MA-PD and PDP certification

To sell Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) and Prescription Drug (PDP) plans, agents need to complete their America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) certification. Insurers require AHIP certification to ensure that broker and agents are compliant with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines and regulations.

Per CMS guidelines, all independent agents who contact Medicare beneficiaries about MA-PD or PDP products must be trained and tested on Medicare compliance, specific health plan benefits and procedures, and CMS marketing requirements. 

If you were certified last year, you must renew your certification again this year prior to January 1 of the new year in order to receive renewal commission on your active book of business. To sell Blue Shield MA-PD or PDP products, you must be AHIP-certified and Blue Shield product-certified. If you are not certified to sell Blue Shield's MA-PD or PDP plans, we cannot, by law, pay you commissions on that business.

Access the Broker Certification Job Aid (PDF, 6 MB)

Steps to complete your annual AHIP and Blue Shield Product Certification

Note: Agents can email MedicareBroker@blueshieldca.com when experiencing problems with Blue Shield's product certification site or require a password reset. 

Step 1: Complete AHIP certification

1. Log in to the AHIP site through the Blue Shield of California link

2. Complete all certification modules and quizzes. This will include a section on Fraud, Waste, and Abuse.

3. After completing the quiz, transmit your results directly to Blue Shield by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.  Please be aware it may take up to 24 hours for your AHIP score to be loaded to the certification site.

To receive a discounted rate of $125, you must use our AHIP certification link as provided above. You must complete your AHIP certification and transmit your results to Blue Shield before moving on to Step 2.

Step 2: Complete Blue Shield Broker product certification 

1. Access the Medicare Product Online Certification site using the following options:

Blue Shield Broker

If you have a Blue Shield Broker account for your personal NPN (not an agency), log into the Blue Shield Broker portal using your Blue Shield Broker account.

Shield Learns

If you do not have a Blue Shield Broker account, you can log in to the Shield Learns portal. Check your email for a message from Shield Learns for your account information.  Your username is your National Producer Number (NPN).  If you do not have a password, use the "Forgot your password?" option to create a new one.

2. Complete the MA-PD/PDP product certification. You’ll have 4 attempts to pass. To pass, you’ll need a score of 85% or higher.
 

Questions about Blue Shield’s plans

Contact your Broker Sales Manager with questions about our plans.