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The healthcare dispute restarted this week in Congress with a two day debate. Two minute speeches by both Republicans and Democrats were given, explaining where they and their party stand with the Health Care Law and the repercussions such law could have on the physicians, patients, and the American deficit. Republicans argue it will eliminate 1.6 million jobs and Democrats say it will create jobs. However, both are correct possibilities, some jobs might be eliminated by employers fearing high insurance costs; at the same time, other people will be hired to run the new health care programs. Another dispute is the national debt, which Republicans argue will create more national debt and the Democrats say the health care laws will reduce the deficit by $230 billion in the next 10 years. With the deficit, the truth lies in whether Congress can control Medicare and Medicaid spending, which could lead to lower physician payments and healthcare provider restrictions. The Republican’s strongest argument is that by insuring those who are currently uninsured will be too costly for some small businesses and taxpayers; whereas, the Democrat’s strongest argument is consumer protections, like keeping children on their parent’s insurance until they are 26.

On Wednesday the House voted to repeal the Democrats’ health care overhaul. The Senate has reported they will not act on the repeal, effectively destroying it. In the meantime, House Republicans are working on a “repeal and replace” strategy to control health care costs and expand coverage.

What do you think are the strongest arguments for or against the Health Care Law? When do you think House and Congress will come to a consensus?

Brian Tracy’s Laws of Sales Success

Brian Tracy, author of Psychology of Selling, which has become a bestselling audio program on sales, was interviewed by Paul Feldman for the January 2011 issue of InsuranceNewsNet. In the interview Brian Tracy shares his how-to’s of improving your business and your life. Tracy first states that time management separates winners in the sales market from losers. When you get more done, make more calls, and close more business you are deliberately managing your time. His tips are to plan your day in advance, prioritize your list, choose the most important task, and start the most important task and work until it is complete. This will give you a sense of personal accomplishment, self-esteem, and self-confidence.

Brian Tracy also explains his Law of Sales, stating that nothing happens in sales until the sale takes place. He encourages people in sales to manage the sequence of events and use the law of three. There are three things you do every day, no matter what your job is, that counts for 90% of your income. The key is to determine your three. He suggests making a list of everything you do in your day and then asking yourself if you could only do one thing on your list, which would contribute most to your income. Then complete the process twice more with the same question. He then explains that the most important tasks should be one key task and two support tasks, prospecting, presenting, and closing. Once you get good at those three you will be headed to success.

According to Brian Tracy, reverse engineering by starting with the end in mind and figuring out who is the ideal client, niche audience, and then focusing on learning about them is another key to sales. As is the art of closing and identifying the pain the person has and the benefit of your product. Tracy says to give examples of people's success from you and how it benefited them; or, give examples of someone who didn't and what happened to them. He states that either a positive or negative story works. This personalizes the experience and makes clients more interested in purchasing from you.

Lastly, Brian Tracy suggests you never stop studying and says two hours a day is best. He compares sales to an athlete. If an athlete decides to not work out, how long would they continue to be competitive? Additionally, if they lose a year of working out and then go back, they are years behind their competitors. People in sales need to continue to work out your mind in order to stay ahead of their competition.

Have you heard of Brian Tracy? Have you ever attended one of his seminars or read any of his books?

Woodmen of the World Released in Colorado

Effective January 19, 2011 please see the new release notification, rates, and application for Colorado.

