The lock-in period is here, and just because it’s not the “busy season,” doesn’t mean you can’t stay busy! You can keep sales and commission coming in by shifting your focus from the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) to selling Medicare Advantage Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs).
Selling these Medicare and Medicaid dual plans have a lot of benefits like diversifying your portfolio, serving an underserved market, and opening a door to earning more commission. You can learn all about D-SNPs and how to sell them in our guide for beginners. In this post, we’re covering how to smoothly transition from working AEP to selling D-SNPs year-round.
Get Educated
Know the differences between HIDE, FIDE, and CO D-SNPs? If you’re new to D-SNP sales or want a refresher, the best action to take first is to educate yourself on this nuanced product, including D-SNP eligibility, D-SNP enrollment periods, and plan types.
Here are some great resources to start with:
- The Beginner’s Guide to D-SNPs
- Changes to Medicare in 2025 Affect Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans
- Knight School Understanding Special Needs Plans module
KFF and Milliman are also useful places to visit and learn about recent D-SNP enrollment trends and growth.
Additionally, don’t forget to register with Ritter to receive information on upcoming D-SNP trainings, webinars, and events!
Check Your Portfolio & Contracts
You can’t sell D-SNPs without any D-SNP contracts with carriers that offer them! It’s better now than ever to peek into your portfolio and see, 1) if you’re currently offering any D-SNPs, and 2) if you could be selling additional D-SNPs.
More and more carriers enter this market each year, meaning there might be new plans that you haven’t considered contracting to sell yet. And they could be really competitive in your market!
In total, there are 909 D-SNPs available to shoppers throughout the country in 2025!
In fact, the number of plans and carriers in the D-SNP Medicare market keeps increasing year over year. In total, there are 909 D-SNPs available to shoppers throughout the country in 2025, up from 851 in 2024!
Ready to update your portfolio?
First, request a free portfolio review from a Ritter sales specialist to learn which carriers offer competitive D-SNPs in your area.
Then, contract easily for D-SNPs through Ritter’s Contract Now! You must register with Ritter’s site first and speak with your sales specialist to activate Contract Now. If you’re already a Ritter agent using Contract Now, simply log in and visit the Contracts tab to find available D-SNPs.
Change the Way You Prospect
Prospecting for D-SNP clients is different than prospecting for other Medicare Advantage clients. Generally, you probably prospect for other Medicare clients by letting them come to you during AEP or when they turn 65. You may send out lead cards or mailers and work leads from your own CMS-compliant, lead-generating PlanEnroll website. With D-SNP prospects, you have to go where D-SNP prospects go and form relationships.
Consider hanging flyers/business cards, setting up a table and booth, volunteering, or forming partnerships at the following locations:
- Dollar and discount stores
- Thrift shops and flea markets
- Food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens
- Utility assistance locations
- Churches or other faith-based organizations
- Areas with low-income housing and senior centers and communities
- Community events at parks
If you couldn’t tell, community involvement is a key factor in D-SNP prospecting, in addition to recognizing that people who qualify for D-SNPs have lower incomes. (They need to be on Medicaid and Medicare to qualify for a plan.) But, there are some other characteristics of these clients to keep in mind as well. The following individuals could also be prime D-SNP prospects.
- Individuals who have been auto-enrolled in a PDP
- People who are on Medicaid or who had Medicaid and lost it (may be eligible again)
- MA beneficiaries who are eligible for the Part D low-income subsidy
Note: Be sure to follow all CMS Medicare Advantage & Part D Communication Requirements when prospecting for D-SNP clients!
If you couldn’t tell, community involvement is key to D-SNP prospecting!
Change the Way You Sell
D-SNPs can be a tricky product to work with because people who qualify for them could possibly join or switch plans every month with an integrated-care Special Enrollment Period (if they and the D-SNP meet certain stipulations). That’s not saying everyone who qualifies for, or is enrolled in, a D-SNP does this, but it is saying there’s a chance your client could be swayed into a new D-SNP by another agent if you’re not careful. In order to best retain D-SNP clients, you definitely need to sell like your client is the renewal.
After you make a sale, don’t think that your work is done because it’s not. You have to build and maintain a relationship with these clients, and relationships of any kind take work.
Be sure to educate your clients and follow up with them every six months or so, maybe even every calendar quarter, if you’re concerned that you’ll lose them. Make yourself readily available to answer questions or help your clients with their coverage when they need it. This will all go a long way toward building trust and client loyalty.
D-SNPs are a type of Medicare Advantage product that can be sold year-round, making them a marvelous product for Medicare agents to sell during the lock-in period. You likely already have the knowledge to sell them; we hope this post gives you the know-how to make the switch!
Besides offering portfolio reviews and online contracting, Ritter partners with agents like you to grow their businesses with sales technology, personalized support, and educational resources and events. Register with us for free to unlock all we have to offer!
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.
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