“The Difference Maker” Mike Smith The Brokerage, Inc. 469-635-6703 direct Mike@TheBrokerageInc.com Include a photo of you please On-Demand Access www.InsuranceExpos.com

Choosing a Medicare Supplement is easy Most agents ignore the Part D This idea will help you grow your business, retain customers, and get more referrals Use www.Medicare.gov to run Part D proposals for both PDP and MAPD On-Demand Access www.InsuranceExpos.com

Go to www.Medicare.gov. Get to know this site very well as it has much to offer. Between this website and the Medicare & You Handbook, you will find almost every answer to any Medicare question. In the green box on the left side of the screen, click “Find health and drug plans”.

Enter the Medicare beneficiary’s home zip code Enter the Medicare beneficiary’s home zip code. Not their work zip code, not their PO Box zip code, enter the home zip code on file with Medicare. Click “Find Plans”.

You will see from the screen that the 75248 zip code crosses the borders of counties. For this reason, make sure you know the specific county in which the Medicare beneficiary lives. Keep in mind, this process will generate both a Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) and a Medicare Advantage Plan with Drugs (MAPD). In this case, we clicked on Dallas County. Next, click “Find Plans” again.

You will now go through a quick, four step process to begin the quoting process. I recommend you click the last two options in each of these two questions which will allow the quote engine to quote all drug plans available in that person’s zip code. As you become more comfortable, you may choose other options depending on the person’s situation. For example, a person may be low income and qualify for the Medicare Savings Program (MSP). If that is for certain to be the case, click that box, which will eliminate the plans that do not coordinate with the Medicare Savings Program.

Step 2 is the most important step Step 2 is the most important step. When you collect the drug information, you need to request the information that is actually on the pill bottle from the prescribing pharmacy. Ask for the exact spelling of the drug, plus ask for any acronym behind the name like “ER” or “HCTZ”. Ask for the exact dosage. Is it a 20mg or a 40mg? Pay close attention to things like eye drops, nose sprays and injectibles. Some people may use one eye drop bottle per month, others may use one bottle every two months. Some eye drops are $200 per bottle. If you use six, not 12 bottles per year, that will make a $1,200 difference in your quote (6 bottles x $200).

After you enter the drug name, you will notice a pop up box will appear. The selected drug represents the most popular prescribe dosage and frequency. Select the specific MG strength and frequency for each drug. Be sure to select the proper frequency. Remember, a person may only use one nose spray per year for seasonal allergies. Some people may use one bottle of nose spray every three months, or quarterly. Nose sprays, like eye drops, can be very expensive. You are trying to be as precise as possible to give the prospect an accurate quote. Click “Add drug and dosage” to enter the next drug.

As you can see, the first drug we added, Benicar, is now visible on your screen. Let’s enter a second drug.

The place where you type in the drug name features a “smart fillable format” which means it will recognize the name of all of the drugs that begin with the first letter, then the second letter and so on to help you easily identify the name of the drug along with the proper spelling.

If the drug you entered offers a generic equivalent, the option box on the screen will pop up and allow you to discuss a more affordable alternative with the prospect.

As you can see, the second drug has now been added As you can see, the second drug has now been added. Let’s add another drug.

If I entered Lipitor, as you can see from the pop up box on the screen, the generic equivalent pops up and offers a choice of Atorvastatin.

Now we have three drugs entered Now we have three drugs entered. It is time to move to the third step, selecting a pharmacy. Click “My Drug List is Complete”.

In step 3, you will find a geo-access search by the zip code entered previously. The search will include pharmacies within a certain radius. Choosing a pharmacy is an important part of the drug plan selection process. Many people are on a first name basis with their pharmacist. Try to keep this relationship intact. Your prospect will appreciate that you are looking out for their best interest.

Once the pharmacy has been selected, click “Continue to Plan Results”.

In the fourth step, you may choose from a wide variety of option in the left side toolbar to help eliminate certain plans. I do not recommend you exercise this option. Instead, get all of the plan selections possible. Let’s start out by clicking the PDP box. After you evaluate the PDP offers, go back to this page and select the MAPD box. Click “Continue to Plan results”.

On this page you will see the total retail cost of the medications in the “Original Medicare” section. This is important – check this box so you may show the total retail cost in your illustration. Most people do not have a clue about how much medications cost. This will give you a bench mark of sorts to compare the plans you may want to recommend. As you scroll down the list, the least expensive True Out of Pocket plan will appear. The TROOP is a combo of the PDP premium plus the cost you pay to purchase the drugs you need. I typically recommend that you click the top plan, and hope it is one you offer, and then select the top plan listed that you are certified to sell. You may select up to three boxes to illustrate.

In this example, I have selected two boxes, one for Original Medicare and one for United American. Let’s scroll down the columns to see what all we can see.

The first item of importance is to show how much the drugs would cost without any coverage at all. Some prospects get angry at the government for making them purchase a drug plan or face a penalty. In this case, the drugs would cost $4,079.43. The best plan will cost a TROOP of $1,968.81. IN this case, the PDP would offer more than a 50% benefit over having no drug plan in place.

As you scroll down the page, you will see that each month’s cost is broken down to the penny. In this example the prospect will hit the “donut hole” in the 8th month.

And finally, toward the bottom of the illustration, you will have a break down of each drug by Tier. You may also have notes to guide you for features like Quantity Limits, or Step Therapy.

Once you scroll back to the top of the screen, you may click “print” at the very top left hand area.

I recommend that you save your quote in a I recommend that you save your quote in a .pdf and title the quote First Name, Last Name, PDP, and the date to enroll. Once the .pdf is saved, you may print on demand, or email the quote to the prospect. Plus, you will always have a reference back to the drug list ID and the password date, plus you have the zip code – all you need to retrieve the quote next year.

After you save the quote, you will be back to the results page After you save the quote, you will be back to the results page. Click the “back arrow” on your browser and let’s go back and select a Medicare Advantage Plan with Drugs this time.

When you have clicked the MAPD box, you may click the “Continue to Plan Results” for the MAPD options.

As you will see from the screen shot, each of the MAPDs will be listed that are available in the chosen zip code &county. You will also see a blue, green and orange dot which will identify the MAPDs that offer Dental, Vision or Hearing benefits.

After you have made your MAPD plan selections, you cold use this website to illustrate the MAPD benefit comparisons. As we know from or Medicare Marketing Guidelines, this is the only time you may use a side by side comparison of different MAPDs. I find this feature to be incredibly helpful when helping to compare MAPDs.

In the same manner we printed and saved the PDP quote, we will save the MAPD quote.

Wrap up Use the PDP to open the door Use the PDP to display your expertise Use the PDP to gain a new relationship Use the PDP to get the Med Sup sale Use the PDP to pick up referrals Use the PDP to pick up other lines of coverage