August 28, 2020 admin

AHIP Certification 2021: What’s Involved

Are you ready to sell Medicare plans during the next annual election period? If you haven’t completed your AHIP certification this year, you’re not. Here’s what agents need to know about AHIP certification to sell Medicare for plan year 2021.

What Is AHIP?

AHIP, which is short for America’s Health Insurance Plans, is a national association for members who provide health coverage and health-related services. Among other things, AHIP provides training and certification, including the Medicare and Fraud, Waste and Abuse training.

Why Do I Need AHIP Certification for 2021?

Most insurance carriers require agents to obtain AHIP certification before they can sell plans. Carriers may require additional training that is specific to the carrier as well.

AHIP certification needs to be completed each year, so don’t think you can get out of it this time just because you’ve done it before. Although your familiarity with the subject should make the process easier, there may be updates and changes to Medicare’s rules, so it’s important to review the training material carefully. This is also a good opportunity to brush up on your knowledge ahead of AEP and to make sure you haven’t forgotten or misremembered anything.

When Should I Complete AHIP Certification?

The 2021 AHIP training season began on June 22, 2020.  If you haven’t done so already, you can get started on your training and certification process immediately.

Don’t delay. To make sure you’re ready to sell, you’ll need to have your certification completed before AEP begins on October 15. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll be done and ready to sell. 

What Does AHIP Training Cover?

AHIP training covers two sections: Medicare and Fraud, Waste and Abuse.

• Medicare training includes the basics of Medicare fee-for-service eligibility and benefits; different types of Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans; eligibility and coverage; nondiscrimination; and marketing and enrollment under the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D requirements.
• Fraud, Waste and Abuse training includes how to identity fraud, waste and abuse; industry efforts to detect fraud; legal tools to combat fraud; the human and financial cost of fraud, waste and abuse; compliance requirements; who commits fraud, waste and abuse; and reporting fraud, waste and abuse.

How Can I Get Certified?

Before you can receive AHIP certification, you’ll need to complete the AHIP training and pass the test.

• You can get started by registering with AHIP or logging into your current AHIP account. You may also be able to log in through a carrier’s portal.  
• The AHIP training includes five modules on Medicare. Review all five modules and answer the practice questions that go with each module.
• Finally, you’ll need to pass the AHIP test in order to prove your Medicare knowledge and earn your AHIP certification.

What Is the Test Like?

Here are a few key things to know about the AHIP test.

• It’s a timed test. You will only have two hours to complete it.
• It’s a multiple-choice test.
• It contains 50 questions.
• It’s an open book test. You will be able to look up information and verify your answers.
• It costs $175. You may be able to get a discount by taking it through a carrier.
• You take the test online.
• You need to get at least 90% of the questions right to pass.

How Can I Pass the AHIP?

Before you can earn an income this AEP, you need to pass the AHIP test and get your certification. Here are some tips to help you with the test.

• Do the math. There are 50 questions, and you need a score of 90% or higher. That means you need to get at least 45 questions right. There’s a little room for error, but not much. If you get more than five questions wrong, you’ll fail the test.
• Pace yourself. You have two hours to answer 50 questions. That gives you an average of 2.4 minutes to answer each question. Although some questions might require more or less time, you don’t want to waste a ton of time on a single question when you have more questions to answer. You also don’t want to rush through questions without reading them carefully. Avoid making careless mistakes by reading every question – including all of the answer choices – thoroughly before making a selection.
• Study. The test is open book, but this doesn’t mean you don’t need to study. Because the test has a two-hour limit, you won’t have enough time to learn all of the material during the test, and you’ll have a hard time finding the information you need quickly if you’re not already very familiar with the material. Before you take the test, make sure you’ve reviewed all of the material and can answer all of the practice questions accurately and confidently.
• Get organized. Although you should know the material very well before you take the test, you might need to look up a few things during the test. It’s an open book test, so this is allowed, and because you need to get a 90% score or higher to pass, it’s probably smart to verify your answers whenever you have any doubt. If you want to consult the training modules during your test, you should download them and have them up on a separate window or screen. (If you have access to two computers, you can take the test on one computer and have the modules up on the other computer. Otherwise, you can use one computer with different windows or a split screen.) You can also take additional notes as you study and use these during the test. The more organized your notes are, the better. This is a good time to break out the highlighters and color code your notes.
• Get focused. You have an average of 2.4 minutes to answer each question, but that’s assuming you spend the entire two hours allotted for the test actually focused on the test. If you get up to use the bathroom, make yourself a snack, get a drink, answer a text, chat with your spouse, let the dog out, or any number of other things, the time you have for the test can go down quickly. Make sure you have at least two hours of uninterrupted time. Tell everyone you’ll be unavailable, turn off your phone, make yourself comfortable and get to work.

What Happens if I Fail?

Tests make a lot of people nervous, and the AHIP’s high stakes can make it especially stress-inducing. Your ability to earn an income depends on this test, so it’s understandable if you’re worried about failing.

The good news is that you can get a second chance. If you fail the test, you can take it again. Hopefully, this fact will remove some test anxiety.

But don’t get too relaxed. Although you can retake the test, carriers might not allow you to sell their plans if you fail too many times. Also, you have a deadline to keep in mind. If you haven’t gotten your AHIP certification by the time AEP starts, you won’t be ready to sell plans.

• Get started ASAP. You want to give yourself enough time to study the training material before you take the test. You should also plan to take the test early so you’ll have plenty of time to get going with your carriers ahead of AEP, and so you can retake the test if you need to. Don’t delay. If you haven’t already registered with AHIP, do so immediately, and start reviewing those training modules right away.
• Figure out what when wrong. If you fail the test once, figure out why. Were you feeling unwell that day? Was something distracting you? Did you simply not know the material well enough? Once you’ve identified the problem, find a way to address it before you make another attempt to pass the test.

Many carriers offer AHIP certification discounts. If you haven’t already done so, get contracted with Legends United and then log in to our Agent Portal to learn more about AHIP discounts available to you.