Here we go again! Two more insurance companies, Aetna and Anthem, have informed agents that they will no longer pay commissions on new enrollments to some Medicare Advantage plans. These announcements follow similar ones by insurers earlier this year. The most recent decisions are particularly jarring because they come in the middle of the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period, when many agents are deep into the planning process with clients.
Medicare Advantage can be complex and consumers face a dizzying array of options and rules governing their use. NAIFA members help seniors across the country make informed decisions based on the beneficiaries’ personal needs.
NAIFA has repeatedly raised the need for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to address the situation and to ensure that all Medicare-eligible Americans have access to personalized professional guidance from licensed agents. NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux wrote to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure in September about the implications of CMS approving plans that lead to the elimination of commissions and threaten to deprive consumers of needed assistance.
“Without professional agent assistance, consumers will be confused and left to contact call centers unfamiliar with their unique situations,” Mayeux wrote. “Frustrated consumers are more likely to submit their complaints and concerns directly to Medicare, placing added stress on CMS’s ability to deal with calls and inquiries in a timely fashion.”
NAIFA also has urged members to take action by informing their federal lawmakers about the situation.
Ultimately, the elimination of commissions and the lack of a CMS solution to the problem hurts the millions of American seniors who need agents to help them manage costs, explore plan options, and ensure they get proper coverage.
“For well over a century, NAIFA members have helped individuals, families, and businesses reduce risks and protect assets; fund major expenses like health and prescription coverage, college, long-term care, and retirement; plan their estates; provide employee benefits and group insurance; and reach their financial goals,” Mayeux said. “As the professional association for these dedicated men and women, NAIFA believes consumers should have unfettered access and freedom of choice in engaging competent, knowledgeable, and ethical agents. NAIFA opposes all inappropriate attempts or ill-advised proposals to create laws, regulations, rules, or policies that would effectively undermine, modify, intervene with, or otherwise, forcibly sever the nature or integrity of the agent/client relationship.”
