CMS monitors Medicare Advantage marketing tactics

WASHINGTON – CMS has issued a memo informing Medicare Advantage organizations and Part D sponsors of the agency’s monitoring activities during the 2023 Annual Election Period running from Oct. 15, 2022, to Dec. 7, 2023. “CMS is concerned about the marketing practices of all entities, including third-party marketing organizations,” the agency stated in the Oct. 19 memo. “We have reviewed thousands of complaints and hundreds of audio calls and have identified numerous issues with information provided to beneficiaries that is confusing, misleading and/or inaccurate. CMS has conducted so-called ‘secrete shopping’ by calling numbers associated with television advertisements, mailings, newspaper ads and internet searches to monitor the experiences beneficiaries have engaging these entities. Our activities have discovered that some agents were not complying with current regulation and unduly pressuring beneficiaries, as well as failing to provide accurate or enough information to assist a beneficiary in making an informed enrollment decision.” CMS may designate that certain types of marketing, including TV ads, be accepted through the agency’s File and Use framework. The agency reviews these materials for compliance with all applicable standards before or after the date on which such materials were “accepted.” Due to concerns, beginning Jan. 1, 2023, television ads will no longer quality for submission under the agency’s File and Use authority. CMS is taking other actions, including enhancing its review of select marketing materials submitted under File and Use criteria and reviewing selected marketing materials previously submitted under the Fie and Use criteria.