On Episode 129 of the Agent Boost Podcast, Dan and Mike sit down with Tyler Rees and Josh Benson, longtime friends and business partners who built one of the fastest growing Medicare FMOs in the country before selling it to Humana.

Tyler and Josh trace their path back to central Pennsylvania, where they started out selling final expense insurance door to door, eventually founding Innovative Financial Group (IFG), scaling it to over $125 million in final expense premium and $300 million in annuities, then pivoting hard into Medicare in 2020. That pivot took them from 4,500 apps their first AEP to more than 25,000 the next year, and eventually to an 18 month acquisition process that ended with Humana buying the company in 2022.

The second half of the conversation shifts to what Tyler and Josh are building now: EnrollHere, an insurance technology platform designed to solve the industry's biggest blind spot, siloed data and a total lack of accountability in lead generation and marketing. They break down how EnrollHere's call control and compliance scoring tools have helped partners cut cost per acquisition in half, why they see themselves as a neutral "Switzerland" in the distribution world rather than a competitor, and the audit framework they're building to finally hold publishers and marketers to the same standard agents and agencies already face.

They also get into the mechanics most people never see: how hierarchy actually works when one agent reports to multiple upline agencies, why lifetime value varies so wildly between partners, and why they believe cracking Medicare Advantage is the hardest and most valuable problem in the industry to solve. It's a candid look at building, selling, and rebuilding in a space that rewards the operators willing to actually understand the data.

***Chapters***

00:00 Welcome & Introducing Tyler Rees and Josh Benson

01:19 Childhood Friends Turned Business Partners in Insurance

04:58 Splitting Paths - Corporate Detour vs. Going Independent

06:03 The Cold-Call Trick That Built a 400-Agent Team

09:17 Founding IFG and Buying Out the Business11:33 The Pivot to Medicare & a Massive First AEP

14:35 The Call From Humana & an 18-Month Diligence Process

17:31 Scaling Post-Acquisition, the Walmart Deal & Stepping Away

23:56 Why They Built EnrollHere - Solving Insurance's Data Problem

28:51 Staying "Switzerland" & Building the MVP With Niko and Tim

34:06 The Call Center Breakthrough - Cutting CPAs in Half

38:08 Why Data Beats Gut Feel on Lead Quality

40:01 The Marketing Accountability Gap in Medicare

44:02 Spoofed Numbers, Dupe Routing & Bad Actor Tactics

48:01 Building a Compliance Audit Standard for Publishers

53:08 Is Telesales Dead? Why Phone Enrollment Still Matters

54:23 Shared Visibility & the End of "Pay and Pray"

59:43 What the Lifetime Value Data Actually Shows

1:02:12 Beyond Medicare - ACA, Final Expense & Attachment Rates

1:06:22 Cracking Hierarchy - EnrollHere's Core Advantage & Wrap Up

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On Episode 128 of the Agent Boost Podcast, Mike sits down with longtime agent and agency owner Riley Garner for a conversation that starts personal and ends up being a masterclass in why experience, both lived and professional, is what actually builds trust in healthcare.

Riley opens up about his son's sudden health crisis: a routine day swimming in the Virgin River turned into E. coli, then Shiga toxin, then HUS, then dialysis at Primary Children's Hospital. As a licensed agent himself, Riley walks through what it's actually like to be on the other side of the desk, dealing with ACA coverage through Molina, life flight bills, a denied ambulance claim, and the appeals process, and how even industry veterans get surprised by their own EOBs.

It's a real time case study in why insurance gets a bad rap until the day you actually need it, and why agents who've lived through a claim fight understand something no training manual can teach.

From there, the episode traces Riley's full arc in the business: Chick fil A to personal trainer to a last minute Medicare license earned three days before the deadline, into Connection Point, then Go Health during the 700 enrollments a season era, through the Covid era collapse of the big box telesales shops, and into the hybrid field and digital model that Dan and Mike built out of that chaos. Riley became a team lead, grew the WellCare book, moved to Tampa to build out that market, and has now come full circle, opening his own agency, Health Plan Assistance, in St. George, Utah, combining phone, virtual, and face to face enrollment under one roof.

