I have some good news: Starting Sept. 30, if Joe Namath, William Shatner or Jimmy Walker wants to sell you on Medicare Advantage (MA), they are going to have to disclose what insurance plan they are advertising. And these television ads can’t misuse the Medicare logo or card to lead consumers to believe the celebrity endorsers represent the federal government. It’s all part of a regulation the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized in April that is designed to crack down on what Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has called “misleading marketing schemes by health insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans.” Among other provisions, Becerra said, the new rule “would prohibit overly general ads about the Medicare Advantage program that often tend to confuse and mislead those individuals who are eligible to apply for some of these insurance plans.” The new regulation requires brokers, insurance agents and others who market Medicare Advantage plans to fully explain the coverage they sell and to make sure their benefits are actually available in the state or county where a consumer lives. Another provision in the regulation limits the time an agent or other salesperson can contact a potential enrollee and try to sell them an Medicare Advantage plan. The regulation says a broker cannot keep calling someone to sell them a plan 12 months after they first asked for information or expressed interest in a plan. If you have questions Medicare go to yoursafemoneyshow.com.
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