Welcome to Medicare School Daily where we help you understand Medicare, save money,
avoid mistakes, and above all else get the most out of your Medicare benefits.
Today's topic is recognizing bad Medicare advisers and the five red
flags to watch out for. When you decide to start taking your Medicare benefits, it is
highly unlikely that you're going to go about that whole process all alone. You no doubt are going
to have an adviser that's going to assist you. And what I want you to see today folks is this:
all advisers are not the same. There are some that are very good, there are some that are terrible.
And so we want to make sure that you understand there's some red flags that you can watch for
because who you use as an adviser is going to determine what your coverage is going to look
like, and what your experience is going to be on Medicare. So the advisers are a very,
very important part of this decision that you're going to make as you go on Medicare.
So red flag number one is this: when you see online the opportunity to get a quote, and you’re
going to have to fill out certain information to request that quote, just remember when you give
out your information, what's happening is this is made available by a lead generation company.
And so they gather information of yours, and they're going to sell that to agents. In fact,
they're probably going to sell your information anywhere from about 20 to 40 different agents
around the country. And each of those agents are going to pay about 50 dollars for your
information, it's a lead to them. And so you're going to get calls from all over the country.
All those agents are going to call you at least once a day, sometimes multiple times
everyday, because they have one goal in mind; that is, they want to sell your plan.
And so you simply were looking for information on pricing different details, but agents were
looking for a lead. So this company sold your information to them, and now you're going to be
pestered until you buy a plan. And so we would caution you, do not fill out “get a quote”
because you are now going to become a lead that's going to be available to multiple agents.
Now, the second red flag that we want to warn you about is this: being sure that you understand that
there are agents out there that are captive. And many call centers today, they are owned by large
insurance companies, so that whenever you call in to that call center, what you're doing is you're
talking to captive agents. That means that captive agent is working for one particular company.
That means they only have a few plans they are going to offer you. Now, you beat me in a market
where there's 25 or 30 different plans. But if you're working with a captive agent, then you're
only going to look at maybe two or three different plan options. And so you're limiting your options.
And so the question is, why do people call into a captive agency? Because they feel like that
they're going to get a better price if they will go directly with the insurance carrier.
And folks, that's not true. Whenever you buy an insurance plan in Medicare, it doesn't matter
who you buy it from. The price is always the same to you. So you can't save money by going
directly to an insurance company. In fact, I believe you cost yourself, because now not only
do you have limited options, meaning you're not seeing everything that's in that market,
but you're also dealing with people that are typically newbies in the call centers.
They have not been in this business very longo t, she knowledge that they have is also going
to be limited. So I don't think you're going to be served best by calling to a call center
whose agents are captive. You want to be able to deal with someone who is going to give you
all the options that has much more knowledge in what you're going to see in the average call
center agent. Red flag number three, in regards to Medicare advisers that you want to avoid,
are those that actually will show up and knock on your door or those that work out
of the trunk of your car. In fact, this may surprise you, but you will have people when you
become Medicare eligible that actually show up and they're going knock on your door
and they are there to do one thing, and that is to sell you a plan. And the reason they're knocking
on your door is because the company they work for makes them, and they make them knock on the
door because they know there are some people that will make an immediate, very impulsive decision.
And so they're kind of preying on those types of people. Now, these doorknockers are typically very
friendly people. They have super personalities, but they're also super pushy. And that's why it's
a red flag to us. And there's also those that will not initially show up to your house uninvited.
They will be invited by you to come into your home, and they will sit at the kitchen table
and they will begin to show you plans in your home. But the problem with that is this: you
always have to ask yourself, why would somebody be in the insurance business working out of the
trunk of the car? Why do they do that? Almost always, just because they're newbies. Folks,
I wouldn't think about going to someone’s home. In fact, if I were you as a consumer,
I wouldn't want a stranger coming into my home. Not in today's culture for sure. But they come
to the home because typically they have no office to work out of, and they're going to come to the
home and they're fairly new. You need to remember that insurance business takes about maybe a two
day class and you take a test and you pass it. All of the sudden, you're in the insurance business,
and you're an expert. And so that's why many of them are willing to do work just like that.
