How do I get started?

If you have never sold Medicare or Ancillary Health Products, we highly recommend that you schedule an appointment to speak with Peter Walker.  He will review all the products that are specific to the territory that you work in and recommend a good line up to get started with.  It’s important to have a good selection of companies but as in Final Expense, it isn’t necessary to have every single company.

You will need the following…

1.      A Health and Life license in the states you want to sell in.

2.      E&O Insurance – Click here for a good carrier.

3.      Contracts with the appropriate carriers.

  • Carriers vary widely by state and even county, contact Peter Walker at the office to review your territory.

  • Medicare Supplement and Ancillary products and companies can be requested through your Surancebay account in most cases.

  • Medicare Advantage Company appointments must be requested through our EFES Contracting Department.

Next Steps for Medicare Supplements

Medicare Supplements can be sold at any time of the year and do not require any additional certifications.  Like Final Expense, Medicare Supplement Plans require underwriting to sell in most cases.

Please refer to the Medicare Supplements page for more details.

Next Steps for Medicare Advantage

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Medicare Advantage is overseen by C.M.S. (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and therefore it’s imperative that you take your time and get all the necessary certifications in order to remain compliant with their constantly changing rules.

After you have submitted your contracting request, each carrier will send you a link to their training website with a series of carrier specific training courses as well as an external link to the AHIP Medicare certification site.

You can go to the AHIP site directly at https://www.ahipmedicaretraining.com but you can save $50 on the regular $175 price by accessing AHIP through any of the National Carrier training websites. 

AHIP

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AHIP stands for America’s Health Insurance Plans, and most carriers require you to recertify on a yearly basis in order to be eligible to market their products and maintain your renewal income.

The AHIP certification is a VERY DETAILED test that covers a lot of information but it’s the foundation of knowledge that you will use every day in your Medicare career.

The course is broken down into five modules, each followed by a quiz to test your knowledge on the materials.  Please note* Many of the questions on the Final Exam are taken directly from the Module Quizzes.


What’s covered in AHIP?

Medicare

·       The Basics of Medicare fee-for-service eligibility and benefits

·       The different types of Medicare Advantage and Part D Drug Plans

·       Eligibility and Coverage

·       Nondiscrimination Training

·       Market and Enrollment under the Medicare Advantage and Part D Program

Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA)

·       How to identify FWA

·       An overview of the industry efforts in detecting fraud

·       Legal tools to combat FWA

·       Understand both the human and financial cost of FWA

·       Review Medicare Parts C and D Fraud, Waste and Abuse and General Compliance

·       Who commits FWA

·       Reporting FWA; loopholes and obligations

FINAL Exam

The AHIP Final Exam is a series of 50 questions which you must answer within 2 hours, most of which are taken directly from the Module Quizzes.  You will have 3 attempts to pass the exam.

·       The AHIP is an OPEN BOOK test.  You can print out materials from the training modules or refer to your notes while taking it.

·       You CAN complete the test at home online

·       You have 2 Hours to complete the test

·       You MUST pass within 3 attempts or you will NOT be able to market MAPD or PDP products.

·       You MUST maintain your AHIP certification in order to receive renewals on existing business.

·       You must score greater that 90% to pass.

Notes about AHIP

It’s important to take this test very seriously as it’s the foundation for all the training that you will be receiving before you hit the field.  You will be working with seniors that need your help on a daily basis and it’s incredibly important to have a thorough understanding of Medicare and the products that are available.