Host Compliant Medicare Events: What to know when hosting an event
Sales and marketing events offer a valuable opportunity for insurance agents to attract new clients and educate them about Medicare options. Given the compliance risks, it's vital to distinguish between Educational and Sales events and adhere to CMS compliance regulations. There are many compliance risks in hosting events, so we’ve highlighted some of the most important things you should remember when hosting an event.
Types of Events:
Educational Events: Inform beneficiaries about Medicare programs without marketing-specific plans and do not include marketing activities. The event sponsor does not steer or attempt to steer potential enrollees toward a specific plan.
Sales Events: Designed to guide potential enrollees toward specific plans and discuss plan-specific benefits, along with compliant marketing activities. These can be formal, with structured presentations, or informal, where interactions are initiated by consumers, for example, at a table, kiosk, or booth.
Educational Event Dos and Don’ts:
Dos: Educate about Medicare, offer nominal value ($15 or less) promotional items, display non-product-specific banners, distribute business cards, answer consumer questions, and provide nominal value meals or gifts.
Don’ts: Schedule marketing appointments, collect SOA forms, distribute plan-specific materials, or hold the event in private settings.
Things to Remember about Sales Events:
Must be reported to the respective carriers.
Lead generation and enrollment application distribution are permitted.
Gifts and promotional items should not exceed a $15 nominal value.
Sign-in sheets must be optional, and attendee info cannot be mandated.
Follow carrier guidelines for event cancellations.
Cannot host a sales/marketing event within 12 hours of an educational event at the same location or adjacent location.
Reporting Sales Events: Report to health plans 14 or more days in advance. For assistance, contact the JAR Compliance Department.
During your event, secret shoppers may be in attendance, and you may unknowingly interact with one. By following the guidelines mentioned here you can ensure a secret shopper will only have compliant things to report. Hosting a compliant Medicare sales event may seem intimidating, however, don’t let that discourage you from adding them to your list of strategies to grow your business. For assistance in hosting compliant events, or want to work with us? Contact JAR at 1.877.391.9988 or check out our support page here.