Mike and Riley make the case that this hybrid, trust first model is exactly where the industry is headed, and Riley's path is a live example of what building it the right way looks like.

If you're an agent thinking about going independent, opening a physical office, or just want a real story about what insurance means when it's your own family on the line, this episode is essential listening.

**Chapters**

00:00 Welcome & Introducing Riley Garner

02:15 Riley's Son's Health Crisis: E. coli, HUS & Primary Children's Hospital

05:11 Riley's Own ACA Coverage and the Molina Bills

10:21 Why Even Agents Struggle to Understand Their Own EOBs

12:40 Chick fil A, Meeting His Wife & Getting Licensed in 3 Days

16:04 Utah as a Medicare Call Center Hub & the Old War Hero Era

19:34 How Big Box Telesales Went Off the Rails

24:13 The Two Types of Telesales Agents & Becoming a Team Lead

26:55 Growing the WellCare Team & Moving to Tampa

30:14 Building Health Plan Assistance in St. George

33:08 Why Face to Face Is Making a Comeback

36:42 Riley's 5 Year Vision & How to Reach Him

40:34 Wrap Up

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In Episode 127 of the Agent Boost Podcast, Dan and Mike open with a "week of survival" tone. AEP certifications are dropping, the agent force is demoralized, and the industry feels like it's in a constant state of flux. On a lighter note, both of their sons got licensed this week, a small but meaningful signal that the business still has a future for those who approach it the right way.

The centerpiece of this episode is a raw, unfiltered breakdown of why the telesales model in Medicare is dying, and why it's happening from three directions at once. Regulatory pressure has systematically outlawed nearly every outbound marketing mechanism, leaving consumer-generated inbound calls as the last legal lane. Even that lane is compromised, as lead generators routinely run unapproved URLs behind a single CMS-submitted site, meaning almost none of them are truly compliant. The 1-to-1 marketing rules that were supposed to clean up the industry have instead choked off the lead supply entirely.

Carriers are finishing the job. They've made clear they prefer local, field-written business over phone enrollments, and they're backing it up with 100% call audits on telesales, requiring human review (not AI), and forcing agencies to write up agents even when the consumer never complained. It's a Salem witch trial environment, and field agents are held to zero equivalent standard. The agents getting burned are often the best ones left, the ones who survived 4+ years without a termination, while 2.5 to 4.5 million Medicare Advantage members are expected to be displaced this AEP with fewer and fewer agents available to help them.

Dan and Mike also make a strong case for why FMV commissions are actually a bargain for carriers. When you pay an agent, you're not just paying for a sale. You're paying for acquisition, ongoing customer service, and retention, all bundled into one nominal fee. Carriers cutting brokers out of the equation will have to replace all three components with internal infrastructure, and they won't save money doing it.

The episode closes with a timely breakdown of the Walmart retail program for 2027, covering tiered A/B/C stores, first right of refusal for agents in good standing, and cost-sharing through FMOs. Both hosts are bullish on retail as the landing spot for displaced telesales agents, and they urge agents not to wait until September. Stores will be gone before AEP kicks off.

If you're a telesales agent wondering where to land this cycle, an agency owner trying to understand why the economics stopped making sense, or a field agent who wants to know what the carriers are actually thinking, this episode is essential listening.

