The Work Behind the Enrollment
When you’re building your book of business, time is one of your most valuable resources, especially during AEP. Every hour spent working on new business is an hour you’re not spending tracking down an existing client, sorting through a plan change, or following up on an application. Those responsibilities come with the job, but they can quickly take over an enrollment season when you’re handling everything yourself.
Josh Slattery, Executive Vice President of The Brokerage Inc., put that pressure into perspective during a recent Broker Link Podcast conversation with Elizabeth Davis, VP of National Partnerships at HealthSpring. He pointed to nearly three million plan terminations across the industry this cycle, leaving many agents spending a significant portion of AEP rewriting business they expected to retain. For someone building a book without administrative help, that can mean less time finding new clients and more time trying to keep existing business in place.
That’s where carrier support can make a difference. You still own the client relationship, but the right resources can take some of the administrative weight off your shoulders. Davis discussed several HealthSpring initiatives addressing different parts of that workload.
Keeping Your Name in Front of Clients
One example came from a retention initiative HealthSpring introduced in select markets this year. Agents could opt in to have a CMS-approved letter mailed to their clients with the agent’s name and phone number on it. HealthSpring handled the mailing, including printing and postage.
“We put the broker’s phone number on it, you know, their name and their phone number, but we did the mailing on their behalf,” Davis explained.
For newer agents, the value is fairly straightforward: the communication still comes from you, keeping your name in front of the client, while the carrier takes care of the work involved in getting it delivered. Davis said HealthSpring received positive feedback from participating brokers and plans to look for other opportunities to handle mailings on their behalf.
One possibility involves the member incentive program. HealthSpring currently offers a flyer that agents can personalize with their picture and contact information to use as a leave-behind. Davis said the company is discussing a mailing that would go out under the broker’s name, reminding members about additional incentive dollars they may be eligible to earn through their plan.
“It’s like the broker telling them that,” she said.
That mailing was still under discussion at the time of the podcast, but the idea is worth noting. When a carrier looks for ways to help you stay connected with clients after enrollment, it can make the ongoing work of maintaining those relationships a little easier.
Making Plan Changes Easier to Navigate
When a plan changes, one of the first questions you’ll have to answer is where your affected clients can go next. That may mean reviewing available options, checking networks, and helping clients understand their choices. It’s a process that takes time, particularly when you’re still getting familiar with the products and resources available in your market.
HealthSpring is also working on a crosswalk tool intended to make that process easier. Davis said the company had just approved a communication about the new resource, which was expected to go out to brokers that week.
“I know it’s very confusing, it’s where to go, what to do,” she said. “So trying to make it a little bit easier.”
The tool was a very recent development at the time of the conversation, so its details and availability are worth confirming with the HealthSpring team. Its intended purpose is to give brokers a clearer way to navigate plan changes and determine where clients may be able to go next.
Having Someone to Call When You Need an Answer
Even with good tools and resources, there will be times when you need to speak with someone directly. An application may need attention, a client may have a question that requires carrier assistance, or you may need help sorting through an issue before moving forward. During AEP, how quickly you can get an answer can make a real difference.
Davis discussed HealthSpring’s Agent Resource Center, or ARC, and the service levels the company has been maintaining during the enrollment rush. She said calls were being answered in less than eight seconds, with applications being issued in under two days, even as the company handled record volume.
“We feel very confident about being able to continue to take on more volume and get those apps issued and service your members,” she said.
Those are HealthSpring’s reported figures, but they’re useful benchmarks when comparing carrier support. It’s worth asking how a carrier’s service team handles the busiest parts of AEP, when a delayed answer can hold up more than one case.
Questions Worth Asking Before You Contract
As you’re weighing your options, the support available from a carrier is worth looking at alongside its products. A few questions can help you understand what the working relationship will involve:
- Does the carrier offer retention outreach that goes out under my name and phone number, or am I responsible for managing those mailings myself?
- Are there tools or resources to help me navigate plan and network changes for existing clients?
- How quickly can I reach the agent service team during peak AEP volume?
- Who can I contact locally when I have questions about products, networks, or changes in my market?
The answers can give you a better sense of what day-to-day support will look like once you’re working with that carrier, and how much of the work you’ll be managing on your own.
Getting Contracted
Once you’ve had a chance to consider what you want from a carrier relationship, the next step is understanding what’s available and how it fits into the markets where you plan to work. HealthSpring offers a broader portfolio than Medicare Advantage alone, with Medicare Part D, Medicare Supplement, and ancillary products alongside its Medicare Advantage plans. It’s part of Health Care Service Corporation, which describes itself as the largest customer-owned health insurer in the United States.
If HealthSpring is among the carriers you’re considering, The Brokerage Inc. team can help you get a better sense of the products available in your market and what you’ll need to get started. Your Medicare sales representative is a good place to begin, and you can also find HealthSpring contracting and product resources in BrokerLink.
Get ContractedBuilding a book of business takes time, and the relationships you establish with both your clients and your carrier partners will shape that experience. Knowing what support is available from the beginning can help you make a more informed decision about where to build.
Listen to the Full Podcast on The Broker Link Podcast
Or watch on Youtube:
