matter what their income is. Medicaid is the state and federal program that gives health coverage to people who have a very low income. This is important because with our direct mail leads, we can target folks by age and income. This is why I am able to sell Medicare advantage plans all year long, and not just during the open enrollment period.

Medicare Advantage Enrollment

Medicare Advantage Enrollment Times

Open enrollment is the time of year that MAPD plan holders can switch their plans. This starts on Oct 15th of each year and ends on Dec 7th. Once they have switched plans, they actually have another open enrollment upon which they have a couple of options. During this time, Jan 1st to Mar 31st Medicare advantage plans can either be switched back to original Medicare or replaced by another Medicare advantage plan. This period is perfect for folks that made a plan change during the regular open enrollment but are not happy with the new changes. In most cases, an insurance agent convinced the plan holder to switch to a different plan, even though the new plan does not have some of the same necessary benefits, that were in the old plan. This is why Medicare sales training is so important.

My Medicare Advantage Mistake

Since there are so many different plans, it’s important to know what you’re doing before going out to sell Medicare advantage. With our platform, we have sales training videos, bi-weekly zoom training calls, and a group text chat room where we help each other on the fly. Heck, I’ll even get you in a car to do a ride-along with a top producing Medicare Advantage agent. This type of field training is awesome as you get to see what is happening during all aspects of the sale. Some of our agents are beasts, writing 10+ applications each week. Mostly a mixture of final expense and Medicare advantage sales! I just wish that I was doing Medicare back when my weekly sales were averaging 12 applications. That would have been a total game changer for me. Thankfully, it’s never too late to get into selling Medicare advantage.

Medicare Coverage Plans

Original Medicare (Parts A and B) doesn’t cover everything. Medicare recipients are still responsible for copayments and deductibles, which tend to add up pretty quickly. Medicare also doesn’t cover a lot of benefits like dental, prescription drugs, routine vision checks, and out of U.S. emergency health situations. With original Medicare, our clients have to pay for all of this out of pocket. This is where the Medicare advantage plans, or Medicare Supplements (Medigap) insurance come in to play. These plans are significantly different in costs and benefits. This is why it’s so important for agents selling these products need access to quality training and continuing education. I can’t tell you how many of my clients have called asking me for help with their MAPD plan because a greedy insurance agent convinced them to switch. As always, it’s important to do what’s best for our clients first, before everything else.

Medicare advantage works hand in hand with original Medicare because an MAPD plan will cover certain costs that original Medicare doesn’t cover. With Medicare advantage plans, you’re still in the Medicare program and are only paying the $148.50 monthly for part B. The difference is, you get the Medicare benefits through the insurance companies and not from the federal program. Some of the plans will include paying the $148.50 for you. These plans are designed to replace the government plan with the intent of covering certain costs that original Medicare doesn’t cover. For example, your client has a Medicare Advantage plan that doesn’t help them with eye doctor visits. They are having vision issues and need to see an eye doctor but can’t afford to do that. You switch them to a plan that covers part of their eye doctor visits and now they can fix their vision.

Medicare Advantage Supplements and More

With Medicare supplements, the client usually has to pay a much higher monthly premium than the $148.50 and they can’t be used with MAPD. The Med Supp plan simply covers certain cost sharing expenses that are required by Medicare like deductibles and copayments. Part D covers prescription medication costs. They also tend to cover things like Part B excess charges and emergency medical coverage while traveling outside the states. A lot of folks would rather pay a few hundred dollars out of pocket for these Medigap plans as they feel more comfortable with them. In many cases they have more options with doctors, specialists, and medications. We see people with higher income go with Medicare Supplements over MAPD because of the extra (safety net). If you’re income is fixed and limited, a Medicare advantage plan is usually the best and only option.

And now you understand some of the basics as to why Medicare advantage sales is so important especially if you’re already working in the senior market. Here are some benefits of being part of our Medicare Sales team.

• Free Direct Mail Leads Program
• $75 Leads Bonus for Each sale
• Medicare Sales Training Zoom Meetings (Weekly)
• Medicare Sales Training Videos
• You can get in the car with a MAPD sales top producer.
• First Day Vesting
• Full Commissions = $539 for New Sale and $270 for Replacement sales
• Full Renewals = $270 Every year the client keeps the MAPD insurance you sold them