JAE Brokerage has long enjoyed the benefits of working with clients in the Insurance Industry. With the dawn of Insurance Reform coming upon us, be sure that you are aware of your new election periods, as contained in this article by
Heather Trease for
Agents Sales Journal.
Some major changes are coming to the Medicare Advantage program, thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (
PPACA).
These changes, which include a shorter selling season, plan adjustments, and cuts to physician and plan reimbursements, mean that soon, selling Medicare Advantage could be a lot more difficult for many agents. So is it time to throw in the towel? Or is this merely another blip on the radar of a rapidly evolving insurance industry?
The Changes |
According to Chuck Moore, chief financial officer of the Premier Agent Group brokerage, the biggest change is that the Medicare selling season will be shorter than usual. This fall, the selling season will only run from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31 (during the
annual election period); in the past, there were an additional three months at the beginning of the year during which beneficiaries were able to make one more change (the
open enrollment period, or OEP). In 2011, the annual election period will last from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.
“What agents are going to have to do,” said Moore, “is make very good use of their time and spend very long hours if they want to see the same number of people they’d normally see during an OEP. They’ll have a very narrow 45-day window in which to see all of their clients and prospects and finalize their plans.”
“Physicians will start exiting Medicare Advantage at a huge rate,” said Rice. “Here in Texas, in the last two years, 300 physicians have exited the program. Fifty have exited in the first half of 2010 alone. Physicians just can’t be profitable at the new rates.”
And if a client’s favorite doctor stops taking MA — or worse still, if no doctor in their area accepts the plan — the client will want to explore their options.
Furthermore, beginning in 2012, carrier reimbursements will be restructured and made uniform to bring payments closer to the average county-by-county costs of Medicare beneficiaries,. Reimbursements will gradually be reduced to levels closer to the costs of enrollees in traditional Medicare in each county, with lower reimbursements in counties with higher fee-for-service Medicare costs, and higher reimbursements in counties with lower fee-for-service costs.
This means that carriers will be even more selective about where they market their products. Additionally, plans that perform well on certain quality measures will receive modest bonuses, which will be used, in part, to provide richer benefits. To compare plan ratings, visit the
Medicare Plan Finder; plans that receive higher than 3.5 stars will be rewarded.
