fbpx
2022 Medicare Certifications

2022 Medicare Certifications

by | Jun 8, 2021 | Blog | 0 comments

2022 Medicare Certifications
j

Rob Valincius

Comments

It’s hard to believe that 2022 Medicare certifications are already only a few weeks away. Although it is still too early to start the process, it is always good to be able to plan ahead. Typically, AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans) and industry carriers launch their 2022 certifications within the first few weeks of summer to give agents plenty of time to complete before AEP (Annual Election Period) begins.

What is AHIP?

AHIP stands for American Health Insurance Plans and was established in 2003 through a merger of the Health Insurance Association of America and the American Association of Health Plans. AHIP offers Medicare training that is accepted by CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and nationally by all Medicare insurance carriers.

2022 Medicare Certifications: Current Dates to Remember

In planning for 2022 AEP, it is important to plan out and take all required certifications in a timely fashion. So far, AHIP and a handful of national carriers have announced the dates of when the new training will be available for agents. Here is a list with corresponding dates:

Where does Pinnacle Financial Services come in?

Pinnacle Financial Services is a full-service “FMO” that is dedicated to helping agents across the country grow their book of business. It is essential to be prepared for the upcoming 2022 AEP season, and we have the tools here for your success! We offer the best back-office support in the industry, personalized lead and marketing plans, and a nation agent trainer to help guide you through the certification madness. Give us a call today to set up a 2022 pre-certification call to ensure you are done before your competition!

Need Medicare leads? Learn about our Per-Piece Lead Program

For more information, contact a Pinnacle representative today at 1 (800)-772-6881 x7731 or email sales@pfsinsurance.com.  

For more information, contact a Pinnacle Financial Services representative today

1 (800) 772-6881 x7731 | sales@pfsinsurance.com

Contact Us

Archives

Annuity News
Life News
Long-Term Care News
Medicare News
Ancillary Health news
All News
Rob Valincius

Rob Valincius

Director of agent training

x7701 | rvalincius@pfsinsurance.com
“

Contact a Pinnacle Representative if you have any questions.

1 (800) 772-6881
support@pfsinsurance.com

Contact Us

Contact a Pinnacle Financial Service representative today for assistance.

CallEmail

Connect4Insurance – Connecture or Sunfire

Connect4Insurance – Connecture or Sunfire

by | Apr 19, 2021 | Blog | 0 comments

Connect4Insurance – Connecture or Sunfire
j

Rob Valincius

Comments

When utilizing Pinnacle Financial Services’ online enrollment platform, the common question is which is a better platform for their enrollments on Connect4Medicare- Connecture or Sunfire. For those of you unfamiliar with Connect4Insurance, Pinnacle Financial Services offers all of our agent’s free online enrollment software for their Medicare Advantage Plans (MAPD), Prescription Drug Plans (PDP), and Medicare Supplement sales. This software is all browser-based and requires no downloads or require any data to be saved onto your computer.

Connect4Insurance- Connecture

While both Sunfire and Connecture platforms allow you to quote, compare and enroll clients, there is some difference between them. The Connecture platform has some of the following:

  • Personalized PURL (Personal URL shopping link)
  • Quoting of Dual Special Needs plans on the PURL
  • Health status that falls within Generally Healthy, Some Health Needs, Significant Health Needs
  • Medicare Supplement enrollments
  • gov Blue Button Functionality
  • Selection of multiple pharmacies during the quoting process

Connect4Insurance- Sunfire

The Sunfire platform has some of the following differences:

  • Enhanced provider search-Allows agents to see if a doctor or provider is in-network on the quoting page (no need to utilize carrier-specific search tools)
  • Ability to choose different LIS (Low-Income Subsidy) levels with approximate premium deductions.
  • An agent can highlight the client’s current plan and compare it to all other plans to show if there are any cost savings to switch.
  • More detailed health status selection that falls within Excellent, Good, or Fair.
  • Dental, Vision, Hearing (DVH) benefits are highlighted on the initial plan comparison page if a plan has it included.

Where does Pinnacle Financial Services come in?

Pinnacle Financial Services is a full-service “FMO” that offers you the best technology in the business while giving you options as well. We are the only FMO in the country that offers BOTH platforms simultaneously to choose from based on your preferences. We also offer the best back-office support in the business, guaranteed lead programs, and give you access to over 140 different carriers in every area of the senior market to choose from. I am the national agent trainer here and I am dedicated to helping agents learn anything that will help take their business to the next level. Before you know it, AEP (Annual Election Period) will be here, and you need a partner that is committed to growing your business. Choose Pinnacle Financial Services.

