2019 General Marketing Requirements

2019 Effective Date Enrollments

Agents cannot market (advertise) for the upcoming plan year prior to October 1

Marketing through Unsolicited Contacts

Agents may make unsolicited direct contact with potential enrollees using the following methods:

• Conventional mail and other print media (e.g., advertisements, direct mail)
• Email, provided all emails contain an opt-out function

Agents may not:

• Use door-to-door solicitation, including leaving information such as a leaflet or flyer at a residence;
• Approach potential enrollees in common areas (e.g., parking lots, hallways, lobbies, sidewalks, etc.); or
• Use telephonic solicitation, including leaving electronic voicemail messages

Note:

• Agents/brokers who have a pre-scheduled appointment with a potential enrollee who is a “no-show” may leave information at that potential enrollee’s residence.
• If a potential enrollee provides permission to be contacted, the contact must be event-specific, and may not be treated as open-ended permission for future contacts.

Marketing through Telephonic Contact

Agents/brokers, may not conduct telephonic activities that include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Unsolicited calls about other business as a means of generating leads for Medicare plans (e.g., bait and switch strategies).
• Calls based on referrals. If an individual would like to refer a friend or relative to an agent, the agent may provide contact information such as a business card that the individual could provide to a friend or relative.
• Calls to market plans or products to former enrollees who have disenrolled, or to current enrollees who are in the process of voluntarily disenrolling.
• Calls to beneficiaries who attended a sales event, unless the beneficiary gave express permission at the event for a follow-up call (there must be documentation of permission to be contacted).
• Calls to prospective enrollees to confirm receipt of mailed information.