CMS Publishes Final Rule Regulating Field Agent Call Recordings

May 11, 2022

CMS published a final ruling on 5/9/2022 announcing policy and regulatory revisions for

Contract Year 2023. In this publication, ONE VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE states that

field agents must record all calls with beneficiaries in their entirety, including the

enrollment process. Many believe that this is in response to the barrage of deceiving TV

commercials that have been airing recently.

Term Life Insurance - Don't let Term Policies Lapse!

One of the most common life settlement situations occurs when a term life insurance policy is about to expire. Faced with drastically increased premium payments, policy owners often let these contracts lapse. Then, after it’s too late, they become aware that a life settlement might have yielded them unexpected cash.

Term life settlement opportunities are frequently missed for three reasons:

· The client is unaware of life settlements or that a term policy can be a life settlement prospect.

· The agent is unaware that a term insurance policy can be a prospect for a life settlement.

· The agent has not paid attention to the end of the conversion privilege on their client’s policy.

Lack of awareness is the critical factor that leads to lost life settlement opportunities. Term insurance almost always must be sold prior to the expiration of the conversion privilege. Just like the original policy owner, who doesn’t find the increasing term premiums attractive or affordable, buyers don’t find them desirable as an investment either. They almost always want the policy to be able to be converted to universal life.

MEDICARE OPEN ENROLLMENT - JANUARY 1ST - MARCH 31, 2022

Medicare open enrollment period is January 1st – March 31, 2022.  Medicare AEP – also known as Medicare’s annual election period – runs from October 15 through December 7 each year.

Although Medicare’s open enrollment period ends on December 7 each year, extended enrollment opportunities are available to people in areas where FEMA declares an emergency or major disaster that hampers your ability to complete your signup during the normal window.

Corrected the OEP verbage.

Your clients may be entitled to a Special Enrollment Period (SEP)!

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides for a Special Election Period (SEP) for beneficiaries impacted by a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Emergency or Major Disaster Declaration. This SEP is for Medicare beneficiaries who were prevented from submitting a Medicare Advantage (MA/MAPD) or Prescription Drug (PDP) plan enrollment request during another valid election period due to a declared disaster. This includes both enrollment and disenrollment elections. This SEP applies to beneficiaries who reside in all Arizona Counties who were impacted by Border Crisis, Fire or Flooding.

In addition, the SEP is available to those individuals who do not live in the affected areas but rely on help from friends or family members when making healthcare decisions and those individuals were impacted by the emergency declaration. The SEP is available from the start of the incident period and continues through the end of the eligibility period.

CMS Announces 2022 Medicare Part B Premiums

Social Security News Release

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2022 Medicare Parts A and B premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts, and the 2022 Part D income-related monthly adjustment amounts.

Most people with Medicare will see a 5.9 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in their 2022 Social Security benefits—the largest COLA in 30 years.

This significant COLA increase will more than cover the increase in the Medicare Part B monthly premium.

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