Selling Medicare Plans in Wichita and Sedgwick County
Wichita poses enormous opportunities for licensed agents who are contracted to sell Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplements. In 2018, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that in the state of Kansas, 450,288 people had Original Medicare, but only 82,931 people had Medicare Advantage. And yet, Wichita has a 16.9% poverty rating and Kansas has one of the lowest health ratings in the country.
The State of Health in Sedgwick County, KS
In 2013, the Kansas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey said that over 40% of Sedgwick County residents felt that their physical or mental health kept them from ordinary activities.
Additionally, Sedgwick County’s health outcomes rating in 2017 was 69th out of 105 Kansas counties. Considering that the county seat of Wichita is also the most populous city in Kansas, that means that a lot of people are not receiving the health outcomes they need.
The same report found that 17% of Sedgwick County residents were uninsured (about 85,000 people) and that 13% of adults avoided the doctor due to costs. This was largely due to a low socio-economic status and unhelpful environmental factors.
The website KansasHealthMatters is reporting on goals to fix these problems. Their goal for Sedgwick County is to have:
- 100% of residents insured by 2020
- 20.1% of adults performing adequate physical activity (up from 18.4% in 2017)
- Reduce the obesity score from 33.8% in 2017 to 30.5% in 2020
- Reduce the amount of adults with high cholesterol from 37.9% in 2017 to 13.5% in 2020
- Reduce the amount of adults with hypertension from 34.6% in 2017 to 26.9% in 2020
- And more that you can view here.
Popular Medicare Benefits in 2020 for Wichita, KS
In Sedgwick County in 2017,
- Only 55.6% of adults received their flu shot
- 19.2% of adults smoked cigarettes
- 11.5% of adults had diagnosed diabetes
- 166.1 out of 100,000 people died of heart disease
- 37.9% of adults had high cholesterol
- 34.6% of adults had diagnosed hypertension
Those are just some of the major health concerns cited in Sedgwick county, but it tells us what a large portion of the population needs.
From this information, we can hypothesize that plans with benefits like flu vaccines, smoking cessation, and care management for diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and hypertension are likely going to be necessary and popular.
Contract with As Many Plans as Possible
To be fully prepared to sell Medicare plans in Wichita, it’s important to contract and certify with as many plans as you can before AEP. The ability to offer your clients a variety of options can be a game-changer for your appointments.
Senior Market Advisors makes it easy. Our digital contracting system allows you to contract with a variety of carriers all at one time. Plus, when you enter your NPN, some of your information will be populated for you, saving you tons of time.
We also offer our agents benefits like a free lead management system, online sales training, a custom quote engine, and top-tier commissions.
Contracting with Senior Market Advisors (and all of the available carriers in Wichita) means you’ll have the marketing support you need to succeed in a competitive market.
