2022 was another eventful year in the Medicare Sales industry. Agents, faced with new regulations and stricter requirements, spent the year adapting and learning. Meanwhile, the industry itself saw continued growth. Let’s take a look at how the Medicare landscape changed in 2022.
Medicare Industry Updates in 2022
On May 29, 2022, CMS released a new Final Rule requiring all Medicare sales calls to be recorded. The new CMS call recording requirements sent ripples through the industry. The most recent FAQ from CMS has cleared up many agents’ questions, but this change will likely continue to have ramifications in the coming year.
On September 27, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2023 premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts for the Medicare Part A and Part B programs and the 2023 Medicare Part D income-related monthly adjustment amounts. Highlights included:
- The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $164.90 for 2023, a decrease of $5.20 from $170.10 in 2022.
- Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible beneficiaries pay if admitted to the hospital will be $1,600 in 2023, an increase of $44 from $1,556 in 2022.
- IRMAA brackets have also increased, with the bottom income rising from $91,000 to $97,000.
You can read the full details at this link.
Medicare 2022 by the Numbers
The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released its Medicare Advantage Spotlight report for 2022, detailing changes to the MA industry over the last year. This year’s theme: growth.
More Plans Available to Clients
In 2022, the average Medicare beneficiary had access to 39 MA plans. That’s more than double what was available just 5 years ago in 2017.
Wider SNP Availability
There were 975 SNP plans available in 2021, but that number rose to 1,156 in 2022.
More MA Plan Available in More Counties
In 2021, there were 82 counties in the US with no access to MA plans. That number dropped to 65 in 2022 as part of an overall rise in availability nationwide.
There a lots more charts and stats available. See the original KFF report for all the juicy data.
NCC in 2022
In 2022, NCC continued improving the training and support we offer our agents. We also added a number of new carriers to our repertoire to give agents even more options to serve clients.
Training, in particular, has been a big focus for us over the past year. Our training department spent 2022 developing and delivering new webinars, all of which were made available to all agents contracted with NCC through the agent dashboard. If you haven’t been to your Dashboard lately, here’s some of what you can expect to find in the Training Videos section:
- AEP Readiness Bootcamp
- Guidelines to Effective Sales Presentations
- CRM 101
- Lead Generation Masterclass for AEP
- Working Your Book of Business
- Keys to Improve Appointment Setting
- Demystifying D-SNPs
- Running An Appointment During AEP
- Structure Your Day for AEP
- Call Recording with Enrollment Central
- Cross-Selling 101
- Building Your Brand
- Call Recording This AEP
- Lead Follow-Up Best Practices
As you can see, our Training department was busy in 2022! If you aren’t an NCC agent and want to see these training videos, register for nccagent.com to request access.
We also instituted our monthly Agent Town Halls, an online meeting on the last business day of each month where agents can network, learn, and discuss topics of interest. You can sign up for the next Town Hall here.
We didn’t just add more networking online, though. We held numerous live events throughout the Southeast during the summer and fall of 2022, culminating on our First Looks Rollout Tour, where the NCC team and carrier reps gave agents an in-depth look at offerings for Plan Year 2023 alongside bowling, golf, and other fun networking activities.
We’ll be adding lots more events – both online and in person – for 2023. Bookmark our calendar of events to keep up with the latest happenings.
More Training & Support in 2023 & Beyond
We’re looking forward to offering agents even more tools, resources, support, and training in 2023. We remain committed to offering industry-leading support and technology. To learn more about what we offer our agents, call 800-695-0280 today.
