Agent Commissions in Medicare and the Impact on Beneficiary Choice

For example, if you sell 200 Medicare Advantage plans in your first year, you could earn $60,000 in Advantage commissions alone. If you've ever considered learning how to become a Medicare insurance sales agent, there's never been a better time. The lowest price for Medicare Supplement insurance may seem attractive. That’s why it is important to ask the agent or broker about the company’s recent record of rate increases. A good agent will have no problem sharing this information (hint, that’s a good way to identify a good agent). And, Medigap insurance prices can vary from one Zip Code to the next.

Examine how those benefits relate to cost factors like copays and coinsurance, then compare those cost-benefit balances across plans. If possible, start with the largest carriers like Aetna, Cigna, Humana, or United. These firms comprise the bulk of the market share and tend to be easier to sell. Ultimately, your product offerings will be dictated by your territory and sales model.

Agents and health plans made up 87 percent of search page ads, while CMS accounted for 7 percent. Undergo product and sales training from contracted carriers. Choosing benefit structure, for example, 1) traditional Medicare combined with a Part D prescription drug plan and Medicare Supplement plan versus 2) a Medicare Advantage private plan. Our Scorecard ranks every state’s health care system based on how well it provides high-quality, accessible, and equitable health care.

We are committed to providing superior customer service and education. We look forward to helping you succeed with your health care choices. Some Medigap medicare agent insurance professionals will do this all over the telephone and/or Internet. They earn a commission that is built into the Medigap insurance policy.

We then match the right shopper to the right agent based on the shopper's needs and the agent's portfolio. All of these certifications, training requirements, and legal protections can make selling Medicare insurance feel overwhelming at first. But don't let them deter you from reaching your end goal — a rewarding and lucrative career. Once you start connecting with prospects, it's important to make sure you have all the tools you need to make the sale. Consider pre-ordering your kits so that your requests are at the top of the list when your carriers start distribution.

To identify additional advantages and disadvantages of the agent model from a beneficiary perspective, we conducted interviews with patient advocates from prominent Medicare advocacy organizations. We identified three online agent portals that allow for plan comparison. It’s a really complicated process, and when people come into it, they often don’t even know what questions to ask. Agents’ and insurers’ Medicare resources are widely available online and likely to be among the first information sources seen in online searches. The agent–plan model can limit plan choice in ways that are not obvious to beneficiaries.

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