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The most important asset you have as an agent is your existing client base and they are essential to helping you grow your business. By taking the time and effort needed to stay in contact with those clients, your business will grow both by new sales to them through cross-marketing additional products such as Final Expense or Hospital Indemnity, and by their qualified referrals.

Many agents think that keeping in touch with the clients in their database takes too much time, effort and money. However, when you consider the return on your investment the solution is finding ways to communicate that are time-efficient, inexpensive, and effective.

Studies show that in order to keep in front of your clients you need to touch base with them approximately 14 times a year. Luckily, there are many different resources you can use when communicating with your clients. It could be through email, phone calls, snail mail, postcards, birthday and/or holiday cards, or in person meetings. There isn’t necessarily a textbook "best" or most effective way to touch base, but by mixing your communications with a variety of interesting and valuable methods works well.

Though the idea of sending out so many correspondences to each of your clients may sound daunting at first, it’s important to remember that whatever you decide to send doesn’t need to be large or expensive; It only needs to be of value to your clients. Plus, when you keep in contact with your clients a little over once a month you will remain at the forefront of their minds leading to positive reviews and referrals when talking with their friends and family.

Source: LifeHealthPro

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Nationwide, Medicare beneficiaries have been reporting scam phone calls that inform them a new Medicare card is in the mail. If your senior clients ask you about this, please advise them to hang up on these suspicious callers and do not fall for this attempt at gaining access to their personal information.

How the scam works:
A senior answers the phone and an unknown caller, usually with an accent, claims to be with Medicare or another government office. He will inform them that their new Medicare card is in the mail and they will receive it in a few days. However, in the meantime they need to set up their direct deposit so their Medicare funds can be deposited into their bank account. All they need to do is tell the caller their banking information and he will take care of the rest.

An alternative method has the caller asking the senior to verify their identity in order to receive their new card. They will ask for their Medicare card number (social security number) as well as other personal information they can then use to steal their identity.

Here’s how your clients can avoid Medicare Card Identity Theft:

1. Don’t carry their Medicare card in their wallet. If the card is lost or stolen the scammer can use the information to commit identity theft.
   
   
2. Don’t give their information over the Internet, over the phone, or to anyone to goes into their home uninvited. Only give personal information to doctors and providers approved by Medicare.
   
   
3. If they suspect identity theft, or feel like they’ve given their personal information to someone they shouldn’t have, they need to call the Federal Trade Commission’s ID Theft Hotline at 1-877-438-4338.

Hopefully your senior clients won’t be targeted by this scam; however, it’s always best to be prepared in case. See Medicare.gov for more information about Medicare fraud, ID theft and other issues.

Source: The Banner

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A new bipartisan legislation was introduced last month by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) that would allow Medicare to pay seniors to improve and maintain their health. The pinned Medicare Better Health Rewards program would measure the seniors' wellness using six criteria: blood pressure, cholesterol, tobacco use, body mass index, diabetes indicators, and up-to-date vaccinations and screenings.

With this plan, seniors would work with their doctors during their yearly Medicare "wellness" visits to evaluate their performance and to improve their health based on the set standards. Successful beneficiaries will be eligible for up to $200 by the program’s second year and $400 by its third year.

Rob Kind, (D-Wisconsin), a co-sponsor of twin House legislation stated "This is exactly the kind of bold, concrete and common-sense legislation that we need to rein in health care spending and help our seniors live healthy lives."

The initiative would be funded by Medicare savings generated by healthier seniors. However, it's only one of the options being considered to lower the program’s healthcare costs.

Source: The Hill

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