And so the point is this, whether it’s a door knocker or someone that's working out the trunk
of their car, they have one thing in common and that is this: they're very pushy. Their goal is
to sell you a plan on the spot; to get you to make some type of decision before they leave your home,
because they're there for one reason. That is to make a sale. All right? Now, one of the things
about the doorknockers and the trunk workers is this: that first visit to the home will probably
be the only time you'll ever see them or ever hear from them again, because about one to three
percent of all people that are in the Medicare business will not be in the Medicare business
within two to three years. They'll be gone. And so you'll probably never hear from those that
are going to approach Medicare advising in this particular fashion. So that's why we're saying
it ought to be a red flag to you and avoid those kinds of advisers. And that brings us
then to red flag number four. And that is a group of advisers today that are actually charging for
what they say to be unbiased Medicare advice. Now, frankly, this is one of the newer gimmicks in the
Medicare field today, and that is people who will go to you and say, you know, we are not biased in
any way because we don't make any commissions from the insurance company. And so what they
do is they actually charge you a fee for their opinion about what plan will be best for you.
Now, what I want you to realize is this: almost everybody in the Medicare field today is unbiased.
The only people that are biased anyways are those agents that work for one company. If
an agent works for United HealthCare, I'll guarantee you they're going to be biased
to United HealthCare. If they work for Humana, they're biased to them. If they work for Aetna,
they're gonna be biased to Aetna. Those are the only people who are biased anyways. So
there's a lot of unbiased information out there any time you work with a broker.
They're unbiased because they don't work for any one company. They work for you. The person is
going to buy the plan. So their job is to get you the very best plan, and they are very unbiased as
well. So these advisers who are saying we're going to charge you for the unbiased advice,
what they're going to do. They're going to send you a bill anywhere from probably $700
dollars to $1,000 for them to tell you what plan is going to be in your best interest.
And they are definitely unbiased. But if you would use a broker, that broker is also unbiased. Why?
Because they're looking for the best plan for you. And so what happens? You have to pay
this adviser $700, $1,000 for unbiased advice. If you use a broker, there is zero cost to you.
Why? Because the insurance company is going to pay that broker. And insurance companies
pay comparable rates. So an unbiased broker will give you all that advice for free. So you have
to decide, do you want to pay for unbiased advice or would you rather the insurance company pay the
agent and then you can have all that unbiased information totally free to you. So, again,
that's a red flag when someone wants to charge you for unbiased advice. And then finally, we come to
red flag number five. And that is this: here are some advisers that are all about getting this
sale and others, they're going to make sure that you are going to have a relationship that will
be available to you for really the rest of your life. OK? So let me show you how you recognize
the difference. Someone who is all about the sale is not going to get into a lot of fine details.
They're not going to give you a lot of different plan options. Their whole focus is to typically
push one type of product and get on down the road. And so their whole goal is to sell something and
do so very quickly so they can go on to the next person. Alright? Now, as someone who is
really concerned about you having a relationship because you really do need one, this is a person
that is going to understand, first of all, your situation. They're going to want to know more
about your situation as far as health concerns, health issues, maybe pre-existing conditions.
They're gonna be concerned about what exact medications you're taking, where would you
want your prescriptions to be filled. So they're going to get into more of the details. They're
not looking just for a quick decision. They want to make sure the decision you make is the
right one. So here, it's all about the decision. Here, it's all about making the right decision.
And so what you want to be sure, as you look at these people, you have to understand their goal.
In fact, we have throughout the country, there are companies who actually will bus in agents into
certain markets, and they're very personable, very pushy. And their whole goal is to get the sale.
And that's all they're concerned about. In fact, they're one and done and you'll never, ever see
them again. But these folks right here are in the business to stay, and they're going to make sure
that you have made the right decision. There's no pushiness whatsoever. In fact, by the way,
when it comes to pushy people, I always have to ask myself, are they looking out for
their interests or my interests? So when they're pushy, I believe they're looking out for theirs
and not for mine. And so you want to do everything you can. That's why we're saying this is a
red flag to avoid those that are all about the decision, all about the quick sale, and rather
have a relationship with someone that you can enjoy working with for the rest of your life.