Don't Punish 60 Million Medicare Beneficiaries Because of Joe Namath
What You Need to Know
CMS is preparing to impose tough restrictions on event-based marketing.
The author says the government is over-reacting to high-profile TV ads.
He predicts the new rules will reduce consumer awareness of coverage options.
We all see the TV commercials every day with Joe Namath, Jimmy “Dynomite!” JJ Walker, William Shatner and many others encouraging seniors to call a 1-800 number to learn more about the many benefits of enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan.
Celebrity endorsers of products and services is nothing new in this country and is as American as baseball and apple pie.
But what is new is the government reacting to TV advertising by cutting off the consumer from information, freedom to choose, and from advisors to answer their questions and help them enroll in Medicare plans when they are ready.
A 48-Hour Wait
Imagine a world where a person is mandated to wait 48-hours from the time they request information about buying a vehicle, a computer, a TV, or looking for a doctor or a lawyer until they are allowed to speak with anyone and move forward.
Well, that is exactly what the recently proposed changes to Medicare by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services will do by forcing a person seeking more information about enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan to wait 48-hours before they could speak with anyone.
CMS has proposed several new changes related to the marketing of Medicare Advantage plans that will harm the consumer by creating confusion, frustration, and delays during the enrollment process, reduce competition, and impede access to healthcare options for seniors attempting to enroll in Medicare plans.
A forced 48-hour waiting period takes away a senior’s right to decide when to meet with an agent to discuss enrollment and puts them at risk of missing their eligibility period for enrollment through the annual enrollment period, the open enrollment period and special enrollment periods.
CMS should take seriously the impact of unintended negative consequences that these proposed new rules will cause:
Limited options for seniors to compare Medicare Advantage plans from multiple companies.
Restricted access to independent agents to provide multiple plan options instead of captive agents that can only sell products from one carrier.
Reduced awareness among seniors of the choices they may have when it comes to their Medicare coverage and options.
Because of this mandated wait period for Medicare enrollee’s, a significant number of seniors will delay, forget, or give up on getting expert assistance for their enrollment needs leaving them with inadequate or no coverage at all (there are limited windows of eligibility to enroll that can’t be missed).
As is the case with most things, people have a tendency to procrastinate when enrolling in Medicare plans and often find themselves within the 48-hour window before the deadline to act.
Studies have shown a large percentage of seniors wait until they are within 48-hours of their enrollment deadline to make a plan selection.
The Impact
This mandatory embargo from access to advisors will cause potentially millions of seniors to unintentionally and unexpectedly miss their enrollment deadlines suffering both financial and health related consequences.
Today, nearly half of eligible Medicare beneficiaries — 30 million people out of 65 million Medicare beneficiaries overall — are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.
There are 3,998 Medicare Advantage plan options available in the United States that people can enroll in.
