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    Why Medicare Advantage?

    April 26, 2019
    The Annual Election Period (AEP) for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans runs from October 15 to December 7. During this time of the year, Medicare recipients can join an Advantage plan, switch from one Advantage plan to another, or leave their Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare.
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    New Hospital Transparency Rule

    April 19, 2019
    A new rule intended to increase price transparency went into effect January 1st of this year. The rule, issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on August 2, 2018, requires “hospitals to make publicly available a list of their standard charges or their policies for allowing the public to view this list upon request…on the Internet in a machine-readable format.”
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    Drug Makers Increase Prices for 2019

    April 11, 2019
    In 2019, some of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies, after holding prices steady for much of 2018, announced they are raising the cost on hundreds of drugs. You probably saw some of the headlines.
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    New Rule Could Increase Premiums and Out-of-Pockets

    April 5, 2019
    The Wall Street Journal recently reported on proposed changes by the Trump Administration “that could raise health insurance costs for millions of Americans who get coverage on the job or receive subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.” As they explain, the two sides continue to bicker about the Affordable Care Act: “Republicans say subsidies for consumers are inflated; Democrats see another effort to sabotage the health law.”
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    Healthcare.gov Enrollment Numbers

    March 21, 2019
    Marketplace enrollment is down this year. Way down. At least that’s the conclusion one might reach by looking at the enrollment trend graph on the Kaiser Family Foundation website.
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    Medicare Changes for 2019

    March 15, 2019
    Each year, Medicare makes changes to the Part A and B out-of-pocket expenses, monthly premium for Part B, and premium adjustment thresholds for Part B and Part D. Here are the figures for 2019.
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    Are you teaching your kids the business?

    February 21, 2019
    Most of us didn’t grow up wanting to be insurance agents. Instead, the majority of insurance professionals found their way into the business by accident. There are a million stories, but what we’ve heard again and again from brokers across the country is that 1) they sort of stumbled into the industry, 2) now that they’re here, they really like it and don’t want to leave, and 3) they wish they had started when they were younger.
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    Don’t Give Clients Options, Give Them Guidance

    February 14, 2019
    There’s been a trend in the insurance industry over the past few years. Brokers across the country have invested in technology that allows them to quickly and easily provide quotes to clients in an “apples to apples” format so that the client can make a buying decision, often without any additional input from the agent. Many agents even have quote engines on their website that allow clients to run the quotes and apply for coverage on their own without ever talking with the broker. With today’s tools, brokers can literally sell insurance in their sleep.
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    CVS Acquisition of Aetna is Complete

    February 4, 2019
    On January 5 of last year, we published an article about the proposed merger between CVS Health and Aetna. One year later, the acquisition of Aetna by CVS has been finalized and the two companies are now one.
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    A Creative Way to get Individual Clients

    February 1, 2019
    One thing we learned from the 2019 open enrollment period is that the government’s outreach efforts are coming up short. Marketplace enrollment was down this year, and that corresponds with a huge 90 percent reduction in the marketing budget for Healthcare.gov.
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