Need Medicare leads? Learn about our Per-Piece Lead Program

For more information, contact a Pinnacle representative today at 1 (800)-772-6881 x7731 or email sales@pfsinsurance.com.  

For more information, contact a Pinnacle Financial Services representative today

1 (800) 772-6881 x7731 | sales@pfsinsurance.com

Contact Us

Archives

Annuity News
Life News
Long-Term Care News
Medicare News
Ancillary Health news
All News
Rob Valincius

Rob Valincius

National Director of Agent Training

x7701 | rvalincius@pfsinsurance.com
“

Contact a Pinnacle Representative if you have any questions.

1 (800) 772-6881
support@pfsinsurance.com

Contact Us

Contact a Pinnacle Financial Service representative today for assistance.

CallEmail

What is a Business Plan?

What is a Business Plan?

by | Mar 29, 2021 | Blog | 0 comments

What is a Business Plan?
j

Rob Valincius

Comments

What is a business plan? I am sure many of us hear about business plans often but are you aware of the different types or components in them. Investopedia defines a business plan as “a written document that describes in detail how a business—usually a startup—defines its objectives and how it is to go about achieving its goals.” Although they’re especially useful for new businesses, every company should have a business plan. Ideally, the plan is reviewed and updated periodically to see if goals have been met or have changed and evolved. Sometimes, a new business plan is created for an established business that has decided to move in a new direction.

Different Types of Business Plans

Business plans typically lay out a written roadmap for the firm from marketing, financial, and operational standpoints. There are various types and variations of these plans. They are the following:

  1. Miniplan: This is not a lengthy plan and can be as short as 2-10 pages. Covers your concept for the business, how you’ll finance and market it, and financial information such as operating expenses, cash flow, income projections, and a balance sheet.
  2. Internal Working Plan: Not nearly as formal as a traditional business plan. It Will be full of details about your finances and objectives, but you can leave out the parts that would mostly be necessary for outsiders, like resumes of key executives and photos of products or prototypes.
  3. Formal Presentation Plan: This is the traditional business plan you would hear about. This one will take the longest, probably be the longest, and will be suitable for showing to lenders, investors, and anyone else you may need to impress outside the company. Ensure you use correct spelling and grammar, avoid slang and jargon, must be well-written, and printed on high-quality paper with color.
  4. E-Plan: This can be any of the other types of plans but in a simple pdf format. You will need clickable spreadsheets and digital versions of corroborative documents to accompany this.

Where does Pinnacle Financial Services come in?

Pinnacle Financial Services is here to help guide you and your business in the right direction. We have entire back-office support that is at your disposal. Our back-office support helps save your business both time and money. Everything from leads to technology, we have you covered! I am the national agent trainer here and would be happy to help any agent put together a plan of action as soon as possible. What are you waiting for? Reach out to us today!

Check out this in-depth webinar on creating a business plan Here

For more information, contact a Pinnacle representative today at 1 (800)-772-6881 x7731 or email sales@pfsinsurance.com.  

Robert Valincius

National Director of Agent Training

For more information, contact a Pinnacle Financial Services representative today

1 (800) 772-6881 x7731 | sales@pfsinsurance.com

Contact Us

Archives

Annuity News
Life News
Long-Term Care News
Medicare News
Ancillary Health news
All News
Rob Valincius

Rob Valincius

Director of Agent Training

x7701 | rvalincius@pfsinsurance.com
“

Contact a Pinnacle Representative if you have any questions.

1 (800) 772-6881
support@pfsinsurance.com

Contact Us

Contact a Pinnacle Financial Service representative today for assistance.

CallEmail

Creating a Medicare Website

Creating a Medicare Website

by | Mar 15, 2021 | Blog | 0 comments

Creating a Medicare Website
j

Rob Valincius

Comments

There is more to creating a Medicare website than you think. With the devastation that was caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, every industry had to adapt. The Medicare market was especially affected given that most sales were traditionally conducted via in-person appointments. With the majority of the country banning in-person meetings, agents and companies had to adapt. This led to a focus on creating an online presence and the need to have a website to allow your Medicare clients to quote and enroll themselves.

Where Do I Start?

The first question I always hear from agents is where do I start with creating a website? There are a couple of factors that we will do into. The things I would consider are marketing/branding, domain forwarding, and 3rd party website design.

