As a licensed Medicare agent, you know that Special Needs Plans (SNPs) have the potential to create year-round selling opportunities outside of AEP and OEP. This includes Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) for those who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. On May 11, 2023, the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency will end, creating a unique situation for D-SNP enrollees who may no longer qualify for Medicaid.

The COVID-19 public health emergency may be ending soon. When this happens, many people are likely to lose their Medicaid coverage. For millions of dually eligible Medicare enrollees, this could mean new renewal requirements and may necessitate a plan switch.

As the Arizona reopening benchmarks develop, Western Asset Protection is taking all the safety precautions and steps to prepare for a return to the recently remodeled, new WAP office. We are assessing the situation and will continue to follow the state guidelines as well as take precautions to keep our employees, agents, agencies and partners safe. 

The COVID-19 vaccine is here – but not everyone can get it just yet. The supply is limited, and this means that some people will have to wait a while before they can be vaccinated. The CDC has issued guidelines for prioritizing access, but states are in charge of distribution, so where you live will have an impact on when you can get the vaccine.

• The WAP Team is proceeding with caution, and we are not ready to re-open our physical doors quite yet. For now, we will continue to serve our agent partners from remote home offices.
  We want to reassure our agents, agencies and partners that WAP is fully staffed and continues to conduct business without disruption to customer support; including sales, contracting, licensing, and enrollments and commission processing. 
• For the time being, agents will not have access to our facilities. We are assessing the situation and will continue to follow the state guidelines as well as take precautions to keep our employees, agents, agencies and partners safe. 

Western Asset Protection is dedicated to keeping the agent community and our senior community safe during this COVID-19 crisis, especially when it comes to compliance. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of misinformation and confusion surrounding COVID-19. We have been working closely with our compliance partners to stay up to date on any and all changes in our industry as information is released from Capitol Hill, CMS, FEMA and the Department of Insurance.

Are your clients worried that they might have been exposed to the coronavirus? Medicare provides coverage for COVID-19 testing. Here’s how it works.