March 26, 2024 • 21 mins
In the latest episode of Up 2 Speed, we welcome expert Mary Kananen from Lytespeed Learning to shed light on the multifaceted Medicare system. Aimed specifically at individuals aged 65 and over, or those with certain medical conditions, this episode delves into the four integral components of Medicare: Parts A to D. Learn about the specific coverage each part offers, from hospital stays to doctor's visits and prescription medications.
In providing an in-depth look at Medicare, Mary also unpacks the gaps in coverage that consumers should be aware of. From long-term care to dental and vision exams, cosmetic surgery, massage therapy, and the fitting of hearing aids, we explore these essential aspects that Medicare does not cover.
Mary also offers effective guidance on how to enroll in the different parts of Medicare, breaking down the complexities of the application process. We further discuss the pivotal role of Medicare agents, offering advice directed particularly at those looking to add Medicare to their portfolio and providing practical tips on AHIP certification.
This episode takes a comprehensive look at the role of a Medicare insurance agent, offering an overview of the variety of Medicare types including Medi-Medi, Medi-Cal and more. We discuss indispensable aspects such as licensure, commissions and appointments, including the critical annual certification tests for agents.
Taking it a step further, we provide guides on additional areas of professional enhancement such as AHIP training, links to stay updated with constant regulatory changes and tips on how to get appointed with health insurance companies. This episode is a crucial resource for both those considering a role as a Medicare agent, as well as seasoned professionals, encapsulating a unique perspective on attaining success in this role.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, we're back. Welcome to Up to Speed. I am here joined with one of my dearest
buddies, Miss Mary Conanan from Lightspeed Learning. How are you, Mary?
I'm good. How are you, Sam? You know, I'm great. And this new way of communicating,
I don't think you and I have ever done a Zoom before. So here we are.
It's fun to do it. It is. You know, the one good thing out of COVID is you can
(00:22):
communicate and do many different things, many different places all throughout
the day. So thanks for joining us today.
I'm I'm excited to talk about a subject that I know literally nothing about.
And we hear a lot about it in the news. And just, you know, people ask the questions a lot.
So I want to talk today about Medicare.
What is it? How do we sell it? What is involved?
(00:44):
What are the different parts of it? All the things, Medicare.
Here we go, Mare. What do we know?
Well, first, Medicare is typically for people over age 65.
It's health insurance for the aged. That's how they call it.
And it's typically over 65. However, it doesn't have to be.
(01:07):
But it's health insurance. Because with health insurance, the older you get,
the more likely you are to be sick or have a condition.
So for health insurance, don't really like, companies don't really like to cover
old people. Talk about discrimination.
(01:27):
Talk about ageism.
It's a much greater risk. So they have this product of Medicare,
and it's got a lot of different parts.
It's got four different parts, which I, again, here know nothing about.
So let's unpack it. Medicare, four parts. What are they?
So the first part is Part A. It's hospital.
So it covers exactly what it says, hospital.
(01:49):
That doesn't include doctors, just hospital. If you are eligible for Social
Security benefits, because that's where we get Medicare, Medicare is free of charge.
You get it with your, it's one of your Social Security benefits you are eligible for at age 65.
(02:11):
The second part is Part B, which is medical coverage.
This covers your doctors, your lab tests, your x-rays.
Basically, all that other stuff besides hospital and prescription drugs.
There's no prescription drugs in the medical section.
(02:33):
Now, you also get this through the federal government, but there is a premium
for Part B, so it's optional.
The typical premium is somewhere between $150 and depends on what your income is.
The next part is Part C, which is a Medicare Advantage plan.
(02:57):
I'm going to go into that later, but it's an option.
It's basically giving the person an HMO or PPO.
Part D is your prescription drug coverage, which you need because none of the
other coverage sections cover prescription drugs.
Drugs and it's very unusual for someone to hit 65 and not be on some regular medication.
(03:24):
So those are your four parts.
It's interesting to state that what Medicare does not cover and that's...
It's the things that you might really need.
Well, some of the things. You really need those doctors and hospitals and stuff,
but it doesn't cover long-term care.
(03:44):
In order to get long-term care coverage, you need long-term care policy.
Doesn't cover dental, because dental is dental, just like in regular health insurance.
Eye exams, once again, vision is separate, just like regular health insurance.
Dentures, which is actually part of dental. Cosmetic surgery,
(04:08):
which no insurance covers.
Massage therapy.