Mutual of Omaha 2012 Convention Information

Sources: KHN, LA Times, NY Times, InsuranceNewsNet

As part of the new health care reform law that went into effect January 1st, a Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) was instituted stating insurance companies must spend at least 80% of premiums on medical expenses in the under-age market, with the remaining 20% being shared with administrative costs. These new health reform rules will cut insurance brokers’ pay by 50% in some cases, effecting nearly 470,000 under-age market agents. Reports show commissions will drop from 15 to 20% on plans to 4 to 10%; and, for Blue Cross which used to pay 15% on the first year and 7% on residuals the following years will now pay 5% for both. Meanwhile, Golden Rule, owned by UnitedHealthCare is offering their brokers a per application bonus, understanding the cuts in commissions. By 2014, even without the MLR regulations, consumers will be able to find and obtain health insurance plans easily on their own. Under new health care regulations insurance agents, negotiating rates for those with pre-existing conditions, will be unnecessary. Health insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage based on conditions; therefore, making under-age insurance agent less and less vital for sales. Also in 2014, almost 32 million Americans will have insurance under the health care laws and MLR will negatively impact the way the public uses health care, with potential job loss due to lower commissions at a time when consumers need the most help because of all the changes. Critics argue smaller companies may go out of business, agents will see more cuts in compensation, and there will be reduced service quality to the consumer. Supporters say that industries are always changing and compare the change in the insurance industry to that of travel agents. Even though a lot of people buy their travel arrangements unassisted online there is still need for a travel agent. Now under-age insurance agents will just have to find their niche in the new insurance environment.

If you also work in the under-age market, have these lower commissions already affected you? Do you believe the result of MLR will be a drastic decline in service or do you think things will level off quickly, like with the travel industry?

Low Clearance by Mike Keefe

By Mike Keefe for The Denver Post, 01/06/11

With the Baby Boomer generation turning 65 this year and nearly 10,000 American’s a day qualifying for Medicare benefits- now is a great time to be a senior market agent selling Medicare Supplements.

Has the influx of Boomers helped your Medicare Supplement business? How are you preparing for the boost in those interested in Medicare Supplements?

Medicare "Wellness Visit" Check List

As of the first of 2011 Medicare beneficiaries are able to go to one “wellness visit” a year completely covered by Medicare. This new part of the health care law reflects that medicine needs to focus on prevention rather than waiting until the patient is sick. Dr. Eddie Phillips, director of the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, has outlined what patients can expect at their wellness visit this year. First, the doctor will conduct a screening of a patient’s cognitive skills, depression, and risk of falling. They will develop a Personalized Prevention Plan talking about your diet, exercise, vaccinations, sleep, and stress; and, work to coordinate all of you caregivers. Also, you can choose to have a voluntary discussion of your end-of-life choices, getting a plan in place and having your wishes known. Dr. Phillips hopes this wellness visit will help people make lifestyle choices that will positively affect their health and health care costs.

What do you think of the new “wellness visit” provided by Medicare? Have either you or one of your clients partaken of yours this year? Was it a valuable benefit?

Foresters Prepared Accident Death Term Life Insurance

Woodmen of the World/Assured Life MADP Guidelines and Iowa Rate Increase Notification

Sources: KHN, Politico, The Denver Post, CommonHealth

President Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which began in February, drew more support than previously thought and many say it will be seen as a blueprint for future actions on how to deal with the aging American population and the rise of health care. Ten of the eighteen members of the commission are in support of the plan; however, five have said publically and one privately that they will not vote for it. The commission needs fourteen votes to bring to Congress to vote. Also, the commission split on votes shows a divide in Congressional Republicans, with Senate Republicans planning on voting yes while the House Republicans planning to vote no. This can be seen as a reflection of Republicans taking over the House of Representatives after the election, while they still remain a minority in the Senate. House Republicans just elected in also feel an obligation to turn their political platform during the election into policy immediately. The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform votes today, Friday December 3, 2010 and the plan overhauls the tax code, federal health programs, and Social Security.

The High Price for Retirement Health Care

OResearch from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) shows that sixty-five year olds who retire this year need to have saved more than $100,000 to cover their out-of-pocket health care costs including co-pays, premiums, and other non-reimbursed medical expenses while on Medicare. The researchers also revealed that costs are likely to be more for women (approximately $152,000) than men (approximately $124,000), since women tend to live longer than their male counterparts. Researchers believe that the health care reform bill will help cut some of those costs; however, the costs will remain high for expenses from the retiree. The EBRI research warns that Americans should be setting aside money for this expense and that four in ten Americans plan to delay retirement because of high costs and low income.

