- Hi, I'm Rebecca Gordon.
And this is my sister...
- Sylvia Gordon and we are the
- sisters of selling.
- Sisters of selling.
Hey, we're gonna talk today
about why med sup rates are going
up higher than ever before.
What the heck's going on.
- Well, and it's gonna keep getting worse.
(upbeat pop music)
- So pure carrier hasn't taken their rate increases yet.
It's gonna be ugly.
And this all ties back to one COVID over utilization.
- Oh, I forgot about that.
- for extra utilization and medical inflation and
- a big drug.
- regular inflation.
- and
- a big expensive drug.
- I do have being approved
- Approval health. I can't remember.
- which could cost $56,000 per person for treatment.
So Medicare part B went up 14.5%.
I hope you put that in your social media postings
and your newsletters and you drip that
on your clients because that's a huge rate increase.
- No doubt.
- Last year it went up 3%. This year It went up 14,
but the part of the reason it went up so much this year
is because it was artificially
kept low last year during a COVID relief bill.
They did that to help seniors.
- Right.
- So we had to grab that rate increase
they should have gotten last year
and then put on this year's.
- Right.
- with higher inflation.
And then pat it a little bit for this, for Aduhelm
and some of these other drugs that are coming out.
So that's why you have the perfect storm of 14.5%.
So the med sup companies, they gotta get prepared too
right?
- Yeah, they do.
- If, if I'm, if I'm taking, if I have a, a plan G, okay.
And I wanna get Aduhelm
how does that impact the Medicare supplement company?
- Oh my God. It's gonna be covered a hundred percent under
the plan G because it's an infusion in the doctor's office.
- So you pay your one time deductible your deductible
- deductible of 233
- and, and then boom they gotta pay for everything
- huge.
- So
- and if you don't know, Aduhelm is the new Alzheimer's
drug that hit the market several months ago.
- And if you want an article
I wrote an article about the economics
of Aduhelm and what it's doing to part B in Medicare.
And if you ask for it in the comments
we will send you that article.
If you wanna read all my articles on medium.com
I that's where I kind of like blog.
And then, yeah, I don't know.
I just to, I say stuff when I have stuff to say
I don't know if anybody reads it, but I have followers.
- I have followers.
- So, but it does destroy the economics of Medicare.
When, when a new drug comes up
it costs $56,000 for a one year treatment
- Talk about rocking the boat
that isn't even totally proven to work.
- No, it hasn't been proven to work at all.
They said and they're hopeful.
They're, we're paying for hope, but the insurance companies
they're gonna get hit with this drug.
- They're gonna they're gonna make their plan
look very unattractive.
- Right.
- To steer consumers.
- They have to, they have to raise their rates
because of this and because of part B.
- Yeah.
So it's gonna be an ugly year for rate increases.
And you're gonna have a lot of people that say
I love my med sup, but I just I'm pinched.
- So they could be looking at other options
like plan N which you're a big fan of
- Right. So those of you that have never sold the plan
N might get more comfortable with the plan N.
Yep. Most people are not comfortable
because of the possibility for excess. Again there's
- We've done a ton of videos on this.
- There's 11 states that don't charge excess.
So, so, you know, be aware of that.
It's not always an issue
but excess is something that you would have to
spend more time educating them.
- Right.
- It's just a little minefield they can walk around.
- You can look at that high deductible plan G
- Right.
- We sell a lot of with globe life
in New York or United American in Florida.
- And then D yeah.
- Yeah, So plan D we cut our teeth on,
on Medicare supplement plan D 20 years ago.
Most companies don't offer a
plan D they've got it sitting there on ice waiting.
They're holding it back so they can open
up a brand new block of business with great rates.
And so they're all gonna come out with a D
- Yeah.
- So I don't know if we're gonna see many D'S come this year
but the D will be coming.
D's the same as a G, but it has the access
- The D is coming I like it.
- So yeah, it's gonna be coming
- Could be a G year.
- your Medicare supplement people are gonna be calling you.
So I want you to get ahead
of that.
- perfect information for your social media posts
send your newsletters
- and ring less voicemail is to say
you get a large rate increase
from your Medicare supplement company, join the crowd.
We're we're all gonna get 'em it's how high
is it going to be?
A lot of this is due to COVID and due to inflation.
I mean, you know, call me if you have questions about it
or if you want options, because if you're healthy enough
we might be able to switch.
You have to remember that most people
with a Medicare supplement, they think they can only change
between October to December 7th
because they get inundated with those ads.
- Absolutely.
- And they'll say all the time, I
I know it's too late to change.
- Oh my God.
- It's like, you can change any time of year.
Plus you have those states
that you can change around your birthday.
- Yep.
- Or around your policy anniversary.
So most people, because of those ads
- Right.
- were so pervasive they don't even consider
that they have anything, any options.
- They are just, oh God.
- So that's really good information
for you to push out to your clients
to be giving them some information they might value.
- That's always an option.
- And especially if you do it in an email or a newsletter,
they can they can hit send forward to their friends
and family which is great free advertising for you.
- Perfect.
- So it's not good news
for your Medicare supplement clients.
(booing from crowd)
- but you've got options and angles and work.
- And so what is it gonna look
like for next year on Medicare advantage?
Because of this big rate increase
because they're gonna have to absorb it next year.
They, didn't know it was too late
for them to get out ahead of it this year.
- Right.
- So I kinda warned all my clients
during AEP that this is a high water mark
for benefits that it's not gonna look this pretty next year.
So if you love your over the counter benefit
and you love your flex card
and your meal plan and your don't get too attached to it.
- Mm.
- Because if you had full ventured next year
would probably be only cleanings or it's gonna, and again
this is supposition on my part.
- Right.
- But I'm super smart.
Okay. I have bad interpersonal skills, but I am smart.
And I'm warning you get out ahead
of it because a lot of times when your clients get mad
instead of just being mad at the government
or Medicare or inflation, or COVID, they're mad at you
you're the face of all of this.
- You did it.
- Yeah. And so they just, they just go to somebody else.
So if you are the one that's sharing the bad news now
not only are you more reliable
and a trusted source of information, right?
You're more credible
because you're not just selling them stuff.
You're also educating them. The good and the bad.
So Medicare advantage won't be as pretty next year
they haven't filed their plans.
They don't file it until June
but I'm telling you right now, get your clients prepared.
Say, use your over the counter benefits
use your stuff, use your cleanings.
Use most people don't use all their supplemental benefits.
- Oh, oh my God. They've beefed them up so much.
- And they bought it because of it.
And then they don't use it.
- They've beefed them up.
There's no chance to get through all of 'em.
It's, it's incredible.
- Thanks for tuning in.
If you need anything, ask us
in the comments and we'll talk to you next week.
(upbeat pop music)