***Chapters***

00:00 Welcome & Week of Survival — Both Sons Get Licensed

01:09 The State of the Industry Going Into AEP Certifications

04:29 Why Everything Is Changing Faster Than Ever Before

07:29 Telesales Is Dead — Setting Up the Core Argument

09:55 How 1-to-1 Marketing Rules Choked Off the Lead Supply

13:21 The Lead Generator Problem — Noncompliant URLs and the Washing Machine

19:51 The Economics of Telesales Are Broken — CPA vs. LTV Explained

24:54 "The Juice Isn't Worth the Squeeze" — The Math No One Wants to Do

27:52 Carriers Don't Want the Business — And They're Showing It

33:31 Salem Witch Trials — Carrier Crackdowns on Phone Enrollments

38:16 Carriers Are Turtling — What That Means for Distribution

41:14 The Warning for Displaced Telesales Agents — There's Nowhere Left to Hop

42:05 War Hero or War Criminal? Why 700 Enrollments Is No Longer a Badge of Honor

43:34 The FMV Argument — What Carriers Actually Get for That Commission

49:40 Walmart 2027 — Tiers, First Right of Refusal, and the Retail Opportunity

57:27 Wrap Up & Final Thoughts

In Episode 126 of the Agent Boost Podcast, Mike sits down with his best friend and fellow agency owner Seth Cottle, founder of Alchemy Health Plans, for a candid conversation about what it actually takes to build a thriving insurance agency in one of the most challenging markets the industry has ever seen.

Seth spent years working at Comcast while quietly building his book of business on nights and weekends before going all in on insurance. He shares exactly how he made that transition, why it worked when it doesn't work for most agents, and how that same work ethic became the foundation for everything he teaches his agents at Alchemy today.

This episode goes deep on the concept of the diverse, dynamic agent, why you can no longer survive as a Medicare-only or ACA-only agent, how to properly layer products without overwhelming your team, and why the agencies that built their entire book around one product line are the ones getting wiped out right now. Seth and Mike also break down income-producing activities, the real reason agents lose momentum and leave the industry, and what a new agent's first 90 days should actually look like.

If you're a new agent trying to shortcut your path to success, a seasoned broker looking to diversify, or an agency owner trying to build something that lasts this episode is essential listening.

**Chapters**

00:00 Welcome & Introducing Seth Cottle of Alchemy Health Plans

01:06 How Mike & Seth Met & Seth's Path from Comcast to Agency Owner

06:11 Building on the Side First — The Right Way to Make the Jump

10:03 Income-Producing Activities — What Actually Moves the Needle

12:39 The Hoodie Agent — How One Part-Timer Outsold Everyone

15:44 You Can't Be a One-Trick Pony — Diversification Is Survival

20:02 How Seth Layers Products & Trains Agents from Day One

27:48 Agency Value & Why Diversification Determines What You're Worth

33:55 Medicare Advantage Benefits Are Drying Up — The Ancillary Opportunity Is Now

35:08 Seth's Advice for New Agents — Burn the Boats & Go All In

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In Episode 125 of the Agent Boost Podcast, Mike sits down with Jeff, who just returned from the CMS Annual Marketplace Meeting in Baltimore, to break down everything brokers and agents need to know heading into this fall's open enrollment season.

This episode covers the real state of ACA in 2025, from what CMS leadership actually thinks about brokers, to breaking news about the three-way call finally going away, to a full carrier-by-carrier forecast for the coming open enrollment. Jeff shares firsthand intel from inside the CMS building, including what was discussed at the large agency roundtable that rarely gets talked about publicly. Mike adds his predictions on which ACA carriers are going big, why bronze plans and HSAs are about to become dominant, and why he believes the ACA market won't truly stabilize until 2028.

The conversation also digs into the very real pressure brokers are facing, overlapping Medicare AE and ACA OE deadlines, new consent form regulations, 75% QLE verification requirements, and the ongoing question of whether big tech is trying to eliminate brokers altogether. Plus, Dan and Jeff break down why 50% of agents have left the industry over the past two years and the two types of agents who are already gone.

If you're an ACA agent, a Medicare broker trying to cross-train, or an agency owner trying to set your team up for the most challenging open enrollment in years, this episode is essential listening.

