Agent Reference

Medicare Agent Glossary

The acronyms and terms every new Medicare insurance agent runs into — SOA, RTS, FMO, persistency, and more — in plain English.

Getting started & licensing

Life & Health License: The state insurance license (Life, Accident & Health) that lets you sell the health and life products Medicare work is built on. Issued by your state's Department of Insurance.
AHIP: America's Health Insurance Plans certification — the annual training most carriers require before you can sell Medicare Advantage and Part D. Resets every plan year.
Appointment: A contract authorizing you to sell a specific carrier's products and be paid commissions on them.
RTS (Ready to Sell): The status you reach for a carrier once you've completed AHIP, that carrier's product certification, and your appointment is active.
E&O Insurance: Errors & omissions coverage — professional liability insurance most carriers require before activating your appointment.

The agency relationship

FMO / IMO / NMO: Field/Independent/National Marketing Organization — an entity between agents and carriers that helps with contracting, certification, training, and support, earning an override from carriers.
Upline: The agency or FMO you contract through, which sits 'above' you in the hierarchy and earns overrides on your production.
Release: An upline's permission to move a carrier contract to a different agency. Restrictive release policies can lock you in — check before signing.
Book of Business: The collection of clients whose coverage you service and whose renewals pay you. Independent agents typically own their book.
Captive vs. Independent: A captive agent represents one carrier; an independent agent represents many and usually owns their book.

How you get paid

Initial Commission: The first-year commission a carrier pays when a client enrolls in coverage you sold.
Renewal Commission: The commission a carrier pays each year a client keeps their coverage — the foundation of long-term income.
Override: An amount a carrier pays an FMO/upline on top of the agent's commission for building and supporting distribution.
Persistency: The share of clients who keep their coverage over time. Higher persistency protects renewal income.
Chargeback: When a carrier recoups a commission because a member disenrolls soon after enrolling (rapid disenrollment).

Compliance & the sale

SOA (Scope of Appointment): A required form documenting which product types a beneficiary agreed to discuss, collected before a Medicare sales appointment.
CMS: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — the federal agency that runs Medicare and sets the marketing and enrollment rules agents must follow.
Call Recording: CMS requires certain Medicare marketing and enrollment calls to be recorded and retained.
Creditable Coverage: Coverage (e.g., an employer plan) considered at least as good as Medicare's, which can let someone delay enrollment without a penalty.
Star Ratings: Medicare's 1–5 quality rating of Advantage and Part D plans; a 5-star plan opens a special enrollment window.

Products & enrollment windows

MA (Medicare Advantage): Part C — a private plan alternative to Original Medicare that bundles coverage, usually with a network and often extra benefits.
Medigap (Medicare Supplement): A policy that pairs with Original Medicare to cover cost-sharing; commissions are carrier-set and often persist for years.
PDP (Part D): A standalone prescription drug plan. Commissions are capped by CMS like Medicare Advantage.
AEP / OEP / IEP / SEP: The enrollment windows: Annual (Oct 15–Dec 7), MA Open Enrollment (Jan 1–Mar 31), Initial (around turning 65), and Special (qualifying life events).
T65: 'Turning 65' — people aging into Medicare, a steady, predictable source of new business year-round.
LIS / Extra Help: The Low-Income Subsidy that helps pay Part D costs for people with limited income and resources.

Learning the ropes?

We mentor new agents through all of this — the terms, the products, and the first client conversations. See how joining our team works.