In case you weren’t aware, an ANOC letter, or annual notice of change letter, is a notice that a Medicare beneficiary receives every fall directly from their insurance carrier. It details all the upcoming changes the beneficiary should expect from their plan in the coming year. These changes could be all the difference between staying with a plan or making a change. So, as their Medicare agent, you want to ensure you are reaching out to your clients and letting them know to keep a lookout for these letters.
The ANOC letter can be a great talking point with existing and prospective clients. Continue reading to learn more about what you should do when these letters start rolling out.
1. Notify Your Clients That They’ll Soon Receive Their ANOC Letters
These letters are sent around late September and the beginning of October. They are notified of any changes to their Medicare plan. These changes may include coverage, service, and benefit changes, as well as changes to the plan’s cost. They will be applied to the following plan year, starting January 1. In some cases, the carrier notifies the client that their plan will no longer even be available on the market. About 10 to 15 percent of plans go away every year. This means that beneficiaries must find new Medicare plans.
Because of the extreme importance of these letters, you must let your clients know to keep their eyes on their mailboxes. You should ramp up the frequency of your calling around the time that letters are expected to go out. You don’t want to risk that your clients get their ANOC and start asking other agents about it!
2. Remind Them of the Upcoming AEP
It’s important to keep in mind the timing of these letters. They are sent out in the fall because they are intended to help prepare people for the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). It will give them time to decide whether to keep their current plan or switch plans during AEP.
While you want to remind your clients about AEP, you must also inform them about possible changes that can occur at any time of the year. While the ANOC letters do a good job, for the most part, informing Medicare beneficiaries of plan changes, there are exceptions. For instance, a provider network may decide to no longer accept insurance from a particular carrier. If this happens, a client may want to switch plans to continue seeing their doctor. However, a change like this can occur even after the ANOC letters have been sent so policyholders may not find out about this change until AEP has already begun.
3. Ask Them to Schedule a Benefits Review
We all know, that life happens. As a Medicare agent, this may be especially true for your client’s medical needs. Therefore, you should have them schedule a benefits review so that you can review their plan with them. The ANOC letter is a great way to break the ice with this request. Let them know that they may experience premium increases, as well as benefit changes, which will be listed in the ANOC letter.
However, you also want to take this opportunity to remind them of their other options. Many Medicare beneficiaries are interested in receiving dental, vision, and other additional benefits that they may not have, especially if they have traditional Medicare. A person’s current medical needs may call for a different health plan. Also, someone’s current financial situation may mean they qualify for a cheaper plan or may even be entitled to benefits they never realized.
A policy review will also give you the opportunity to conduct a needs-based analysis to see if there is any other way you can help your client. Using Empower Brokerage’s Fact Finder, you can determine if your client has any life insurance needs. Additionally, you can let them know that you have the resources and products to help your client’s family and friends. Referred leads are the best leads!
Marketing Pro-Tip
Since Medicare beneficiaries are certain to get these letters, you can use them as a “pain point” for marketing during this time. A pain point refers to “specific issues encountered by customers, both existing and potential” that you can provide a solution for with your products or services. For Medicare beneficiaries, their ANOC letter can certainly be a pain point. They may get confused with verbiage or industry jargon or realize that their plan is going through significant changes that will no longer work for them. As a Medicare agent, you can offer solutions to both problems, and you should promote that throughout your marketing.
You can address the ANOC letters in your social media copy, digital advertisements, or flyers. You can say something along the lines of:
“Schedule your benefits review to understand all the changes coming to your plan in the new year,” or
“Is your Medicare plan changing? Give me a call to find a new plan that fits your needs.”
Agents
We hope that this information on ANOC letters was useful to you.
Empower Brokerage is dedicated to helping you make informed decisions about your health and finances. Whether it’s through webinar training, one-on-one calls, seminars, or marketing plans, we want you to be successful!
Give us a call at 888-539-1633 or leave a comment below if you have any questions.
Quick links:
