Regulators Must ACT NOW! To Pause Medicare Marketing Rule
Guest columnist Janet Trautwein
The annual Medicare enrollment period began on October 15th. Therefore, it is impossible to miss the advertisements of celebrities promoting Medicare Advantage plans for the elderly.
Advocate Joe Namath tells older people they can get additional Medicare benefits by calling 1-800. Actor Jimmy Walker suggests calling them: now. - to check if they are suitable for applications that may be Dyn-O-Mite. William Shatner encourages older people to get the benefits they deserve.
Advertising is seductive and sometimes deceptive. In response to growing complaints about Medicare advertising and other marketing tactics, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently introduced stricter requirements for companies that advertise on behalf of Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans.
More control is needed. But new CMS marketing rules could ultimately limit older people's access to licensed, Medicare-approved independent agents and brokers who can help them enroll. The Department of Health and Human Services should repeal the new rules.
Convincing older people to sign up for Medicare Advantage, a private alternative to traditional Medicare and prescription drug benefits, is a big deal.
Sometimes older people don't realize that their current doctor isn't part of a new plan or that the extra "benefits they deserve" isn't available in their area until they enroll.
The elders were clearly disappointed. Last year, CMS received over 41,000 consumer complaints about Medicare's misleading marketing tactics, up 165% from 2020.
This prompted CMS to finalize a Medicare marketing rule to monitor the practices of third-party marketing firms that help sell individual benefits and Medicare Part D plans.
All these reforms are well thought out. But part of the rule could quickly undo any progress made against unscrupulous marketing tactics by unscrupulous players.
The rule expands the definition of a third party marketing organization to include agents and brokers. Thus, agents and brokers are now required to record enrollment calls, a significant burden that could deprive millions of Medicare recipients of access to a licensed agent or broker.
In fact, HHS has provided some clear instructions on how to structure the registration application. Many agents and brokers plan to record every conversation with their clients, often spending hours researching the beneficiary's unique circumstances and the best possible adjustment plans.
This requires equipment that can record and store hours of audio files for years, and do so securely while respecting federal privacy laws.
Expensive for many small firms and brokers. In addition, some older people do not want their registration calls to be recorded because they involve very personal information.
Seniors who have relied on agents and brokers for decades now face the prospect of enrolling in Medicare without consulting their specialist.
Federal officials can stop this by repealing regulations and introducing new reforms that protect older adults from criminals without compromising access to agents and middlemen.
The annual enrollment period for Medicare has arrived. HHS can help older people enroll in programs that best suit their needs and budget. But now we have to work.
Janet Trautwein is the Executive Director of the National Association of Health Insurers (www.nahu.org). This article first appeared in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Comments
Post a Comment