Important CMS changes for 2023

At Carepartners of Connecticut, we want to make sure you have the information you need. Recently the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made several changes for the upcoming Medicare Annual Election Period (AEP).

New changes beginning 10/1/2022:

• Within the first minute of every sales call and prominently displayed on websites and marketing materials – the following disclaimer needs to be stated: 
• “We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we offer in your area. Please contact Medciare.gov or 1-800-Medicare to get information on all of your options.”
• Recording calls - Calls with beneficiaries need to be recorded in their entirety, including the enrollment process.

Don’t forget - CMS rules still currently required:

• No cold calling - you need “permission to call” by response from the prospective member
• No unsolicited contacts - such as leaving flyers on cars, approaching Medicare beneficiaries, phone calls, and text messages
• Permissible outreach -includes emails with an “opt out” feature, direct mail, and print advertisements. 
• Marketing materials with plan specific information -such as benefits, premiums, star ratings, etc. must be approved by CMS through the Marketing Dept.
• Permission to follow up- To follow up after an event you must have documented permission for follow-up, otherwise follow up is prohibited.

You can review the CMS Marketing Guidelines by using this link:  Medicare Marketing Guidelines 

Additional changes
In addition, you’ll see changes to the Medicare Advantage application. CMS now requires race and ethnicity be included.  The beneficiary can answer these fields or decline providing this information. If they decline the field must still be completed, indicating they did not answer.