And hearing aids or exams for fitting them. That's an interesting one.
That's totally, because that's definitely something that would be applicable
to the 65 and older crowd.
Or the typical person getting a Medicare policy.
(04:30):
So here's a question. So I turned 65. Do I automatically just now I'm enrolled in Medicare?
Or what happens when I turn 65 and now I'm eligible for it? I got to buy it,
right? I got to buy these different parts?
Well, yes. Yes. Actually, there's a initial enrollment period,
which is, I'm going to give you the technical version and then I'll explain it. In normal language?
(04:55):
It's a seven-month period starting on the first day of the third month prior
to your 65th birthday. Try that one on.
So what it is, is you can apply for Medicare the first three months before your
birthday and four months after.
You should really try to, and all you have to do is go on socialsecurity.gov,
(05:21):
and that's where you're going to sign up for your A.
It's just like a click of a button.
Well, you have to set up your account with Social Security. Then you press you
want to get your Medicare A.
Then you press you want your Medicare B. That's how easy it is. You want to do that...
(05:42):
The third month prior to your birthday, so that on the first day of the month
of your birth month, the policy kicks into place. Medicare comes into place.
So if your birthday is March 5th,
that means you can apply for it December 1st, and it'll become active March 1st. Whoa.
(06:08):
Okay. So here's the next question. So I'm an agent, let's say,
and I want to start selling these products, or maybe I already am selling.
Are these the types of conversations you're obviously going to be having with
your insureds that are approaching these timelines in their life?
I'm assuming, is this something that you as an agent would help them do,
(06:29):
or is this solely fully on the insured, this is what they need to do.
Well, it's combo because people just like you, they have no clue about Medicare
and they start getting bombarded with Medicare flyers, everything.
I mean, you get about 10 a day in the mail.
(06:50):
It seems like about a month before you're even eligible to sign up.
So they typically will call, if they call an agent, that's a good thing.
Mm-hmm. Because the agent who sells Medicare should be aware of what's going on.
So they call you, you're going to tell them that they need to sign up for A and B.
(07:12):
There's nothing you can do about that, that they have to go through social security for.
So they go do that. And then you're going to get in a conversation with them
about which way they want to go with their Medicare.
Because there's really three ways you can go once you have your A and B.
(07:34):
The first way is you can do Medicare Advantage.
That's where you have your A, your B. Instead of supplementing it,
they kind of put it in an HMO.
And now you have this HMO that has, you know, it's deductibles and co-pays just like any other.
(07:58):
It's typically less expensive than going the route of Medigap,
which is the second choice. The Medicare Advantage most of the time also includes prescription drugs.
So you don't have to get Part D. It's already included.
(08:19):
The other one I just mentioned is Medigap. Medigap is also known as classic Medicare.
In Medigap, you sign up for your A or B. Then you buy a Medicare supplement policy. policy.
There's 12 choices you can choose from, anywhere from a very comprehensive to a very basic plan.
(08:42):
And then you're going to want to purchase a prescription drug plan or PDP.
How much do those run? Like what's the average cost on something like that?
It really depends. You get someone who uses a lot of drugs, those are going to be about $50. Okay.
Someone who uses zero, 40 cents.
(09:04):
Wow. Yeah. I mean, some of the, and you get very good prices on drugs.
For instance, with a MediCap, you have your A, you have your B.
You're going to pay a premium for B.
Then you're going to sign up for that Medicare supplement. If you took,
let's say the comprehensive, which has a $233 deductible for doctor,
(09:29):
and And then you get a prescription drug plan.
So you're paying $150 for your B.
Your Medicare supplement would be about, we're going to say $150.
And then your prescription drug plan at $50.
So you're now in at $350 a month.
(09:49):
But with that plan, you have a $233 deductible and you have your co-pays for drugs.
And that's it. And that's it, which is magnificent.
Yeah. It's kind of like you pay that $233 deductible, everything else is picked up by... Yeah.
(10:10):
You're ready to rock, which for many years, many of us have paid $300.
If somebody could say I could spend $300 for my health insurance on a monthly
basis, I would be excited.
Oh. I mean, maybe that was happening when I was 18. Yeah.
OK, OK. So now I what if I'm an agent that's like a life and maybe I sell a
(10:35):
health insurance and now I'm thinking, OK,
I might want to expand and open up Medicare to my offerings to my clients.
What do I got to do to do that?
OK, as an agent, you have to do a lot more.
First, you have to take what is called an AHIP test.
(10:55):
The AHIP test comes with an eight-hour training, and then you take the test.
You have to pass it with a 90%, and you get two tries.
Is it hard? Not if you do the training and pay attention, but it's not the easiest.
(11:16):
You really kind of have to pay attention and study.
And that's why I just gave a very, very basic overview of Medicare.
This is where they get into the nitty gritty and actually teach you all the
stuff you have to do because there's other stuff you have to do.
You have to do paperwork to disclose to the senior what you're going to talk
(11:42):
about in the phone call or what you're going to talk about at the meeting.
A new requirement is they have to record phone calls, unless the person requests not to be recorded.
And there's one other type of Medicare where it's Medi-Medi, Medicare, Medi-Cal.
You have to be able to recognize that, and there's a whole bunch of variations in there.
(12:06):
So when you actually get into the nitty-gritty,
Medicare is a little more complicated than what I said. said.
And so they give you a lot of training.
Then once you've passed your AHIP, you have to put in for appointments with
all the companies you want to sell Medicare for.
Once you get that appointment, you have to go through their training.
(12:28):
A lot of those are in-person trainings, anywhere from four to eight hours.
Some are half and half, and some include tests.
Whoa. It sounds like a lot of stuff has been put in place because there's been
a lot of elder fraud, I'm sure. People taking advantage of people.
(12:50):
You hear about it, I mean, all the time about, you know, It's when you're of
the senior mindset, a lot of times you can be taken advantage of.
And it's really unfortunate that there's so many parameters that have been put
in place, but rightfully so.
Oh, yeah. And it's actually good because when you come out of pre-licensing
(13:11):
as an agent, and you could be in the business for a long time,
if you've never done Medicare, you need this training.
Yeah. I mean, I've been in the business for 20 plus years, and I know zero about
that. I couldn't even have a conversation.
I mean, now I maybe can because we're talking and I feel a little smarter.
But I mean, for many of us, we have no idea what we don't know.
(13:33):
And it's a very important product to really, I think, understand.
There's a lot of resources too that you've spoken of where people can get the
information about these different courses and trainings.
Yes, there's so many places for Medicare, care, which is great because you can always go and find it.
(13:54):
You can go on the Department of Insurance website.
You'll see Medicare all over it. But there's Medicare.gov.
Another is Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Read Medicare and You Handbook. Now, if you're a senior, you're going to get
that in the mail automatically.
If you're an agent, get your hand on it. You can call All Medicare.
(14:20):
That's more for Medicare recipients. But you can also compare health and drug
plans at medicare.gov slash plan dash compare to compare drugs,
prescription drugs.
What kind of drugs are you talking about, Mary? Yeah, those prescription ones.
(14:43):
But this information is this
are these resources easy to understand because i know
a lot of times you you know poke around at these different publications and
they're you know on the government websites it's very intense and it's a lot
so are these easy to really navigate okay they are yes which is good designed
to be very easy average person anyone can understand them I've read them all and they're very easy.
(15:12):
For agents, other resources are to take some continuing add-on Medicare and
the Medicare supplements.
Many of the different extra products that you sell, annuities,
long-term care, they require extra CE every year.
Is this the one that you do the training one time and it's done forever or do
(15:33):
you have to consistently? Oh, no, there's no CEs required for Medicare,
but that AHIP test, you have to do that every single year.
Wow. It gets old once you've been selling for a while, but every single year
you have to certify for it.
And you don't get CE credits. Wow, you just have to do it.
(15:56):
Yeah. Interesting. And it's actually a good thing you get the changes in the
law to make sure you're up to speed on what's going on.
And because an agent doesn't really sell Medicare, he sells the Medicare supplements
and PDPs for Medicare if you're doing classic Medicare.
(16:21):
If you do a MediMedi, you're doing that out of the goodness of your heart because
you do not get paid for helping with Medi-Cal.
And once you're on Medi-Cal, you're really kind of done because Medi-Cal takes over. over.
The Medicare Advantage plans, agents do sell.
So depending on the policies they sell depends on the commissions also.
(16:46):
They can be really good commissions and they get renewals for five years.
So it is something to look at.
A lot of people specialize just in Medicare, kind of like long-term care.
You specialize in long-term care. care.
Yeah. I mean, I think with anything you can know a little bit about things,
(17:08):
but to really be good and hone in on the craft,
this feels like one of those subject matters that you really want to be somewhat
of a specialist in because it is so intense and the clientele that you're dealing
with is a little bit different than others.
