Plan Advisors

Helping you choose the right health plan

Marketing Dos & Don’ts During Open Enrollment 2023

Medicare Beneficiaries

by

AEP 2022 has come to an end. It’s now time to look ahead for ways we can continue to serve beneficiaries while remaining compliant. As we begin the 2023 Open Enrollment Period, it’s important to discuss what is (and is not) allowable from a marketing perspective. 

Compliant OEP Marketing Initiatives 

  • Engage with Clients – First things first, follow up with your clients to make sure they still have the best plan for their needs! For new enrollees, we encourage brokers to complete 30, 60, and 90-day follow-ups. If your client would prefer to make a change, you can offer to go over enrollment options with them.
  • Market to Aging-In Prospects – Continue your normal marketing efforts toward new and soon-to-be Medicare beneficiaries.
  • Maximize Special Election Opportunities – Whether it’s marketing 5-Star Plans, highlighting Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans, or reaching out to the Dual Eligible community, make the most of these programs that trigger an SEP.
  • Service Beneficiaries Requesting Help – If you are contacted by a beneficiary inquiring about their options, you are free to discuss the OEP with them. You can mail or email marketing materials when they are requested by a beneficiary.

What You Can’t Do During OEP

  • Market the OEP – You cannot advertise the OEP option to beneficiaries.
  • Contact Former Clients – Every now and then, a client slips through the cracks, and you lose them. You cannot use the OEP to win them back.
  • Target Beneficiaries – If you are aware of beneficiaries who enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans during the AEP, you cannot contact them with the intent of switching them during the OEP.

Just as a quick refresher, if you are contacted by a beneficiary that needs help, here is a list of allowable changes during the Open Enrollment Period:

  • MA or MAPD to another MA or MAPD
  • MA or MAPD to Original Medicare
  • MA or MAPD to Original Medicare with a stand-alone PDP

Beneficiaries are allowed only one change during this period, which lasts from January 1st to March 31st.

As you continue to serve beneficiaries during OEP, don’t forget to utilize MedicareCENTER for accurate, more efficient quoting and enrolling. Are you looking for easy access to this information? Download and print this information to keep handy whenever you need it!

by

Assist your Client with Finding a Trusted, Local Medicare Resource

Do you have a Medicare beneficiary client with plans to relocate? Every day, thousands of seniors are uprooting to new cities and states for better weather, family connection, or more accommodating living conditions. Nonetheless, there are big changes ahead for them! In addition to moving their belongings, getting settled in a home, and finding new doctors, your client will most likely need to switch to a new Medicare plan. The process of changing Medicare plans can seem overwhelming for some. However, as a trusted resource in the life of your client, there are ways you can help to ease the stress and unknown obstacles that may arise.

Here at Plan Advisors, we believe there is value in beneficiaries meeting with local insurance professionals who are familiar with the benefits and provider networks utilized by the various Medicare plans available.

That’s why we have the Plan Advisors Broker Referral Program. You can be sure your client is comfortably guided through the decision-making process by a knowledgeable licensed producer. You get peace of mind while your client receives proper service and care.

Help your Client Understand How Moving Affects their Medicare Coverage

Your client has the potential to be affected by their move in various ways depending upon their current plan. 

Medigap Policy Owners: If your client is on Original Medicare and has a Medicare supplement, they will be able to easily take the plan with them to another part of the country. However, pricing of Medicare supplements varies by location. Therefore, the client may be required to pay a higher premium than they may have grown accustomed to. The client can shop for a more cost-effective policy, but they could be subject to medical underwriting.

Prescription Drug Plan Owners: Medicare Part D plans vary by state. This means that an out-of-state move will require your client to shop for a new prescription drug plan.

Medicare Advantage Plan: While some Medicare Advantage plans offer regional coverage, it is likely that your client will need to find a new plan after their move. Medicare Advantage plans may vary from one service area to the next with differing benefits, premiums, and carrier contract codes. Your client could also choose to return to Original Medicare and shop for a supplement. Again, if they choose to do so, they would be subject to medical underwriting.

Special Election Period Awareness 

Medicare has established a Special Election Period (SEP MOV) for beneficiaries who are moving outside of the service area that their current Medicare plan covers. While it is possible for your client to select a new plan the month prior to their anticipated move, many seniors are more comfortable meeting with a local agent that knows the market in their new area. Assuming the client waits until after the move, they will have the month in which they completed their move, plus two additional months to switch plans. This is provided they do not notify their carrier prior to the move. Doing so will accelerate the un-enrollment process to the first of the next month and should be avoided until a transition plan strategy is in place.

Curious as to where everyone is heading? Here are the top 10 states seniors are moving to:

  1. Florida
  2. Virginia
  3. Colorado
  4. Delaware
  5. Minnesota
  6. North Dakota
  7. Montana
  8. Utah
  9. Arizona // New Hampshire

by

It can become easy to find yourself in a lull when it is not the annual election period from mid-October to early December. We are here to remind you that Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are here for you year-round!

Further, it becomes important to note that many of your senior clients qualify for a Special Needs Plan. We want you to be ready to enroll them in the best plan.

[Read more…] about Special Needs Plans Are Here For You Year-Round!

by

CMS has announced a change in Medicare ID cards that will begin to take effect in April 2018. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015 requires CMS to remove Social Security Numbers from all Medicare cards by April 2019. A new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) will replace the SSN-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) on the new Medicare cards for Medicare transactions, such as, billing eligibility status and claim status. The MBI will be confidential and should be protected as Personally Identifiable Information. The biggest reason CMS is implementing this change is to fight medical identity theft for people with Medicare.  It will better protect private health care and financial information as well as federal health care benefit and service payments. 

[Read more…] about New Medicare ID Cards

by

What your clients are required to pay in the Medicare Part D coverage gapHelping your clients with Medicare Part D coverage understand the mechanics of the Medicare Part D coverage gap can be a daunting task.  We are going to cover a couple of the more difficult questions raised regarding the coverage gap in this segment.

[Read more…] about Your client is in the Medicare Part D Coverage Gap…Now What?