We thought we saw a lot of changes in the Medicare sales landscape in 2020, but that turned out to only be a warmup for 2021. Before we get into the full rundown of the last year, though, let’s start with the most recent news.
Medicare Part B Rate Increase
Part B rate increases for 2022 were just announced last week. The premium is up 14.5% to $170.10, and the deductible is up 14.78% to $233. You’ll find full details and an updated premium chart for 2022 on Medicare’s website.
Remote Enrollment, Call Centers, and More
The big news last year was growth in remote sales and enrollment. Carriers added more options and agents grew their skillsets, learning to sell over the phone and make the most of online marketing options. Tools like Enrollment Central became vital to selling Medicare in a changing landscape. Possibly as a side effect to this, TV ads and call centers in the Medicare industry also grew in number.
In 2021 we saw more of the same, with the remote sales side of the industry growing exponentially. We also saw more ads with even more celebrities, and call centers becoming even more prevalent. Medicare agents in 2021 are having to work harder than ever before to counteract the misinformation and manipulation coming at their clients.
We talked about call centers last year, and the advice we gave still holds true:
Call your clients!
Bottom line – your clients have questions, and if you haven’t answered them, they’ll be asking the call center representative on the other end of the phone line, so stay in touch. You don’t need a special reason to call. Just check in. Be their agent and let them know that you’re there to answer any questions they have. Make sure not to hang up the phone without asking for referrals.
Medicare in 2021 by the Numbers
The Kaiser Foundation released their Medicare numbers for 2021 earlier this year, and we can see that the pattern of growth has continued for the industry.
Another continuing trend: beneficiaries choosing Medicare Advantage over traditional Medicare. In the chart below, the blue section on top represents MA enrollments. As you can see, the industry is on course to see MA enrollments even with traditional Medicare by 2030.
So which policies are all of the MA agents selling? Well, in most cases, it seems they are policies from UnitedHealthcare and Humana. Those two carriers combined account for 45% of all policies sold.
You can find a lot more info on the Kaiser Foundation’s website, including interactive maps showing MA enrollment by state and county. See all the data here.
NCC in 2021
It’s been a big year for agents and the Medicare industry, and we’ve been busy here at NCC, as well. In addition to our long-standing focus on personalized agent support, this year brought about an increased focus on training.
In January we released our Medicare Sales Training Guide, a 64-page downloadable guide that covers everything you need to know to sell Medicare from contracting and licensing to closing the sale.
In April we launched our very first 5-week intensive webinar series based on the guide. It would be the first of many and would become the cornerstone of what has grown into an extensive catalog of agent training webinars.
We’re currently finalizing our webinar schedule for 2022. Make sure you’ve signed up for our newsletter so you’ll be the first to know when dates become official. If you’re already contracted with NCC, you can access the full video catalog of our past webinars on your Agent Dashboard.
In May we added dedicated training staff to drive our agent education efforts forward. Our new department has enabled us to more than double our webinar schedule and our trainers are offering individualized support in addition to what our agents already receive from their Marketing Specialists.
More Training & Support in 2022 & Beyond
As we look toward 2022, NCC remains dedicated to our agents’ success. We’re planning more big things in our training department, and we’ll be sharing details on those soon. We’ll also be introducing even more new tools and technology to make our agents’ lives easier.
We remain committed to offering industry-leading support and technology while still giving agents the personalized service they’ve come to expect from NCC. To learn more about what we offer our agents, call 800-695-0280 today.