I mean, they're definitely, they're asking more questions maybe because they don't understand.
(17:29):
And that's why a lot of these parameters and trainings are there.
I mean, I'm not 65 and I barely understand. So, I mean.
And there's also enrollment periods.
And so, like I said, there's more than just initial enrollments.
There's birthday enrollments.
And just as with health insurance, there's times you can change a plan or not.
(17:53):
So, it's really good to get the extra if you really want to do this.
You need to do that ahib and also by
the way you can't do this with a property and casualty license
yeah yep you have to have the accident health
and sickness portion so you
either have the full life health disability or you have the accident license
(18:17):
yes yes i recommend personally the full survey do the whole thing yeah get it
done with there's no reason to just have an and accident health and sickness,
and not the life insurance.
Because even if you're, a lot of people will do health insurance and Medicare
because they're very similar, even though they have the same open enrollment
(18:40):
time, so you're very busy then. But...
You can't do health insurance without the life portion because most health insurance
companies offer life insurance.
So they won't appoint you without the life accident, health and sickness.
So you should just do the full life license is what, is what we're saying.
(19:01):
Cause that then it's just done. And it's same thing goes with the full PNC.
I think you should just do them both, get them and then you could sell anything you want.
Exactly. Keep it simple. Keep it simple. So here's another question.
As with many of the other insurance products and regulations,
the industry is constantly shifting.
The regulations are constantly shifting.
Where would one go to see what's up and coming or what the new rules and regs
(19:25):
are? Is that the Department of Insurance that they would go to?
Yes. Typically, they're going to be on the Department of Insurance,
but also any new rules and regs
are going to be in that AHIP training that they have to take every year.
And they'll also usually get notifications from the company,
(19:46):
whatever company they are appointed with, which is, and people ask me all the
time, how do you get appointed for life insurance?
How do you get appointed for health? It's very simple. My friend Google is a great way to go.
And you say, how do I get appointed with Blue Shield?
How do I get appointed with Kaiser? How do I get appointed with? Mm-hmm.
(20:10):
I don't want to diss any insurance company, Health Net or Aetna or Sharp or all of them.
And it comes right up. A lot of them, I would say 99% are online applications to become an agent.
(20:30):
Is it a hard process? Or you just fill it out, send them your license,
your certification? You have to fill out the application, which shouldn't be
hard, name, address, blah, blah, blah.
A copy of your license, a copy of your E&O certificate.
I can't think of a company right now that does, will appoint you without you having E&O.
(20:55):
So that's very important.
That's about it. Very interesting. I look it over. Yeah, it doesn't seem like
a hard one to get into, but it seems like a hard one to really understand and
to be able to transact with all the additional training.
But there's a lot to know and a lot to unpack here.
(21:16):
Mary, I can't say thank you enough for your time today.
I feel a little bit more versed on Medicare, and I want everyone to remember to be up to speed.
Hello, we're back. Welcome to Up to Speed. I am here joined with one of my dearest
buddies, Miss Mary Conanan from Lightspeed Learning. How are you, Mary?
I'm good. How are you, Sam? You know, I'm great. And this new way of communicating,
I don't think you and I have ever done a Zoom before. So here we are.
It's fun to do it. It is. You know, the one good thing out of COVID is you can
(00:22):
communicate and do many different things, many different places all throughout
the day. So thanks for joining us today.
I'm I'm excited to talk about a subject that I know literally nothing about.
And we hear a lot about it in the news. And just, you know, people ask the questions a lot.
So I want to talk today about Medicare.
What is it? How do we sell it? What is involved?
(00:44):
What are the different parts of it? All the things, Medicare.
Here we go, Mare. What do we know?
Well, first, Medicare is typically for people over age 65.
It's health insurance for the aged. That's how they call it.
And it's typically over 65. However, it doesn't have to be.
(01:07):
But it's health insurance. Because with health insurance, the older you get,
the more likely you are to be sick or have a condition.
So for health insurance, don't really like, companies don't really like to cover
old people. Talk about discrimination.
(01:27):
Talk about ageism.
It's a much greater risk. So they have this product of Medicare,
and it's got a lot of different parts.
It's got four different parts, which I, again, here know nothing about.
So let's unpack it. Medicare, four parts. What are they?
So the first part is Part A. It's hospital.
So it covers exactly what it says, hospital.
