How Do Agencies/Agents Get Paid?
TL:DR (AKA Too Long, Didn’t Read. As the kids say!)
Brokers/Brokerages don’t get paid a commission in the traditional sense, we get an enrollment fee from the insurance company.
No one should be charging you personally for meetings or services in regards to Medicare.
It happens a lot. We meet with someone, in person or via phone, and they ask “do we pay you now?”, “do I owe you for this?”, “how do you get paid?”. Our answer is always, no. As should it be for every broker you meet with or talk to. CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) sets the commission rate. There is an initial enrollment fee and then a renewal fee. I have seen articles written and news pieces ran about agents or brokerages getting you to change plans because they make more money. Sadly for us, that is not the case. You can Google it, use AI, however you would like to confirm what I am saying, you will read (from credible sources or even CMS themselves) the commission structure is the same. Are there some random nuances where a brokerage that does so much volume may make a little more, sure. All in all it is not like traditional insurance where the agents get paid off the premium. We get paid for initially enrolling you and as long as that policy stays enforced, we get a monthly renewal the following year. No one is getting rich quick off of Medicare sales, so the best thing, as I always say, is to speak with a local broker who has contracts with all the plans in your area, so you can get an unbiased professional opinion. If they tell you this company or that company, I promise legally speaking, they have no incentive to steer you one way or another.
