You are going to be extremely busy. As our agent partners, my heart truly goes out to you. Preparation is key, and we are here to support you. I’ve never seen anything like this in my nearly eleven years with URL. I’m sure many long-time agents remember times like this, such as back in 2013 with plan benefit and design changes. We’ll still see some $0 PPOs, but carriers are correcting the damage caused by heavy enrollment into single plans, rising costs, and overly rich benefits. The industry is recalibrating, and we want you to know how valued you are and how important it is to be prepared.

We expect widespread plan terminations across the industry. Clients will be searching for new Medicare Advantage plans. This means you’ll be busy retaining your existing clients and also have many opportunities to grow your book of business, especially as some agents retire or become unresponsive. A lot can happen this year, and your results will depend on how proactive you want to be. It’s a hectic few weeks, so protect your mental health, plan something enjoyable for after AEP, and remind yourself that we are here if you need anything.

Make sure your chat box is enabled so you can ask questions as we go. Feel free to call me later today if you want a one-on-one conversation. I’ll be here until we close at one o’clock. We also have several handouts that I will review with you later.

Let’s begin with retention. These concepts won’t be new for many of you, but for newer agents, it’s important to understand what clients value most. Exceptional customer service and a personal touch go a long way. Reliability matters. If you say you’re going to do something, follow through. This industry is full of broken promises from FMOs to lead vendors, so don’t become another person who doesn’t follow through. Taking action builds trust, and this business is built on relationships.

Go beyond the transaction. The industry has become transactional—especially with call centers and phone-based enrollments. Be different. Set up birthday or holiday cards. Use systems like Levitate, which will be at our conference. Check in after a claim. Even if you told the client to call the number on the back of their card, reach out a few weeks later to ask how everything went. Small gestures build emotional loyalty, not just transactional loyalty. Many of you entered this business because you care about helping people, but that can get lost in the rush of day-to-day work. Take a breath and connect—it truly matters.

Simplifying annual reviews is extremely important. You have so much technology available now. Use it. MedicareNOW makes annual reviews smoother for you and your clients, and with agency hierarchies added, admins can now assist as well. Retention letters should go out the last two weeks of September. Carriers will send Annual Notice of Change letters at the end of September, so prepare your clients ahead of time. Help them understand what the letter means and what they should look for. If they’re happy with their plan and the changes aren’t concerning, reassure them that they can simply let it renew.

Collecting the SOA and updated personal information before AEP is essential. You can begin September 1st, or even now, as long as you aren’t discussing specific plan changes before October 1st. You can also use systems like RetireFlow, which feeds information directly into MedicareNOW, or hire an admin or temp to help. Your time is valuable. Provide simple, clear decisions and take advantage of tools available to you.

Proactive communication and education are powerful. Consistent, personalized outreach can be done easily through social media, which is why Shauna Thorson will be our keynote speaker at the conference. Clients feel valued when they know what’s going on with you and when you acknowledge previous conversations or personal details. Use your CRM to track meaningful information.

Education empowers clients. Explain all their options, not just one product line. Gone are the days when someone only sells Med Supp or only sells Medicare Advantage. Teach them the differences so they can make informed decisions. Many clients appreciate hearing your recommendation after discussing their options. When they feel informed, they feel in control—and that confidence transfers to you. Hosting free webinars or Q&A sessions on Social Security, long-term care, or estate planning can help build trust and draw in new clients. Seasonal newsletters with Medicare tips, lifestyle content, and community news are also helpful.

Additional lines of business are an opportunity for growth. Outside of AEP, diversify your portfolio with group health, ACA, life insurance, and annuities. Ancillary plans such as hospital indemnity will be crucial this year, especially as inpatient hospital copays return to per-day models. Many clients on $0 PPOs can comfortably afford an inexpensive indemnity plan that protects them. Clients who hold multiple products with an agent are significantly more loyal, more profitable, and far more likely to stay with you long-term.

Honesty, integrity, and loyalty matter deeply to clients choosing a financial advisor or insurance agent. Transparency is essential, especially this year. If you choose not to review PDPs due to time constraints or lack of compensation, it’s okay to say so. Many carriers will have non-commissionable PDPs this year. Some agents will decide to review PDPs anyway because they want to support their clients, and that choice is fine too. There is no right or wrong answer. You must do what is best for you and your business. Clients will respect honesty and appreciate helpful alternatives.

Regarding AEP foreshadowing, I’ve attended several carrier rollout meetings. I strongly encourage you to attend the ones in your area, especially with carriers you work with frequently. These meetings provide far more detail than what you can get at our conference. Benefits are still CMS pending, and carriers are waiting on final benchmarks. Many carriers have already filed for which plans will be commissionable and which will not. All carriers so far have indicated at least some plan terminations. When a plan is relaunched, the old plan is still terminated, meaning clients must re-enroll. Terminations come with SEPs, which can extend your enrollment opportunities through late February. Use that to help you prioritize.

Carriers plan to staff up call centers significantly to help with re-enrollments while keeping you as agent of record. If they can handle straightforward cases for you, take advantage of it, and after AEP you can verify your book of business.

As for PDPs, fair market value increased dramatically, nearly doubling. That means many carriers will choose not to pay commissions at all. In two years, once carriers stabilize, PDP commissions may return—similar to what happened with ACA plans. In the meantime, maintain your client relationships so you’re positioned well if commissions come back. Teach clients how to self-enroll, hold informational meetings, and remain a trusted resource.

MedicareNOW has added several helpful updates. There will be a new personal URL option that allows clients to access the profile you’ve already created for them, making their self-enrollment easier. Clients can now see all plans, including non-commissionable ones, while agents cannot unless they choose to add them for comparison purposes. Clients can enroll directly through MedicareNOW, and if they choose a plan you’re eligible to be paid on, you’ll still receive commission. A new consumer account overview will show their SOAs, quotes, changes, partial enrollments, and more. Profiles can now be archived, which helps eliminate duplicates and clutter.

We’ve also created sample client letters and attached helpful educational handouts for you to use. These include guides on Medicare drug coverage, comparing drug plans, Part B vs. Part D drugs, troubleshooting denials, and a flyer we created to help clients with PDP self-enrollments.

Our conference at the Hershey Lodge is coming up on September 3rd. It will be a full day with carriers, breakout sessions, marketing, IT, data, and more. It will be our largest and most robust conference yet, and we look forward to seeing you there.

We know this AEP will be challenging. We are here to support you. Diversify your options, make informed decisions, and prepare thoroughly.

Thank you all for joining today. I hope you found this information valuable, and I look forward to seeing you on September 3rd. Have a great rest of your day, and happy Friday.