Over the past few years more and more carriers have been rolling out their own versions of online platforms allowing agents to enroll their Medicare clients online. This has changed the game in the Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Part D world.

Up until more recently, an agent would have to do their standard fact finding and determine what the correct plan would be for the client, then login to that carrier’s website and go to complete the app. Should you prefer to utilize the carrier’s websites directly there are some excellent tools Pinnacle has available to assist in your consultation prior to enrolling, such as our Medicare Quote Engine.

The Quote engine will allow you to run side by side comparisons of Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage, Part D, Hospital Indemnity, Final Expense and Dental Plans. It will automatically calculate household discounts, provide underwriting information by carrier and show rate increase history for Medicare Supplements. On the Medicare Advantage Plans in addition to doing a side by side comparison you can also build a Hospital Indemnity plan around the current Medicare Advantage Plan you are considering for your client. If you are interested in a demo on this software, please reach out to your marketer.

The latest and most convenient method of enrolling your clients online has been Pinnacle Financial Service’s Connect4Medicare Online Enrollment Platform specifically focused on Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement & Part D. This tool, which was created by the same company that created and maintains Medicare.gov, has been designed to combine all of the top carrier’s online tools in one easy and convenient place. One of the most popular features on this site is the Physician, Pharmacy & Drug lookup tool. This tool combines all the carrier’s provider directories, formularies and pharmacy lookups in one place. Gone are the days of logging in to various carriers’ websites or checking through pages and pages of provider directories to check to see if a doctor may be in network. Simply type in the zip code and every plan available will populate along with a link to check the Physician, drug or pharmacy saving you a substantial amount of time. The main function of the platform is to allow you to sell in 3 different ways.

1. Face to Face
   • In this scenario you would be in front of the client and enroll the client online while on a computer or tablet while having the convenience of all the products and carriers in one place.
2. Over the Phone
   • Should you be selling over the phone, you have the availability of sending an electronic SOA, completing the consultation, then sending the client the application to complete online.
3. Personalized Client Facing Website
   • Every agent gets a personalized website that is customized with every carrier and plan they are certified to sell that works very similar to Medicare.gov Clients can enter their information, shop and compare plans and even enroll in a plan on their own without any agent assistance. See a sample of a consumer facing website HERE.

Connect4Medicare has become a complete game changer for agents in the senior market. This has allowed agents not only to assist clients outside of their typical area, but also expand into additional states. We have also begun to see a lot of our Medicare Supplement agents utilizing the tool to allow their clients to enroll in their Part D plans on their own after the Medicare Supplement sale.