Why you need to get to 500 Medicare members

If you’re an insurance agent, or even if you’re not, I want to make real to you why you should be working in the Medicare marketplace and how it can change your life. In most states, a new Medicare Advantage plan pays the agent $539 year-one commission in 2021. If you were changing someone from

How fast can you start a new career?

My last sales job fell apart in 2010. I lived on a tiny island with an economy based mainly on real estate and tourism. Neither of those were doing good. There were few job listings. I even mailed custom letters and resumes to the 50 top companies on the island and got zero results. At

If you’re an insurance agent and you’re not in the Medicare marketplace, you are missing the boat.

Yes, there’s more regulation in the Medicare insurance marketplace. Yes, there are annual certifications you have to take. Yes, it takes a few years to become an expert and build a decent-sized book of business. But it’s all worth it. Nobody gets rich the first couple years doing Medicare. But the renewals are the best

Saving with Medicare Part D

Many people are having to add Medicare coverage after being laid off and losing workplace insurance. Many people are already using Part D but their income has gone down and some medications may be cost-prohibitive. This is a list of ways to help with costs with Part D. If you need help doing any of

On being a medical professional…

I’m a little behind on blog posts. Please forgive! Beginning of the year is always tough and busy for anyone really “in” this business. There are lots of business-building ideas I could give but it’s time for a more important conversation: If you’re a Medicare insurance agent, you need to be a professional and rely

How I Spent My Day…

My first appointment was at 8:30am. I rent a shared workspace that’s connected to a groovy coffee shop. I met a business owner at 8:30am there. She’s turning 65 in May. I helped her register for SSA.gov and apply for Medicare A&B. She’s going to wait until at least age 66 to get Social Security

Be helpful and be available

If you’re seriously working this industry, your availability, knowledge and helpfulness are your greatest values. There are only two days left in the year. Some people need January 1 coverage. If they are willing to meet and you can make the time, I recommend you do. Yesterday, I had two appointments before lunch. That will

Be thankful and go help a senior…

Within a year of starting this work, I became how aware of how many of our seniors (in Hawaii we say “kupuna”) live at or below the poverty level. It’s staggering. I According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, as of 2017, about 7 million people age 65 or older had incomes at or below the

Working with Part D

So, Part D is wonderful… and horrible. It’s better than the prescription drug coverage Medicare had before– none. But that’s about it. Many people said it was a gift to the pharmaceutical companies in that the legislation doesn’t allow Medicare to bulk negotiate with pharmaceutical companies– they can basically charge what they want. FYI, there’s

On Veterans Day…

It’s November 11, 2019.  This is a day we honor those who have fought and sacrificed for our country. It’s also a great day to remind people how VA coverage and Medicare work together… or don’t.  This is what the VA says about people considering dropping Medicare because they have access to the VA system: