The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) raised the maximum agent commissions for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans for the fifth year in a row. That means you can make a lot of money on Medicare commissions during AEP 2024. While carriers are not required to pay the maximum, they usually don’t pay much less, because they want you to sell their products.
Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage Agent Compensation
CMS-regulated maximum commissions from carriers differ between Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (PDP) and Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) plans. Compensation amounts for both types of plans increased from 2023 to 2024.
Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans
The maximum compensation for MAPD plans varies from state to state:
- For CA and NJ, the commissions for initial MAPD sales increased to $762. Commissions for renewals increased from $301 per member per year to $381 per member per year.
- For CT, PA and DC, the MAPD commissions for initial sales increased from $542 per member per year to $689 per member. Commissions for renewals increased from $271 per member per year to $345 per member per year.
- For Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the commissions for initial MAPD enrollment increased from $331 per member per year to $350 per member per year, which is an increase of 5.74 percent. Commissions for renewals increased from $166 per member per year to $175 per member per year, which is an increase of 5.42 percent.
- In all other states, commissions for initial MAPD enrollment increased from $603 per member per year to $611 per member. Commissions for renewals increased from $301 per member per year to $306 per member per year.
Medicare Part D Plans
Commissions for initial enrollments increased from $78 per member per year to $100 per member per year. Commissions for renewals increased from $39 per member per year to $50 per member per year.
Maximum Medicare Broker Commissions in 2024
Medicare Supplement Broker Commissions
Commissions for selling Medigap plans vary from carrier to carrier. It may sound confusing, but it works in your favor to partner with a great FMO that can connect you to many different carriers. You want to provide your clients with the plans that can offer the most benefit, and provide yourself with opportunities to earn more.
Commission Levels for Medicare supplements are paid on a percentage basis of the annual premium. For example, if the average premium is $1,800 per year and the street level commission for a specific company is 20%, then the commission paid would be $360.
Medicare supplement commission basics:
- Broker and agency commissions are based on a percentage calculation of the annual premium.
- Street level commissions are usually around 20%, sometimes lower and sometimes higher.
- Top agency commissions are usually in the 24-25% for those writing a significant amount of business.
- Commissions usually pay the same for 7 years, but some pay life time renewals.
How to Increase Broker Commission
There are three ways to earn more commissions.
- Strengthen your book of business
- Become an independent agent
- Start an agency
Strengthen your book of business.
Maintaining strong client relationships is the key to maximizing your compensation.
People are much more willing to buy from someone they know and trust. Follow up with your clients and use a CRM to document every interaction in order to make sales tracking more efficient. You can sell additional items in your follow-up appointments depending on the time of year and what type of plan your client has. One caveat is that CMS won’t let you sell a product your client hasn’t already agreed to talk about.
Clients who have PDPs and Medigap plans can make changes to their plans or enroll in new plans whenever they want. They don’t have to wait until the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), which is every year from October 15 to December 7. Use that to your advantage in your follow-up calls and appointments. Make sure your clients’ plans fit their current needs, and offer plans with different coverage if they don’t. If your clients make changes to their insurance policies during your meetings, you get the commission.
Your Medicare Advantage clients may have to wait for the AEP to make changes to their existing plans or enroll in new policies, but you still get the commission if clients make changes during your meetings. That makes strong client relationships and following up even more important. A year is enough time to forget about someone, and you want your clients to remember you and the excellent customer service you provide.
Become an independent agent
If you’re currently a captive agent, you aren’t likely receiving the maximum broker commission available due to the support you are getting from your current agency in the form of leads, infrastructure, potentially a base salary and any other combinations of support. This is normal.
However, if you are wanting to take advantage of the maximum broker commissions, then you’ll want to connect with an FMO like Senior Market Advisors and learn the process of becoming an independent agent. Becoming independent will pay you more while at the same time increasing your business expenses that you’re currently getting from your captive agency.
Contact SMA today if you’re interested in becoming an independent agent and getting the maximum broker commissions for Medicare plans.
Start an Agency
The third way to increase your commissions is to start an agency. The current guidelines cap the maximum amount of commission that can be paid to a broker for selling Medicare advantage plans or Medicare prescription drugs plans. However, when you start an agency, you can negotiate with your wholesaler on the override commission that is paid to agencies in return for broker support.
There is a general hierarchy that most companies follow:
- Street level – Maximum broker commission as defined by CMS for any given year.
- General Agent (GA) – Typically one level above street, which in most case is roughly a $25 to $50 override.
- Supervising General Agent (SGA) – Roughly $50-$75
- Managing General Agent (MGA) – Roughly $75-$125
- IMO – $125 and up.
The levels all vary and each company has their own nuance of how they structure overrides as well as the requirements to earn a specific level.
Starting an agency opens up this additional revenue stream and working with an FMO like Senior Market Advisors can help you navigate the various agency commission levels and associated requirements.
How We Help Agents Earn Top Medicare Commissions
At Senior Market Advisors, we give our agents the tools they need to succeed. When you partner with us, you have the opportunity to sell plans from all of the major carriers and maximize your potential to make money. You’ll also gain free access to our proprietary CRM and have an experienced sales and marketing team to help your business grow. Ready to start? Call 1-844-452-5020 or eContract with us today.
