"How Does MIPPA Affect The Way I Market To Medicare-Eligible Seniors?"

Q: I've heard that Congress passed a new law regarding the marketing and sale of Medicare Advantage and related plans. How does MIPPA affect the way I market to Medicare-eligible seniors?

A: Congress recently passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) of 2008, which just went into effect this month. In order to protect seniors from unscrupulous sales people, MIPPA has created new restrictions on how agents and brokers can market their Medicare-related products.

Much of MIPPA's restrictions target unsolicited sales calls, which have been the source of many abusive practices in the past. Licensed producers can still market Medicare-related products to seniors, but agents and brokers need to be aware of these important restrictions:

• NO more cold calls
  The biggest impact on marketers is probably this blanket prohibition on cold calling. This restriction includes a ban on door-to-door sales calls and unsolicited emails, as well as well as unsolicited telephone calls.
  
  Direct mail is still allowed, but you cannot use direct mail to justify a cold call. In other words, you cannot call to "confirm" the client received your mailed literature. Third-party leads are also acceptable as long as the prospect specifically requested to be contacted by an agent.


• NO free meals with Medicare sales
  Although agents may provide light refreshments and snacks, they cannot pitch Medicare plans while providing free meals to prospects - or when prospects are receiving free meals from any source.


• NO Medicare sales at educational events
  Seniors attending events that are supposed to provide objective information about Medicare must not be subjected to marketing presentations or sales materials. Sales pitches during such events are akin to banned cold calls. Agents and carriers can still host Medicare sales events, but they cannot be advertised or promoted to the public as informational events.


• NO Medicare sales with health care
  Agents and brokers may not market Medicare plans at locations where people receive health care treatment. An exception is made for lobbies, waiting rooms and other common areas, as well as for arranged meetings in private residences and long-term care facilities. But marketing materials and pitches are banned in all treatment rooms.


• NO cross-selling Medicare with other products
  When you do arrange a sales meeting with a Medicare-eligible client, the meeting must present only Medicare-related products. You cannot cross-sell life insurance, annuities or other non-Medicare plans. If the client asks about those other products, you'll have to arrange a separate meeting.

These are the main restrictions. For more information, check out the guidelines published by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The good news for "wired" producers is that Internet-generated leads seem to be one of the safest ways to ensure that your marketing is following MIPPA guidelines.

But make sure your lead provider is compliant. For starters, this means they cannot use spam email to generate leads; and their lead-generating website must specifically indicate that all prospects are requesting to be contacted by an agent.

At first glance, these restrictions may seem burdensome. To some agents, they probably are too much of an obstacle. But with its guaranteed approvals and potentially higher long-term commissions, Medicare offers one of the biggest opportunities for health insurance agents - ever

In light of the huge potential benefits, smart producers know that these restrictions will be worth the extra effort.