**Chapters**00:00 Welcome & CMS Meeting Overview

00:33 Inside the CMS Building in Baltimore

03:31 ICHRA Update — Why It Still Isn't Working

07:34 Dan's Canada Healthcare Story & What It Reveals About ICHRA09:14 Jeff's AI Panel at CMS — HIPAA, ChatGPT & What's Allowed

12:01 Is CMS Trying to Eliminate Brokers?

15:07 CMS Leadership Is Pro-Broker — Here's What They Actually Said

17:18 Fraud vs. Real Brokers — Why They Keep Getting Lumped Together

19:00 2.8 Million Ghost Enrollments & $20 Billion in Fraud Cleaned Up

22:22 Large Agency Day — The NPN Problem Nobody Is Solving Fast Enough

24:45 BREAKING: The Three-Way Call Is Going Away Before Open Enrollment

27:51 Open Enrollment Shortened to Nov 1–Dec 31 (And Why That's a Problem)

29:31 Medicare AE and ACA OE Running at the Same Time

32:35 Mike: 50%+ of ACA Clients May Need a New Plan This Fall

33:06 Bronze Plans & HSAs Are About to Explode — Here's Why

33:50 75% QLE Verification — What It Means for Your Book of Business

34:41 The Utah AI Data Center Story (Kevin O'Leary vs. All of Utah)

38:16 ACA Was the Wild Wild West — How Far We've Come

39:06 New CMS Consent Form Rules Coming — What You Need to Know

40:45 What Every Broker Should Be Doing Right Now Before OE

42:30 Go Health Files Chapter 11 — The End of the Churn & Burn Era

44:08 Why You Need the Right FMO Heading Into This Open Enrollment

47:48 Carrier Predictions: Oscar, Ambetter, United, CSSC & Who's Out

50:27 Short-Term Medical Growth & When the ACA Market Finally Stabilizes

51:49 50% of Agents Have Left the Industry — Who's Gone and Why

54:26 ACA Spammers & Bad Actors Getting Eliminated

55:01 Final Thoughts & What's Coming for Agent Boost

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In Episode 124 of the Agent Boost Podcast, Dan and Mike sit down with Nate Brown, National Vice President of Sales at Agent Boost, to talk about what actually makes great Medicare agents stand out in today’s market.

This episode dives into leadership, relationship-building, training, diversification, compliance pressure, and why the insurance industry is becoming harder for average agents to survive in. Nate shares lessons from years in the field, what younger agents are missing, and why long-term trust still matters more than flashy marketing or shortcuts.

The conversation also covers how the Medicare industry is evolving, the increasing pressure agents are facing, and why the next generation of successful brokers will need to become more dynamic, adaptable, and relationship-focused than ever before.

If you're building an insurance business, growing an agency, or trying to become a better producer, this episode is packed with practical insights and honest conversations about what it takes to win long term.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome Back & Introducing Nate Brown

01:19 Nate Brown Joins Agent Boost

03:42 Building Relationships in Medicare Sales

06:18 Why Old School Agents Still Win

09:11 The Difference Between Great Agents & Average Agents

12:44 Training, Leadership & Building Better Teams

16:30 What’s Changed in Medicare Sales

20:12 The Industry Is Getting Harder

24:08 Why Diversification Matters More Than Ever

28:40 Compliance, Pressure & Industry Challenges

33:17 What Younger Agents Need To Understand

38:22 Building Trust With Clients Long Term

43:10 Why Relationships Still Matter Most

48:36 The Future of Medicare Agents

53:02 Final Thoughts & Advice For Agents

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Devoted Health CEO, Ed Park on Building a Different Kind of Medicare Advantage Plan | Agent Boost Podcast live from Medicarians 2026 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, the Agent Boost Podcast sits down with the CEO of Devoted Health for a powerful conversation on growth, trust, broker partnerships, and what it takes to build a healthcare company differently.