Civil Right to Live at Home

The right to live at home has been established in law and federal policy, based on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which bans the discrimination on the basis of disability. Yet states are slow to create new programs to allow people who live in institutions such as nursing homes and state hospitals, but can live successfully on their own, do so. With states facing record budget cuts, and the federal policy being written for states to do home care within their existing budgets, Medicaid directors are nervous about the new policy that living at home is a civil right questioning where state responsibility ends and individual responsibility starts. Directors also question how they can assure people get good care at home, as sending inspectors to thousands of homes is way more involved than sending to a few nursing homes. Still, nearly 400,000 Americans are currently on the waiting list across the country hoping to have the choice to live at home and receive care.

Gerber Life Medicare Supplement New Rates for MD, CO, MO, and NH

Effective December 1, 2010 new rates for Maryland – please see the MD Notification and MD Rates.

Effective December 15, 2010 new rates for Colorado and Missouri – please see the CO Notification, CO Rates, MO Notification, and MO Rates.

Effective January 1, 2011 new rates for New Hampshire – please see the NH Notification and NH Rates.

New Deductibles for 2011 Now Available

Marketing materials that reflect the new 2011 deductibles are now available. Please consult your marketing director for more information. Or, call 1-800-998-7715 to get contracted for 2011 today!

Sources: KHN, The New York Times, MSNBC, The Hill, NPR

The largest single operation fraud in Medicare's history was lead by an Armenian crime boss, called a "vor," named Armen Kazarian where fake health care clinics and identity theft were used to cheat Medicare out of $163 million. Compared to a fraud franchise, Armen Kazarian and his co-conspirators are currently in custody and charged with racketeering conspiracy, bank fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. The investigation began when 2,900 Medicare patients in New York reported their information stolen; and, it was later discovered that the defendants had also stolen the identities of over 100 doctors in 25 states. The defendants created false clinics and phony paperwork that had doctors performing procedures outside of their specialties, raising flags. However unlike previous scams by others, when patients were bribed to sign up for procedures they did not need, these scams never directly involved patients or doctors. They were the result of stolen identities and false paper work; and, in New York alone, $100 million in fraudulent bills were submitted and Medicare paid out approximately $35 million to the scammers.

Medicare Cuts Costs of Medical Equipment

On January 1, 2011 the first of the baby boomer generation will begin qualifying for Medicare. In preparation of this sergeant of new people claiming benefits, Medicare will begin cutting the prices it will pay for some wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators, and other medical equipment by 30%. Beginning in the Inland Empire of California; as well as, Miami, Orlando, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Kansas City, MO, this plan will not only lower the cost for American taxpayers but the Medicare recipient as well, with anticipated savings of $17 billion over the next 10 years. Counteracting the huge increase of health costs, the new plan will require companies to bid for the right to sell this medical equipment through Medicare in order to combat inflated prices and fraud. Bidding began last year, the list of winners will be released soon, and Medicare officials say the plan includes 48% small business. However, critics point out problems with this plan such as lack of binding commitments, the use of composite bids, flawed pricing, and a lack of transparency. Also, the critics fear that product supply and service will go down with the influx of new business. Some even wonder if the plan will really launch January 1st.

Medicare and Advanced Cancer

In a study conducted by Camelia S. Sima, M.D., M.S., of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York on 87,736 Medicare beneficiaries with advanced cancer, her findings revealed that screenings on advanced cancer patients with less than 2 years life expectancy serves no meaningful benefit. Thus, her study suggests Medicare deny coverage for those patient's screenings. Cancer screening's primary purpose is the early detection of cancer, and this process has resulted in the decline in deaths from cancer. However, in advanced cancer, screenings can lead to over diagnosis and causing unnecessary risk due to testing, biopsies, not to mention psychological distress. The study found that screenings were more common with patients who had a history of screening at regular intervals, since the use of electronic medical records that set reminders for procedures. Sima concluded that in limited life expectancy from advanced cancer, screenings were not found useful and therefore Medicare might not provide coverage for the procedure in those patients.

PSM on Facebook

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Sources: The Associated Press, Redland's Daily Facts, Senior Journal