Every senior we meet and most people on Disability are on Medicare. (Don’t confuse Medicare and Medicaid.) Medicare is the government health insurance program that everyone pays taxes into and if you live to age 65 you get excellent health insurance choices at LOW cost. Medicaid is entirely different. It is for only impoverished seniors or disabled people and it pays the gaps in their Medicare as well as nursing home costs.
An excellent additional product for EXPERIENCED FE agents to sell is Medicare 
Supplements. Don’t take these on until your FE sales are going well and you have a minimum of 6-months in the field.
Why do Seniors buy Medicare Supplement Policies?
Medicare health insurance coverage has gaps in the coverage (deductibles and co-pays). So seniors buy Medicare Supplements (also called: Medigap Plans.) The most popular one is Plan F because it covers everything that Medicare A & B does’t completely cover. But other Medicare Supplement plans like Plan G are usually a better value and can create additional sales opportunities for you once you understand them. No Medicare Supplement covers prescription Medicines (also called RXs.) The RXs are covered under Medicare Part D RX Plans (which are HIGHLY regulated and FE agents shouldn’t initially get into those.)
Can agents sell Medicare Supplement policies all year? Or is there limited “enrollment months?”
Medicare Supplements are not affected by Annual Enrollment dates. You can sell them any time of year. As long as you have your health license you are good to go in most states. You are not affected by all the restrictive CMS testing, enrollment dates or Scope of Appointment requirements like agents who sell the “alternative” Medicare insurance plans.
There is a whole 2nd type of Medicare Insurance which is Medicare Part C (also known as Medicare Advantage.) It is highly regulated just like the RX plans and I recommend that FE agents NOT get involved with it. At least not until you are VERY experienced.
So if all this seems so complicated, how do FE agents benefit from selling Medicare Supplement plans?
First let’s make it clear. Medicare Supplements are NOT complicated. They are very simple with just a small learning curve. All the Medicare Supplement Plans are Standardized. Which means if they have a Plan F from one company, it’s exactly the same core benefits with any other company. But they are priced drastically different from company to company.
So once you get through the learning curve, on every appointment you can simply ask, “Who do you have your Medicare Supplement Insurance with Mrs. Smith?” You will quickly learn that certain companies are simply priced WAY too high. Then it’s just a matter of educating Mrs. Smith that she can buy her exact same plan at a much lower cost. It’s not uncommon that I can save couples $1,500 or more per year on the exact same coverage plan they already have. The toughest part is it sounds too good to be true. But it is true.
Also be aware that people have to be able to answer the health questions on the new Medicare Supplement application. And NEVER let them cancel their old policy before the new policy is approved and issued.
There is WAY too much information about Medicare to teach you here but this page was just to make you aware of the additional opportunities to cross sell additional products that will benefit the families you are already working with.
You can learn more at the government website http://www.medicare.gov/default.aspx
And when you are ready…let me know and I can help you understand this much better. But don’t even sidetrack yourself with it until your final expense business is running well.
