There are a lot of things you have to do to prepare your practice for the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period. A lot of it is work in the office behind the scenes. But some of it is client preparation. Our older clients by now have a better idea of the schedule, but newer ones need some training. 

Why is preparing clients important for this period? Simply put, if you do not prepare your clients, I can guarantee someone else will. There are too many other agents and brokers selling Medicare products for your clients not to be solicited by them. And even for the ones you don’t expect to leave, the advertising, temptation, and word of mouth among friends and neighbors may be too great for some of them. It does not take a lot of effort to just remind your clients that you are here, you know what’s coming, and you have their back. Most of the time that is all you need to do to retain their business. Here is what we do to prepare our clients.

August:

Because of the special circumstances demanded of us during the annual enrollment period, it takes us months to prepare for what is essentially a 68-day selling season. We are basically a normal health insurance office from January until June, and then beginning in July we start getting ready for October 1, the date we can begin speaking with clients new and old about their health plans for the following year. Here is what our office does:

For many Americans, reaching Medicare eligibility marks a noticeable decrease in healthcare spending. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Medicare is free. For financial advisors helping clients prepare for retirement, understanding and planning for the costs associated with Medicare is critical. While these costs are often lower than those incurred through pre-65 health insurance, they remain significant, especially when viewed over a multi-decade retirement.

The most common question from a new client is, “Which do I get, Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage?” This is the speech I give every time, almost word-for-word.

One of the best parts of being a health insurance broker that works with financial advisors is I get referred to clients who care about making sure they are financially prepared for as many contingent emergencies as they can. In addition to that, I hear from the financial advisors who made the referral. After a medical issue befalls the client I get a thank you for making sure that medical emergency did not strike down years of careful preparation, potentially putting a sound financial plan at risk.

A Medicare Savings Account (MSA) is a type of Medicare Advantage plan with several unique attributes that financial advisors might find quite suitable for some clients. Like any other kind of health insurance, it is not for everybody, and there are certain people who are specifically excluded from these plans. If you have a client who is comfortable with investing and handling money, the MSA provides flexibility options unique in the Medicare market. There is both complexity and nuance to MSA’s. As always, this is a general overview and not designed to promote one company’s MSA plan over another.  Always contact the MSA plan or a broker knowledgeable about them to ensure it is available in your area and appropriate for your client.

When do we meet? When I was first starting, that question was music to my ears. It means the prospect was comfortable enough with me that we could sit down in person and I could potentially close the sale. But time marched on and technology changed, meaning it was no longer necessary to make a sale in front of everyone I spoke with. And as the generations changed, the desire, no, the need to meet clients to make the sale eye to eye has diminished.

As a Medicare insurance broker, I am in the process of getting ready to offer the next year’s products. Insurance companies are also getting ready to advertise next year’s plans, and clients are beginning to wonder if this is the year they should make a major change. Every year, marketing during the Medicare Annual Election Period [AEP] has gotten intense, and there is no evidence to show it’s slowing down. As trusted advisors, you can expect clients to go to you for advice as their opportunity to change plans approaches. Fortunately, you do not need to know the intricacies of the two main types of competing products to be able to advise on financial impacts of them. Here’s the basics of what all financial advisors need to know.

The purpose of an annual review is to make sure your clients remain focused on their goals and adjust accordingly. But every now and then, a client will call you mid-year asking to change something carefully prepared for them. You know what I’m talking about. A client you have known for a while. A reasonable man or woman. They come in and say they just heard about this great product on TV. They really want it. You stare at them, stone-faced. It came out of the blue. You are familiar with that product. You know it is not for them. But they are enthused about it. More importantly, they demand the product! What do you do?