At AHCP, we LOVE it that agents find value in our blog posts, Motivation Monday webinars, and the other training tools we provide. But there’s other great information out there, including the Quotit blog. Quotit is a sister company of AHCP, and you can also find some great tips by reading our blog posts under the Quotit banner.
We’d like to draw your attention to a September 3 Quotit blog post entitled 2022 OEP/AEP Readiness Checklist. As its name implies, the article includes a list of items agents need to be thinking about as we head into the busy enrollment seasons in both the individual and Medicare markets, and it’s divided into three sections: Ready? Set? Sell!
Because the Medicare AEP is only 54 days long and the ACA’s open enrollment period, before the extra month that’s been added by the Biden administration, was only 45 days long, it’s essential that agents are prepared before the two enrollment opportunities kick off on October 15 and November 1, respectively.
How can agents get ready? The first step is to do the required certifications. Both Medicare Advantage plans and the federal and state marketplaces require agents to complete annual training in order to sell these in-demand products.
Agents also need to make sure they have the right supplies and collateral before they begin selling, so the article recommends that you “take the time to review your portfolio of carrier product offerings and make sure you’re stocked up on supporting materials.”
Finally, agents need to be sure they have important dates marked on their calendar, so a handy list of the various starting and stopping points for the AEP and OEP is provided.
Once they’ve adequately prepared, agents need to “take a closer look at what’s happening in local and emerging markets” to learn what carriers are entering the market (and there are a lot of new entrants for 2022), explore new product offerings, and review new legislation that may impact their clients.
One of the big changes that you will want to discuss with your clients this fall is the enhanced premium tax credits, which could lower the cost that clients have to pay for individual coverage. In fact, many people who previously purchased off-exchange policies will now qualify for a premium tax credit, so they may need to switch to a marketplace plan. The higher tax credits will continue at least through the end of 2022.
Another change worth mentioning to your clients is the new surprise billing legislation that will go into effect January 1. For a quick tutorial, take a look at our April 9 tutorial on the No Surprises Act.
One final piece of advice in the “get set” section is to “make sure you have a powerful, customizable tracking tool (like AgentCubed) to help manage your funnel.” This will keep you on track, help you manage your leads, and help ensure your success during the fourth quarter.
The Quotit article closes with some advice to help you become more efficient in your end-of-year sales efforts. Specifically, agents are advised to take advantage of the technology that’s available to them. Customers, including seniors, “are becoming more and more tech-savvy, and their footprint is increasing,” so brokers should invest in technology and tools that will save them time and make their job easier. One example is quoting software that can provide quotes from multiple carriers at once. When our time is limited, every second we can save helps.
Last but not least, many people learned to use virtual meeting software during the pandemic, and for a lot of people virtual meetings are still preferable to in-person meetings. Agents should take advantage of that this fall; it will make clients feel more comfortable while saving time for everyone.
We’ve only hit the high points, so please take a few minutes to read the full article here. And while you’re on the Quotit site, be sure to click the Resources tab at the top and see if any other blog posts catch your attention.