(01:49):
That doesn't include doctors, just hospital. If you are eligible for Social
Security benefits, because that's where we get Medicare, Medicare is free of charge.
You get it with your, it's one of your Social Security benefits you are eligible for at age 65.
(02:11):
The second part is Part B, which is medical coverage.
This covers your doctors, your lab tests, your x-rays.
Basically, all that other stuff besides hospital and prescription drugs.
There's no prescription drugs in the medical section.
(02:33):
Now, you also get this through the federal government, but there is a premium
for Part B, so it's optional.
The typical premium is somewhere between $150 and depends on what your income is.
The next part is Part C, which is a Medicare Advantage plan.
(02:57):
I'm going to go into that later, but it's an option.
It's basically giving the person an HMO or PPO.
Part D is your prescription drug coverage, which you need because none of the
other coverage sections cover prescription drugs.
Drugs and it's very unusual for someone to hit 65 and not be on some regular medication.
(03:24):
So those are your four parts.
It's interesting to state that what Medicare does not cover and that's...
It's the things that you might really need.
Well, some of the things. You really need those doctors and hospitals and stuff,
but it doesn't cover long-term care.
(03:44):
In order to get long-term care coverage, you need long-term care policy.
Doesn't cover dental, because dental is dental, just like in regular health insurance.
Eye exams, once again, vision is separate, just like regular health insurance.
Dentures, which is actually part of dental. Cosmetic surgery,
(04:08):
which no insurance covers.
Massage therapy.
And hearing aids or exams for fitting them. That's an interesting one.
That's totally, because that's definitely something that would be applicable
to the 65 and older crowd.
Or the typical person getting a Medicare policy.
(04:30):
So here's a question. So I turned 65. Do I automatically just now I'm enrolled in Medicare?
Or what happens when I turn 65 and now I'm eligible for it? I got to buy it,
right? I got to buy these different parts?
Well, yes. Yes. Actually, there's a initial enrollment period,
which is, I'm going to give you the technical version and then I'll explain it. In normal language?
(04:55):
It's a seven-month period starting on the first day of the third month prior
to your 65th birthday. Try that one on.
So what it is, is you can apply for Medicare the first three months before your
birthday and four months after.
You should really try to, and all you have to do is go on socialsecurity.gov,
(05:21):
and that's where you're going to sign up for your A.
It's just like a click of a button.
Well, you have to set up your account with Social Security. Then you press you
want to get your Medicare A.
Then you press you want your Medicare B. That's how easy it is. You want to do that...
(05:42):
The third month prior to your birthday, so that on the first day of the month
of your birth month, the policy kicks into place. Medicare comes into place.
So if your birthday is March 5th,
that means you can apply for it December 1st, and it'll become active March 1st. Whoa.
(06:08):
Okay. So here's the next question. So I'm an agent, let's say,
and I want to start selling these products, or maybe I already am selling.
Are these the types of conversations you're obviously going to be having with
your insureds that are approaching these timelines in their life?
I'm assuming, is this something that you as an agent would help them do,
(06:29):
or is this solely fully on the insured, this is what they need to do.
Well, it's combo because people just like you, they have no clue about Medicare
and they start getting bombarded with Medicare flyers, everything.
I mean, you get about 10 a day in the mail.
(06:50):
It seems like about a month before you're even eligible to sign up.
So they typically will call, if they call an agent, that's a good thing.
Mm-hmm. Because the agent who sells Medicare should be aware of what's going on.
So they call you, you're going to tell them that they need to sign up for A and B.
(07:12):
There's nothing you can do about that, that they have to go through social security for.
So they go do that. And then you're going to get in a conversation with them
about which way they want to go with their Medicare.
Because there's really three ways you can go once you have your A and B.
(07:34):
The first way is you can do Medicare Advantage.
That's where you have your A, your B. Instead of supplementing it,
they kind of put it in an HMO.
And now you have this HMO that has, you know, it's deductibles and co-pays just like any other.
(07:58):
It's typically less expensive than going the route of Medigap,
which is the second choice. The Medicare Advantage most of the time also includes prescription drugs.
So you don't have to get Part D. It's already included.
(08:19):
The other one I just mentioned is Medigap. Medigap is also known as classic Medicare.
In Medigap, you sign up for your A or B. Then you buy a Medicare supplement policy. policy.
There's 12 choices you can choose from, anywhere from a very comprehensive to a very basic plan.