In this episode, we talk about Devoted crossing 500,000 members, expanding into 29 states, and moving from a regional player to a national Medicare Advantage organization. We also dig into what makes Devoted’s model different, including its member-first mission, virtual care model, concierge-style support, broker relationships, and focus on improving the health and lives of American seniors.

The conversation covers healthcare waste, preventive care, GLP-1s, food and health data, broker trust, commission concerns, future expansion, and why Devoted believes the future of Medicare Advantage depends on better care, not just better benefits.

https://www.devoted.com/

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction from Medicarians 2026

00:35 Meet Devoted Health CEO Ed Park

01:15 Broker feedback and the energy at Medicarians

03:10 Why Devoted is standing out in a challenging market

04:40 Devoted reaches 500,000 members

05:30 Why the 500K member milestone matters

06:35 Maintaining service while scaling fast

07:45 Devoted’s mission and “prime directive”

09:10 Why Devoted was built differently from the start

11:20 Athenahealth, healthcare payment models, and the origin story

13:15 Building an alternate universe healthcare system

15:05 Organic growth vs acquisition growth

17:00 Working with family and building with purpose

19:00 The hardest decision in building Devoted

21:15 What’s next for Devoted

23:00 Building trust with brokers and members

25:20 Why Devoted remains optimistic in a tough funding environment

27:45 Healthcare waste and preventable hospitalizations

30:00 GLP-1s, seniors, muscle loss, and unintended consequences

32:20 Food, health data, and better member outcomes

34:00 Weathering margin compression through the care model

36:00 Agents as the tip of the spear

38:30 Broker relationships, commissions, and long-term partnership

41:00 Devoted’s future goals and “virtual blue zone” vision

43:20 Final thoughts and appreciation for agents

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Recorded live on the floor at Medicarians Vegas 2026, Dan and Mike sit down with Jay Weintraub, the founder and driving force behind Medicarians, the industry's premier annual conference that has grown from 1,100 attendees to over 5,500 in just five years.

Jay pulls back the curtain on how Medicarians got started, what it was like buying a struggling conference and nearly getting it wrong, and what it actually takes to build a show that serves agents, carriers, IMOs, and vendors all under one roof. He shares the honest story of early mistakes, the feedback that shaped the event, and why getting the right people in the room changed everything.

Dan and Mike also dig into how to maximize your time at a show like this, what agents should be trying to accomplish before they ever set foot on the floor, why Medicarians moved to Caesars Palace for 2027, and what Jay sees for the future of the event and the industry.

If you've ever attended Medicarians or wondered what goes into building something like it, this is the episode.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome – Live from Medicarians Vegas 2026 & Introducing Jay Weintraub

00:56 How Medicarians Got Started & The Origin Story

03:15 Why Medicare Needed a Trade Show & Early Mistakes

05:13 What Was Missing – Getting Agents in the Room

06:38 Building a Neutral Platform That Works for Everyone

07:48 Taking Feedback & How the Show Evolved

09:07 Is the Medicare Industry More Complex Than Others?

10:14 Selling Leeds Con & Staying in the Events Business

11:32 Insurtech, Venture Capital & How Jay's Career Led to Medicarians

13:26 Serving Agents, IMOs, Carriers and Vendors Under One Roof

15:03 How ACA and Life Got Added to the Agenda

16:08 What Most People Don't Know About Running a Live Event

18:04 How to Prepare and Maximize Your Time at Medicarians

21:18 The Two Shows Inside Medicarians – Agent Track vs. High Level Meetings

22:37 Growth Goals & Where Medicarians Is Headed

24:04 Why Medicarians Moves to Caesars Palace for 2027

27:18 The Hardest Part & The Most Rewarding Moment

28:25 The Real Cost of Running an Event in Vegas

29:11 How Jay Curates Content and Tracks for Every Attendee

31:25 Closing – Why You Should Attend Medicarians 2027

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