Plan Advisors

Helping you choose the right health plan

How Facebook Ads Can Help You Grow Your Business

Medicare

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You may find yourself in the place where you’ve exhausted all of your ideas on how to grow your Book of Business. If all of your ideas only involve printed materials and in-person networking, you may be missing a major opportunity to grow your reach. There are a lot of social media platforms out there that will help you market your business, but if there’s one you should focus on, it’s Facebook.

Facebook Ads are an excellent way to get your name out there and to track engagement with all the analytics you want to see. Here are a few ways that Facebook Ads can help grow your business and a brief explanation of how to set them up.

Robust Analytics

The metrics that Facebook Ads supply can function like a reliable family car or a souped-up sports car. If you just want to see how many people are clicking on your ad and going to your site, you can do that. However, you can also see things like ad impressions, relevance score, geographical location, result rate, frequency, and many more pinpointed statistics to help you see the success of your ad. So even if all of those analytics sound overwhelming, don’t worry. It is completely up to you what metrics you utilize and which ones you ignore.

Target Your Audience

As a Medicare or ACA agent, you have a specific demographic you’re seeking to target with any ads you post. Facebook Ads allow you to target an audience based on age range. This is a huge advantage as it prevents you from spending time filtering when looking through potential leads.

Find New Leads

As of February 2022, Facebook has almost three billion active users. Yes, you read that right. Three billion active users! Posting ads through Facebook is a fantastic way to generate new leads and build trust with beneficiaries, new and old. If you can gear your content toward your preferred audience, Facebook Ads can present a huge opportunity to reach people outside your normal spheres of influence.

A Quick How-to Guide

  1. Create a page for your business
  2. Go to the Ads Center
  3. Create a new ad
  4. Here is where you select all of the information you want to share, select your budget, choose your audience, and attach any relevant media
  5. Once you hit “promote now,” your ad will go through an approval process, then be posted!

It’s a fairly simple process that, once accomplished, can be repeated anytime you wish! 

As always, with any of these tools, Plan Advisors is here to support you with any questions you may have! Our team can help you set up ads and track how they’re performing. We want to be the best FMO for you and your needs as a broker. That’s why, along with helping you use outside tools like Facebook Ads, we also have tools like Medicare Center, our Broker Portal, and other enrollment tools! We are here to serve you as you grow your Book of Business.

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As a Medicare agent, you have a vast amount of knowledge at your disposal. However, one thing that knowledge can’t do is change the rules of Medicare and magically provide you with more business from those who are under 65. So how can you continue to grow your business outside the boundaries of your Medicare sales?

Well, let us answer your question with another question: Have you ever considered selling ACA plans?

1.  Commissions

In the past, Affordable Care Act (ACA) commissions were a complicated topic. Many carriers were actively lowering the amounts agents could make from selling ACA plans. However, this is no longer the case. ACA plan commissions can provide a substantial income because agents typically get money for each member for each month. This can create a healthy income stream if you’re insuring households with multiple members on top of your usual Medicare sales. 

In addition, the ACA Open Enrollment Period (OEP) overlaps with Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). If that sounds like too much multitasking to you, don’t worry! OEP continues over a month after AEP has ended, allowing you to move from one to the other seamlessly. This can be helpful for some agents who can extend their busy season by one more month and, as a result, increase their sales. 

2.  Larger Client Pool

As a Medicare agent, you’ve probably worked with a client who had family members under 65. This can sometimes feel like a missed opportunity because you’ve worked closely with your client and have grown a positive relationship that would lead to a shared trust among the entire family. However, being a licensed ACA agent allows you to sell to family members who aren’t yet 65. This can have a massive impact on your book of business if, for every one client you’re serving, another is being added. 

In 2021, the eligibility qualifications were lowered, allowing more people to get ACA plans. These premiums will be available through 2025, giving you plenty of time to get your foot in the door. The ARPA also created a special enrollment period that allows some low-income individuals to add marketplace plans outside of the open enrollment period.

3. Free Certification

You may be worried about having to pay another certification fee on top of your Medicare certifications. Don’t worry! Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) Certification is free! The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are the ones who facilitate this free certification that puts you on the path to selling ACA plans. Click here for more information on obtaining your FFM certification! 

4. From ACA to Medicare

Massive numbers of people will be aging into Medicare over the next decade. Selling ACA can give you a significant head start on growing relationships with potential clients. You may sell an ACA plan to a client who, three years later, turns 65 and purchases a Medicare plan from you. This is one of the biggest reasons to add ACA into your arsenal as an agent.

Plan Advisors is here to provide all the support you need for your Medicare and ACA endeavors. We can show you the perfect plans that fit your existing portfolio. With the ability to sell two types of plans, you’ll see your book of business grow as your busy season extends.

So don’t wait! Reach out to us today and we’ll help you get on the right track towards selling ACA plans!

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It is time to book a getaway to Las Vegas, Nevada on June 21 – 23, 2022 to experience and gain professional connection at the AHIP Conference!  Since the conference is just over a month away, we motivate you to prepare with all of the need-to-know information.

What To Expect At The Conference

At Plan Advisors, we encourage you to seek out opportunities to connect—in person—with experts and leaders from within and outside of our industry. At the AHIP conference, you will engage with leadership from health insurance provider organizations, both big and small, while diving into focused learning experiences relevant to your organization and the amazing work that you do. Throughout the conference, you are welcome to enjoy a mixture of educational Q&A sessions, meaningful networking breaks, exhibit hall time, and downtime with colleagues from coast-to-coast. As a result, you will learn how AHIP can help you do your job even better!

How Will Making Connections Benefit You? 

Finally, we encourage you to set aside time to experience and gain professional connection at the AHIP 2022 Conference. By doing so, you will discover breakthrough ideas, research, and products in sessions and the exhibit hall. The conference will additionally inspire you to take time from the daily grind and fresh thinking. If you are feeling stuck or in a stand-still professionally, you will find solutions that would take you months to find on your own. Click here to view the list of talented, featured speakers from organizations of all sizes. 

Helpful Links And Resources To Visit

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Did you know that you can make extra money on your enrollment by helping clients complete a Health Risk Assessment (HRA)? There is a new Value Based Enrollment (VBE) process launching May 3, 2022 that will allow you to earn additional payments for each Special Needs Plan enrollment.

What Information Should You Know? 

Beginning on May 3, 2022, Wellcare will discontinue VBE for all Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Contracting (MAPD) enrollment types, with the exception of Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plan (DSNP) and Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan (CSNP) enrollments. On the contrary, VBE administration payments will increase to $125 for each DSNP & CSNP enrollment! If you would like more information on how to filter by Special Needs Plan in MedicareCENTER, watch this video.

It becomes important to note that VBEs will be limited to DSNP and CSNP enrollments only for all legacy Centene and Wellcare plans. Additionally, Ascension Complete and Fidelis VBE processes will remain consistent with the previous processes. Lastly, the “Call Me Now” and “Schedule a Call” functionality will no longer be available. To complete a VBE you must choose the “Agent Completed” option.

Why Is This Information Important For You? 

How easy is it to complete the HRA for your client? It is an extremely easy and efficient process that will allow your client to feel covered and for you to earn a bit more income. You view the instructions on completing the Health Risk Assessment on MedicareCENTER. If you would like to complete your client’s HRA through MedicareCENTER, please reference this chart to see the list of carriers who offer HRA completion.