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Due to the combined efforts of MA plan sponsors working with AHIP, CMS has revisited the telephonic guidance that was issued on August 14, 2014 which prohibited agents from calling existing enrollees to discuss other plan options (Section 70.6). CMS announced last night that they have decided to rescind this guidance. AHIP was able to convince CMS of the many benefits that our agents are able to bring to Medicare beneficiaries by discussing the new, potentially cost saving plan options available to them.

CMS has made the decision to revert to their previous guidance which states Plans/Part D Sponsors may do the following:"Call members to promote other Medicare plan types, (e.g., sponsors may contact their PDP members to promote their MA-PD offerings; sponsors that are also Medigap issuers may marketing their MA, PDP, or cost plan products to their Medigap customers), and discuss plan benefits."

This change is effective immediately and the Medicare Marketing Guidelines will be updated to reflect this change when the next version of the guidelines is published.

This means beginning October 1 you may call your current members and talk about other plan options for 2015! You can also set appointments now to meet with your members after Oct 1, without discussing any 2015 rates or benefits.

Source: Humana

• New Med Supp Release from IAC - 29 States
  
• 2015 Medicare Advantage Sneak Peeks
  
• 2015 Medicare Advantage Certifications
  

There's a lot of confusion among many Baby Boomers (and the occasional insurance industry professional ...) about Medicare and how/if/when it integrates with the ACA's Health Insurance Marketplace (Exchanges). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services just issued new guidance that is as beneficial for agents and marketers as it is for consumers:

Source: http://www.cms.gov

• New Med Supp Release from IAC - 29 States
  
• 2015 Medicare Advantage Sneak Peeks
  
• 2015 Medicare Advantage Certifications
  

In a positive piece of news for the life insurance industry, it has been reported that final expense insurance sales reached nearly $400 million in 2013. The Life Insurance Council and CSG Actuarial conducted a survey of 25 insurers, finding that final expense insurance new premium totaled nearly $400 million in 2013, representing 613,000 policies.

“The final expense market has great potential. According to LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute research, 1.5 million Americans are projected to retire each year until 2025 and many of them will need the protection final expense insurance will provide,” noted Jeffrey S. Shaw, LIC executive director. “We are seeing renewed interest from larger insurers, as well as new firms entering the market.”

Source: http://www.lifehealthpro.com

• New Med Supp Release from IAC - 29 States
  
• 2015 Medicare Advantage Sneak Peeks
  
• 2015 Medicare Advantage Certifications
  

Medicare has many enrollment periods for the various parts of Medicare. These enrollment periods provide beneficiaries with the chance to get Medicare coverage, but the different periods and their acronyms can be confusing for agents, marketers and beneficiaries alike.

A beneficiary who doesn’t act carefully may miss a window of opportunity to have various parts of Medicare coverage and face a waiting period to get coverage, incurring high out-of-pocket costs in the interim as well as paying lifelong penalties. By understanding Medicare enrollment periods, agents and marketers can help their clients avoid these problems.

Click on Graphic Below to Enlarge

Source: http://www.onefpa.org

• New Med Supp Release from IAC - 29 States
  
• 2015 Medicare Advantage Sneak Peeks
  
• 2015 Medicare Advantage Certifications