Medicare Permission To Contact

What Is Medicare Permission To Contact?

Permission to contact is a rule that exists in order to protect existing or new medicare beneficiaries from medicare agents that use unethical marketing tactics. Such unethical tactics have previously made beneficiaries feel as if they were obligated to go with a specific plan all though they did not like the plan.

This is the result of agents swaying medicare beneficiaries towards specific products that pay a higher commission. Leaving Medicare beneficiaries with a plan that does not cover the doctors or hospitals they love.

Ethical agents need medicare beneficiaries express permission to market to them. As a great ethical agent, you must brush up on permission to contact and make sure you are compliant. Doing so provides the best results and clients that keep coming back!

What Does Medicare Permission To Contact Cover?

Medicare beneficiaries will decide how they would like to be contacted whether that may be by phone call, email, direct mail, or the form they prefer most. Medicare beneficiaries also decide the time they would like to be called and what products they want more information on.

There are certain ways to receive permission that are ethical and others that are not.

How Can I Receive Permission To Contact The Right Way?

Agents MUST have permission before they can make marketing calls. There are some marketing strategies that are unethical and there are a few strategies that are ethical to get your medicare clients’ permission. Keep in mind the CMS uses secret shoppers to check in on their agents.

Unethical Practices

• • Making a call about other business just to make leads for Medicare plans
  • Calling clients who have disenrolled or are currently trying to do so
  • Calls to anyone that attended a marketing event unless permission to contact was established there
  • Calls to confirm that mailed information was received unless permission to contact was established
  • Calls made to a Medicare beneficiary that attended a marketing/sales or educational activity or was sent a marketing item through the mail, even if the Medicare beneficiary requested the item.
  • Calling a medicare beneficiary whose contact information was obtained through a purchased lead list or by referral. A referred Medicare beneficiary needs to contact the agent directly.
  • Calls based on referrals

• • Handing out materials or leaving materials in or under front doors or on car windows
  • Approaching individuals in common areas such as parking lots, sidewalks, hallways, or lobbies.

Ethical Practices

• • Contacting Medicare beneficiaries to market educational events
  • Following up with a medicare beneficiary that requested a sales kit
  • Calling Medicare beneficiaries who submitted an online contact form
  • Returning a phone call or message
  • Contacting someone that filled out a business reply card. If there was no phone number provided or if the number is invalid communication by phone is prohibited
  • Existing clients for other product lines such as life insurance, or if they have another medicare plan already with you may be contacted

Beneficiaries can request a return call from a Part D sponsor. Beneficiaries can also ask a customer service representative to have an agent call them.

In all of the ways that the beneficiary can respond, they will be able to specify what programs and plans they want information on. When an agent comes in contact with the medicare beneficiary they may only speak about the programs the client highlighted in the Business Reply Card, email, or phone call.

When does Permission to contact expire

Permission to contact has an expiration date depending on what information the medicare beneficiary is seeking.

For Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plans, permission to contact expires after 9 months. Medicare supplement product lines have a 90-day expiration date.

Permission to contact MUST be established again after it expires even if ongoing contact is intended. The form of contact is also decided by the Medicare beneficiary, whether it is by phone call, email, direct mail, etc.

What About My Current Clients

The only times an agent may contact a client without establishing permission, providing they have proof, are if:

• • Current active contract with another product such as life insurance.
  • An ongoing, active business relationship
  • Agent of record for the beneficiary’s plan they are currently enrolled in

Establishing Permission To Contact Makes You A Better Agent

Establishing permission to contact is an agent’s best practice because it sets them apart from the unethical shady agents that do not comply and send intimidating emails or make unsolicited calls. Permission to contact also sets you up for the next step, scope of appointment forms.

For a more comprehensive overview of Medicare marketing, check out our Medicare Marketing Dos and Don’ts blog post!

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