During the first half of the year, it's the perfect time to reevaluate your Medicare Advantage FMO.
Are you getting the support you need?
Are their tools and technology helping you stay compliant and efficient?
From technology to commissions, here are 5 things to look for when choosing a Medicare Advantage FMO.
1. Ask about tools and technology.
MedicareCENTER is an incredible tool that will streamline the way you sell senior market insurance products. It started out as a quoting and enrollment tool for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, but over the years it has become so much more.
Here's a quick look at some of the key features available in MedicareCENTER:
- A user-friendly, simple CRM that allows you to manage your leads and clients
- Quoting and enrollment functionality for Medicare Advantage and Part D (MedicareAPP and/or MedicareLINK), Medicare Supplements, HIP, DVH, and Final Expense (CSG APP)
- Integration with LeadCENTER to help you purchase and manage high-quality Medicare leads
- Scope of appointment features, including a texting option
- Call recording functionality that records, downloads, and stores inbound and outbound calls, as required by CMS
- A personal agent website link where consumers can enroll themselves in a plan and you still get the commission
- A mobile app that allows you to get mobile-exclusive push notifications
- Universal login that allows you to access MedicareAPP, MedicareLINK, CSG APP and our CRM and Quoting and E-App system with one username and password
If you want to stay compliant and do business efficiently while you're at it, MedicareCENTER is where you need to be. You can only get this software when you contract with us or another Integrity partner.
Most importantly, you will only be able to quote and enroll the carriers you have with us. If you have any Medicare Advantage contracts with a non-Integrity FMO, you might consider moving that contract so you can do quotes and enrollments in MedicareCENTER.
2. Ask about commission schedules.
Commission levels are important for any insurance product sales, including Medicare Advantage.
And because of our partnership with Integrity, we are at the national, top level when it comes to commission schedules, and that's for nearly every Medicare Advantage carrier on the market.
In the past, we were limited based on our size, but we now have a great partner who can help us get you to the next level. Commissions are still based on volume and downlines, but now, we can compete with other organizations.
In addition to top contracts, we can make our brokers much more profitable based on their time. Time is money. If we can help them see 12 clients as opposed to 8 during AEP, we've done our job.
3. Ask about training.
If you're brand new to Medicare Advantage sales and you're independent, you may want your FMO to help you get up and running. If that's the case, definitely see what they have in terms of training.
This is something we've worked very hard at doing, which is why we developed a full training hub. Plus, I make myself available for one-on-one calls.
When you register on our website, you'll see the MA training hub in your dashboard.
It includes:
- On-demand 5-part video course
- CMS-approved marketing materials
- Webinar recordings to continue your growth and keep you up-to-date
- Article vault so you can continue learning all about MA sales
The training will quite literally take any agent from absolutely zero knowledge to a ready-to-sell position.
4. See how they support you with compliance rules and regulations.
Compliance rules and regulations continue to expand and change each year, and you need an FMO that will help you stay up-to-date.
From educating you about compliance rules to giving you resources and tools to help you stay compliant, the right FMO can really come alongside you.
We've really ramped up our commitment to compliance education, which is why we developed a brand new Compliance Hub.
This area is currently only available for agents who are registered and logged into our website.
It includes:
- Quick link to the Medicare Communications & Marketing Guidelines (MCMG)
- A Compliant AEP Marketing Kit
- CMS-Approved T65 Marketing Prospecting Letter
- 2024 CMS Final Rule Overview Flyer
- Helpful webinar recordings
- An article vault that includes all of our compliance articles
- A feed of announcements about compliance, which includes the compliance changes you need to know about the most
In addition, any of our active producers are welcome to reach out to us for specific compliance questions and even a quick review of your own marketing materials to ensure they are acceptable to use.
5. See what marketing materials they create for you.
If you sell Medicare Advantage, your FMO should be a huge support when it comes to your marketing efforts.
As we all know, Medicare Advantage compliance rules are very strict when it comes to what materials you are allowed to use. Any piece with marketing language in it must be reviewed by an MA carrier and approved by CMS.
As an FMO, we create our own marketing materials and work with carriers and CMS to get them approved.
Our MA producers are welcome to utilize any of the assets we've developed, including the T65 Marketing Prospecting Letter and the flyers, social media posts, desk displays, and postcards available in the Medicare Advantage Marketing Materials library.
All of these have been reviewed and approved by CMS for agent use.
Plus, if you have a suggestion for a marketing piece you'd like, we welcome that. Our marketing team here is fantastic and works hard to create compliant materials our agents want and need.
Conclusion
If you're interested in working with us, we'd love to be an FMO that really comes alongside you to support your growth.
You can transfer existing MA contracts in the first half of the year (give or take), so don't hesitate to reach out to us for help with that. We'd also love to examine your sales region and ensure you have the most competitive MA carriers in your portfolio.
There are a few ways to get started with us:
- Call me at 888-780-7676 (just ask for Steve)
- Request contracting for any of our Medicare Advantage carriers – just visit the carrier page and fill out the contracting form
- Schedule a consultation call with me – you can click the banner below to do that
I'm looking forward to the future and a strong year in Medicare Advantage sales!
