This publish is a part of a collection sponsored by AgentSync.
With pumpkin spice lattes nigh, we are able to almost odor the approaching of a really busy time of 12 months for carriers, businesses, MGAs/MGUs. Sure, you guessed it, we’re speaking about Medicare open enrollment season – Oct. 15 by means of Dec. 7.
For those who’re a provider, company, or MGA/MGU and also you’re making an attempt to come back to phrases with the quantity of labor you’ll want to do earlier than, throughout, and after Medicare open enrollment season, then haven’t any concern. We’re right here to stroll you thru some finest practices to make sure the season runs easily for you, your producers, and your clients.
Why is Medicare open enrollment such a giant deal?
Medicare open enrollment season is the chance for Medicare beneficiaries to affix the Medicare Benefit plan finest suited to their wants.
It’s essential to notice: At the moment, solely beneficiaries already enrolled in a Medicare plan might swap between or to Medicare Benefit plans. In case you have any questions concerning the intricacies of Medicare enrollment durations, take a look at our intro to Medicare piece, which touches on the who, what, when, and why of Medicare.
Efforts are rising to drive consciousness of the significance of open enrollment season and the chance to change between plans. In 2021, one in every of each eight Medicare beneficiaries — 8.3 million folks — chosen particular person plans throughout open enrollment, in accordance with the Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Providers. Likelihood is, the variety of beneficiaries profiting from this enrollment interval will solely improve in 2022.
So, carriers, businesses, and MGAs/MGUs higher be ready to deal with the enterprise.
Finest practices for carriers, businesses, and MGAs/MGUs
Even when Medicare open enrollment season continues to hover at round a ten % participation price, that’s nonetheless hundreds of thousands of senior and disabled People in search of assist when switching between Medicare plans. And that merely isn’t one thing carriers, businesses, or MGAs/MGUs can ignore.
When accomplished proper, open enrollment season is the chance for these corporations to show they’re a well-oiled machine, acquire clout with producers, and assist Medicare beneficiaries reside their absolute best lives. However when accomplished improper, open enrollment season may be messy, disturbing, and costly.
We’re of the opinion that Medicare season ought to all the time be accomplished proper. So, right here we’re laying out a few of the finest practices that may assist your organization succeed.
1. Plan for Medicare open enrollment effectively prematurely
To deal with the inflow in enterprise, carriers, businesses, and MGAs/MGUs typically have to onboard new producers for open enrollment season. That will not sound like a giant deal, however it’s, and shouldn’t, beneath any circumstances, be left till the final minute.
Recruiting new producers is all the time a ache. In any case, producers haven’t any scarcity of corporations to work with. On prime of that, Medicare open enrollment season makes recruiting even more durable as a result of all corporations with a hand in Medicare Benefit merchandise want assist by means of this time. So competitors is excessive.
However, the truth is, these producers will function in one thing of a brief position. Carriers, businesses, and MGAs/MGUs want the assist of those producers to get by means of open enrollment season however received’t have sufficient work to maintain them busy all year long. So, they’ll be onboarded shortly earlier than Medicare open enrollment and offboarded shortly after.
Recruiting these new producers and managing the onboarding and offboarding course of will inevitably lead to further workload for current workers. By planning for this inflow of latest producers, and establishing each a recruiting technique and a system for what onboarding and offboarding would possibly seem like, corporations can set the framework for a profitable open enrollment season.
2. Construct a optimistic expertise for producers
Medicare open enrollment is annual. It occurs each single 12 months. Certain, you could not have sufficient work to maintain producers onboard for Medicare open enrollment lively year-round, however you do know you’ll have a necessity for them for the subsequent enrollment interval.
By constructing a optimistic expertise for producers from their first Medicare open enrollment season, carriers, businesses, and MGAs/MGUs can save money and time on recruiting efforts by fostering firm loyalty and inspiring producers to come back again 12 months over 12 months.
Think about this: A provider must onboard a whole lot of producers to handle Medicare open enrollment season. This provider didn’t begin planning for Medicare open enrollment forward of time and did not construct a system for onboarding and offboarding. Because of this, the general producer expertise is disturbing, time-consuming, and messy.
Subsequent 12 months, as producers gear up for Medicare open enrollment season, there isn’t a complete lot of incentive for these producers to return to the identical provider. As an alternative, they could choose to work with the provider’s competitor. In any case, the producer heard from friends that the competitor has a pleasing and time-saving onboarding and offboarding course of.
Protecting producers pleased is vital to creating certain carriers, businesses, and MGAs/MGUs don’t want to begin recruiting producers from scratch each enrollment interval. So keep in mind, even when these producers are solely employed in a seasonal capability, preserving them pleased can drive annual successes.
3. Use licensing software program to avoid wasting time and forestall regulatory actions
It’s clear Medicare open enrollment season could be a very hectic interval for all events concerned. It’s no shock, then, that human error can complicate the onboarding and offboarding processes.
However onboarding and offboarding producers comes with a complete slew of regulatory necessities for each state inside which a producer sells insurance coverage merchandise. The identical is true in terms of Medicare Benefit merchandise. So, inaccuracies or errors in onboarding and offboarding may end up in expensive regulatory actions. No good, when you ask us.
Fortuitously, carriers, businesses, and MGAs/MGUs can keep away from these slip-ups by utilizing licensing software program. Licensing software program helps save time and forestall human error in producer onboarding and offboarding in just a few methods:
- Flag gaps in producer licensing throughout the onboarding course of. This enables corporations to appropriate licensure errors earlier than it’s time for a producer to promote.
- Cut back paperwork by digitizing the onboarding and offboarding processes. Belief us, much less paper is an efficient factor in your sanity, your producer’s sanity, and the survival of the surroundings. A win, win, win.
- As an alternative of needing to recollect to terminate, in some instances, 1000’s of producers, licensing software program permits corporations to create a termination date that automates the offboarding course of as soon as the date is handed.
- Retain data and licensing info for auditing and market conduct exams. That method, workers received’t have to retroactively type by means of documentation to tug key information when it comes time for the examination.
On prime of stopping regulatory actions, licensing software program has the additional benefit of enhancing the producer expertise. Producers need onboarding and offboarding to be as easy, fast, and painless as attainable. By saving information for auto-filling, producers received’t should rekey primary info throughout a number of factors. In our expertise, repeating info type by type and 12 months over 12 months is among the issues that producers say detracts from their total expertise. Since licensing software program streamlines licensure processes and flags any potential gaps in licensing, it may be the important thing to making a optimistic producer expertise, driving producer loyalty, and inspiring producers to come back again 12 months after 12 months.
Are you prepared for open enrollment?
We all know making ready for Medicare open enrollment season can really feel daunting. In any case, when you’ve lastly ramped down from final 12 months’s enrollment season, it’s nearly time to begin ramping up for this 12 months. Fortuitously, following these key finest practices may be the stepping stones to profitable enrollment seasons for years to come back. For those who’re a producer, be sure to take the time to learn our piece on finest practices for producers as effectively. AgentSync might help you ramp up for Medicare open enrollment, so ebook a demo with us.