(08:42):
And then you're going to want to purchase a prescription drug plan or PDP.
How much do those run? Like what's the average cost on something like that?
It really depends. You get someone who uses a lot of drugs, those are going to be about $50. Okay.
Someone who uses zero, 40 cents.
(09:04):
Wow. Yeah. I mean, some of the, and you get very good prices on drugs.
For instance, with a MediCap, you have your A, you have your B.
You're going to pay a premium for B.
Then you're going to sign up for that Medicare supplement. If you took,
let's say the comprehensive, which has a $233 deductible for doctor,
(09:29):
and And then you get a prescription drug plan.
So you're paying $150 for your B.
Your Medicare supplement would be about, we're going to say $150.
And then your prescription drug plan at $50.
So you're now in at $350 a month.
(09:49):
But with that plan, you have a $233 deductible and you have your co-pays for drugs.
And that's it. And that's it, which is magnificent.
Yeah. It's kind of like you pay that $233 deductible, everything else is picked up by... Yeah.
(10:10):
You're ready to rock, which for many years, many of us have paid $300.
If somebody could say I could spend $300 for my health insurance on a monthly
basis, I would be excited.
Oh. I mean, maybe that was happening when I was 18. Yeah.
OK, OK. So now I what if I'm an agent that's like a life and maybe I sell a
(10:35):
health insurance and now I'm thinking, OK,
I might want to expand and open up Medicare to my offerings to my clients.
What do I got to do to do that?
OK, as an agent, you have to do a lot more.
First, you have to take what is called an AHIP test.
(10:55):
The AHIP test comes with an eight-hour training, and then you take the test.
You have to pass it with a 90%, and you get two tries.
Is it hard? Not if you do the training and pay attention, but it's not the easiest.
(11:16):
You really kind of have to pay attention and study.
And that's why I just gave a very, very basic overview of Medicare.
This is where they get into the nitty gritty and actually teach you all the
stuff you have to do because there's other stuff you have to do.
You have to do paperwork to disclose to the senior what you're going to talk
(11:42):
about in the phone call or what you're going to talk about at the meeting.
A new requirement is they have to record phone calls, unless the person requests not to be recorded.
And there's one other type of Medicare where it's Medi-Medi, Medicare, Medi-Cal.
You have to be able to recognize that, and there's a whole bunch of variations in there.
(12:06):
So when you actually get into the nitty-gritty,
Medicare is a little more complicated than what I said. said.
And so they give you a lot of training.
Then once you've passed your AHIP, you have to put in for appointments with
all the companies you want to sell Medicare for.
Once you get that appointment, you have to go through their training.
(12:28):
A lot of those are in-person trainings, anywhere from four to eight hours.
Some are half and half, and some include tests.
Whoa. It sounds like a lot of stuff has been put in place because there's been
a lot of elder fraud, I'm sure. People taking advantage of people.
(12:50):
You hear about it, I mean, all the time about, you know, It's when you're of
the senior mindset, a lot of times you can be taken advantage of.
And it's really unfortunate that there's so many parameters that have been put
in place, but rightfully so.
Oh, yeah. And it's actually good because when you come out of pre-licensing
(13:11):
as an agent, and you could be in the business for a long time,
if you've never done Medicare, you need this training.
Yeah. I mean, I've been in the business for 20 plus years, and I know zero about
that. I couldn't even have a conversation.
I mean, now I maybe can because we're talking and I feel a little smarter.
But I mean, for many of us, we have no idea what we don't know.
(13:33):
And it's a very important product to really, I think, understand.
There's a lot of resources too that you've spoken of where people can get the
information about these different courses and trainings.
Yes, there's so many places for Medicare, care, which is great because you can always go and find it.
(13:54):
You can go on the Department of Insurance website.
You'll see Medicare all over it. But there's Medicare.gov.
Another is Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Read Medicare and You Handbook. Now, if you're a senior, you're going to get
that in the mail automatically.
If you're an agent, get your hand on it. You can call All Medicare.
(14:20):
That's more for Medicare recipients. But you can also compare health and drug
plans at medicare.gov slash plan dash compare to compare drugs,
prescription drugs.
What kind of drugs are you talking about, Mary? Yeah, those prescription ones.
(14:43):
But this information is this
are these resources easy to understand because i know
a lot of times you you know poke around at these different publications and
they're you know on the government websites it's very intense and it's a lot
so are these easy to really navigate okay they are yes which is good designed
to be very easy average person anyone can understand them I've read them all and they're very easy.