Creating a Medicare Website: Marketing/Branding

The marketing/branding aspect of your business is extremely important, especially in the digital era. You need to really sit down and think about this because this will typically be your first impression made by your potential clients. The domain that you will purchase will have to fit into your business model. I typically recommend utilizing Godaddy.com when doing this. If you are struggling to think about this, feel free to review this branding video that I did on our YouTube page.

Creating a Medicare Website: Domain Forwarding vs 3rd Party Design

There are 2 ways you can handle this once you purchase a domain. You can connect your domain directly to a personal shopping link or have a 3rd party company design a website from scratch for you. Connecting your domain to a shopping link is free to do outside of you purchasing the domain, whereas the 3rd party website development could cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. The main benefit of getting a website designed from scratch is the customizability to your unique business model while also allowing you to market multiple product lines.

Where does Pinnacle Financial Services come in?

Pinnacle Financial Services is a full-service “FMO” that offers you some of the best technology in the business, like our proprietary Connect4Medicare platform. Connect4Medicare has 2 separate platforms, Connecture and Sunfire, that both allow you to have a unique shopping link to send to your clients. These are free to you as a Pinnacle Financial Services agent, and we are the only FMO in the country with access to BOTH platforms simultaneously. I am the national agent trainer here and would be happy to help any agent take their digital presence to the next level. Don’t waste any time and contact us today!

Need Medicare leads? Learn about our Per-Piece Lead Program

For more information, contact a Pinnacle representative today.  

For more information, contact a Pinnacle Financial Services representative today

1 (800) 772-6881 x7731 | sales@pfsinsurance.com

Contact Us

Archives

Annuity News
Life News
Long-Term Care News
Medicare News
Ancillary Health news
All News
Rob Valincius

Rob Valincius

National Director of Agent Training

x7701 | rvalincius@pfsinsurance.com
“

Contact a Pinnacle Representative if you have any questions.

1 (800) 772-6881
support@pfsinsurance.com

Contact Us

Contact a Pinnacle Financial Service representative today for assistance.

CallEmail

How Does Medicare Part D Work

How Does Medicare Part D Work

by | Feb 19, 2021 | Blog | 0 comments

How Does Medicare Part D Work
j

Rob Valincius

Comments

Medicare Part D was authorized by Congress on January 1st, 2006, under the “Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003.” Prior to this bill, Medicare did not cover outpatient prescription medications. So, one might ask, how does Medicare Part D work? We will discuss this in several parts below.

How is Medicare Part D Administered?

Medicare Part D, unlike Medicare Parts A and B, is administered by private companies that are contracted and authorized to sell by the federal government. These companies can vary in price by state and includes some of the most well-known organizations like UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, and Humana.

Cost of Medicare Part D

Every plan under Medicare Part D can be different but must meet the established requirements that are mandated by the federal government. Typically, these plans consist of a monthly premium, an annual deductible ($445 maximum for 2021), and co-payments and co-insurance depending on the medication. Not all drugs are covered by every plan, so it is important to pick the option that best suits the needs of the client. This can be done by having the best technology in the business as an agent, (see here.) There are many other moving parts, like the “Donut Hole,” that can have an impact on cost as well.

Drugs Under Medicare Part D

Prescription drugs are typically broken down into 5 tiers. Tier 1 being the preferred generics and least expensive, to tier 5 being the most expensive specialty drugs. These private companies have all their covered drugs and tiers broken down into what they call their “drug formulary.” Although these can be altered on a case-by-case basis by going through a formulary exception, formularies are somewhat set in stone on a yearly basis.

Where Does Pinnacle Financial Services Come in?

Pinnacle Financial Services is a full-service “FMO” that offers you some of the best technology in the business, like our proprietary Connect4Medicare platform, top-notch support service, and personal sales and marketing from the very start. There are no sales quotas or commitments that you need to make to us as we just want to help you grow your business. This is a win-win opportunity for all of us, so what are you waiting for? Join us at the top!

Need Medicare leads? Learn about our Per-Piece Lead Program.

For more information, contact a Pinnacle Financial Services representative today

1 (800) 772-6881 x7731 | sales@pfsinsurance.com

Contact Us

Archives

Annuity News
Life News
Long-Term Care News
Medicare News
Ancillary Health news
All News
Rob Valincius

Rob Valincius

National Director of Agent Training

x7701 | rvalincius@pfsinsurance.com
“

Contact a Pinnacle Representative if you have any questions.

1 (800) 772-6881
support@pfsinsurance.com

Contact Us

Contact a Pinnacle Financial Service representative today for assistance.

CallEmail