The Resource Blog
|
Medicare Open Enrollment vs Guaranteed Issue Rights
Medicare Supplements (Medigap policies) have two different types of enrollment periods that don’t require you to answer health (medical) questions. These different periods of time are called a few different names which can be obscure. Here is a break down to better understand the different terms and their specific rules. Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Open Enrollment This period is considered your “initial enrollment period”. Thus the reason it is called your “initial enrollment period” is that many confuse the Medigap Open Enrollment period with the Medicare Open Enrollment period. Medicare Open Enrollment permits someone to change their Medicare Drug or Medicare Advantage plan each year, whereas Medigap’s Open Enrollment normally only allows you ONE guaranteed enrollment period, regardless of preexisting conditions.This period lasts six months and begins the first day of the month in which you are 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B. So if you turn 65 on April 3 but don’t join Medicare B until May 25, your Medigap Open Enrollment Period will start on June 1, which is the first day of the month in which you are both 65 and enrolled in Part B. (Some States such as CA, have a 30 day Medigap Birthday rule that allows you to switch Medigap plans to an equal or lesser value than your current Medigap plan during your birth month-without answering health questions). Medigap Guaranteed Issue Rights The chart below describes the situations, under federal law, that give you a right to buy a policy, the kind of policy you can buy, and when you can or must apply for it. States may provide additional Medigap guaranteed issue rights.
Source: 2017 Choosing A Medigap Policy
We often have agents focus on one particular insurance product and they make that their priority. They focus on selling that particular piece of the puzzle to their clients without expanding their portfolios. I recently emailed an agent who wanted to expand beyond selling Medicare Supplement products, and these were some of the tips I shared with her for getting started with Life marketing. "I think it’s so beneficial when an advisor works with their clients on many levels to provide the most complete solution for them. They have instilled their trust in you for certain insurance needs, and it just makes sense that they come to you for all (or most) of their insurance/financial needs. As for marketing ideas, LifeHappens.org is a fantastic site for information, marketing and selling concepts, infographics and brochures. The site has some great ideas on how to relay the benefits of purchasing life insurance. I’ve attached one of their Real Life Story brochures as an example. Story telling these days is paramount, especially with social media. It’s become the new way to market to clients and customers. Sharing stories that are relatable speak to potential clients and customers, and Life Happens understand this. In turn you will have clients who become influencers (influencer marketing) which benefits you. Your clients tell their friends and colleagues about your commitment to them as their trusted advisor, and you in turn gain new clients. It’s networking and marketing working cohesively." Thinking outside the proverbial box, exploring new options and adding creativity to your strategy keeps things interesting and your clients benefit from it. If you're excited about the options you offer, your clients will in turn get excited about safeguarding their financial future. If you're not currently offering Medicare products to your clients and are focusing on Life products or Annuities, then now is the time to branch out. Becoming a source of information and expertise for your clients only lends itself to expansion and a growing client base. If you need ideas and assistance about adding Medicare products to your arsenal, we have a dedicated team and a litany of tools that will help you get started, beginning with our Medicare Supplement Kit. At the end of the day, it's about having that satisfied client, and happy clients make for good business. CMS has announced that Part B premiums will rise in 2017. 70% of Medicare beneficiaries will have their premiums increase from ~$105/month to $110/month. However, the remaining 30% will face a 10% increase in their base premiums. The 6% of beneficiaries who pay a high income surcharge will pay an additional 10% increase in that surcharge, on top of their Part B premiums. Examples:
All Social Security recipients will receive a 0.3% cost of living increase for 2017. A meager increase to say the least, but better than getting nothing at all, which was the case in 2016. 70% of recipients fall under a hold harmless provision implemented back in 1987 which is designed to keep their net checks from diminishing. So for those retirees who have their Part B premiums deducted from their Social Security checks, the premium cannot go up in any given year by more than the extra dollars that they're receiving as a cost of living adjustment. The remaining 30%, who are well off and who don't have their premiums withheld from their SS checks, are the unlucky recipients of the rising costs that are deflected from those that fall under the hold harmless provision. The numbers sound abysmal, but in light of what could have happened, they're not nearly as exorbitant as they could have been. Last year Congress voted to keep the increase to 16% for the 30% who pay the surcharge (rather than the proposed 52%). Next year's increase was proposed to be 22% which Congress has knocked back to 10%.
The costs are staggering, and the issue isn't going to resolve itself anytime soon as seniors continue to live longer, and the cost of care continues to climb. By Carolyn Portanova |
Categories
All
|
Connect800.928.4998
919.489.3600 919.419.0401 (fax) info@tbrins.com 1480 Chapel Ridge Road Suite 200 Apex, NC 27502 |
The Brokerage Resource, LLC. © 2024
|
|