(15:12):
For agents, other resources are to take some continuing add-on Medicare and
the Medicare supplements.
Many of the different extra products that you sell, annuities,
long-term care, they require extra CE every year.
Is this the one that you do the training one time and it's done forever or do
(15:33):
you have to consistently? Oh, no, there's no CEs required for Medicare,
but that AHIP test, you have to do that every single year.
Wow. It gets old once you've been selling for a while, but every single year
you have to certify for it.
And you don't get CE credits. Wow, you just have to do it.
(15:56):
Yeah. Interesting. And it's actually a good thing you get the changes in the
law to make sure you're up to speed on what's going on.
And because an agent doesn't really sell Medicare, he sells the Medicare supplements
and PDPs for Medicare if you're doing classic Medicare.
(16:21):
If you do a MediMedi, you're doing that out of the goodness of your heart because
you do not get paid for helping with Medi-Cal.
And once you're on Medi-Cal, you're really kind of done because Medi-Cal takes over. over.
The Medicare Advantage plans, agents do sell.
So depending on the policies they sell depends on the commissions also.
(16:46):
They can be really good commissions and they get renewals for five years.
So it is something to look at.
A lot of people specialize just in Medicare, kind of like long-term care.
You specialize in long-term care. care.
Yeah. I mean, I think with anything you can know a little bit about things,
(17:08):
but to really be good and hone in on the craft,
this feels like one of those subject matters that you really want to be somewhat
of a specialist in because it is so intense and the clientele that you're dealing
with is a little bit different than others.
I mean, they're definitely, they're asking more questions maybe because they don't understand.
(17:29):
And that's why a lot of these parameters and trainings are there.
I mean, I'm not 65 and I barely understand. So, I mean.
And there's also enrollment periods.
And so, like I said, there's more than just initial enrollments.
There's birthday enrollments.
And just as with health insurance, there's times you can change a plan or not.
(17:53):
So, it's really good to get the extra if you really want to do this.
You need to do that ahib and also by
the way you can't do this with a property and casualty license
yeah yep you have to have the accident health
and sickness portion so you
either have the full life health disability or you have the accident license
(18:17):
yes yes i recommend personally the full survey do the whole thing yeah get it
done with there's no reason to just have an and accident health and sickness,
and not the life insurance.
Because even if you're, a lot of people will do health insurance and Medicare
because they're very similar, even though they have the same open enrollment
(18:40):
time, so you're very busy then. But...
You can't do health insurance without the life portion because most health insurance
companies offer life insurance.
So they won't appoint you without the life accident, health and sickness.
So you should just do the full life license is what, is what we're saying.
(19:01):
Cause that then it's just done. And it's same thing goes with the full PNC.
I think you should just do them both, get them and then you could sell anything you want.
Exactly. Keep it simple. Keep it simple. So here's another question.
As with many of the other insurance products and regulations,
the industry is constantly shifting.
The regulations are constantly shifting.
Where would one go to see what's up and coming or what the new rules and regs
(19:25):
are? Is that the Department of Insurance that they would go to?
Yes. Typically, they're going to be on the Department of Insurance,
but also any new rules and regs
are going to be in that AHIP training that they have to take every year.
And they'll also usually get notifications from the company,
(19:46):
whatever company they are appointed with, which is, and people ask me all the
time, how do you get appointed for life insurance?
How do you get appointed for health? It's very simple. My friend Google is a great way to go.
And you say, how do I get appointed with Blue Shield?
How do I get appointed with Kaiser? How do I get appointed with? Mm-hmm.
(20:10):
I don't want to diss any insurance company, Health Net or Aetna or Sharp or all of them.
And it comes right up. A lot of them, I would say 99% are online applications to become an agent.
(20:30):
Is it a hard process? Or you just fill it out, send them your license,
your certification? You have to fill out the application, which shouldn't be
hard, name, address, blah, blah, blah.
A copy of your license, a copy of your E&O certificate.
I can't think of a company right now that does, will appoint you without you having E&O.
(20:55):
So that's very important.
That's about it. Very interesting. I look it over. Yeah, it doesn't seem like
a hard one to get into, but it seems like a hard one to really understand and
to be able to transact with all the additional training.
But there's a lot to know and a lot to unpack here.
(21:16):
Mary, I can't say thank you enough for your time today.
I feel a little bit more versed on Medicare, and I want everyone to remember to be up to speed.
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