MAE Newsletter No. 10 - Spring 2022 by WilmingtonFRA

RISE News

What to expect at this year’s virtual AEP Medicare Readiness Summit Latest MA&E Sales and Marketing User Groups discuss marketing campaigns, provider marketing guidelines, and more Nº 10 - Spring 2022

THE LATEST NEWS MA saves seniors $2K a year compared to FFS Medicare, study finds

MedPAC releases annual report to Congress, BMA disputes agency’s stance on quality, Star ratings

Survey: 3 ways to improve MA member onboarding

Medicare Advantage plans send pals to seniors’ homes for companionship— and profits

MA members have new way to get free over-the-counter COVID-19 tests

Milliman study: Nearly all MA plans in 2022 offer supplemental benefits

HHS Becerra on COVID, upcoding in Medicare Advantage, and telehealth

2022 Medicare Shopping and Switching: MA market faces increased competition, fewer switchers

OIG: Telehealth critical to Medicare enrollees during first year of COVID-19 pandemic

Medicare Advantage spring tune-up: 4 strategies to stay competetive

Regulatory update: Millions could lose ACA coverage without extension of subsidies; 50M experienced health data breach in 2021; 3 takeaways on Medicare supplemental coverage; and more

Wunderman Thompson Health

New survey reveals ensuring a positive member experience is a priority for Medicare Advantage organizations Messagepoint

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Letter From the Chair

Resources, strategies to stay competitive in the MA market The Medicare Advantage (MA) market is a turbulent place to operate and serve Medicare beneficiaries. So many cross currents are at play in the different dimensions of the business, yet none of them is irrelevant to the marketing, sales, product management, and member experience aspects of running a health plan. What happens in finance, compliance, regulation, and competition impacts how much funding is available to compete effectively and succeed in this confounding marketplace. For example: • The COVID pandemic changed some policies and practices for the interim, but many remain and could become permanent (such as telemedicine andremote working), which will require health plans to be in a state of constant readiness and adaptiveness. • The government determined that MA plans were overpaid through risk adjustment by an estimated $15B and they intend to recover the money and dish out penalties that will threaten certain plans through the RADV process. • The overweighting of customer experience in the Stars program continues, shifting the emphasis from clinical to experiential metrics and requires g shifts in finances accordingly. • The rate announcement for 2023 promises an 8.5 percent bump in payments, raising the hope that funding for more, different, or better benefits are possible in 2023. • Product designs have dramatically adopted Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI) benefit options, dramatically changing the landscape and adding complexity to the services now offered. • The “Nationals” now have 74 percent market share (including Anthem, Aetna CVS, Cigna, Centene, Humana, Kaiser, and United) due to their continued disproportionate capture of new members and, in some cases, switching over of members from local plans.

With the dramatic changes represented here, the community and regional MA plans have their work cut out for them. How do you compete effectively in your own markets? • Local plans can establish closer ties with community providers that may help fulfill the special obligations in executing on SSBCI plan designs. • Financial disparities in marketing resources between large plans and small plans can be overcome with community brand identification, particularly if the provider affiliations are strong. • Member retention tends to be stronger with local brands if the customer touches are sincere and effective. • Smaller scale can be an advantage with RADV audits, particularly if the federal government focuses its compliance efforts on the national plans. All these advantages can only be realized if the local plans execute effectively and as efficiently as possible. For this reason, RISE recommends that you take the following steps: 1. Stay current and knowledgeable about your industry, trends, and developments. You will be well-served by keeping on top of these issues with RISE newsletters, webinars, and events.. 2. Monitor your Key Performance Indicators and benchmark your organization against peers in the industry with similar scale and resources. Participate in the annual RISE marketing & sales survey as well as the member engagement survey. Wishing you and your team much success! Kindly, Kevin Mowll Chair, RISE Medicare Member Acquisition & Experience Community CLICK TO SEE OTHER ARTICLES

6 Highlights from the

Not everything that happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! We’re back from the 2022 Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit at Caesars Palace with a summary of what we learned during key conference sessions.

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Keynote on Secrets to Success:

The impossible is possible when you think right. And hopefully, with that attitude, I will understand my Medicaid and Medicare.”

Deft Research Shares Trends in Medicare Shopping and Switching George Dippel (pictured below), executive vice president, client services, Deft Research, provided an overview of the findings from the research firm’s 2022 Medicare Shopping and Switching Study.

Collaboration and Confidence Keynote Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger kicked off the first day of the conference with a classic play, turning a failure into a success. The real-life inspiration behind the ‘93 hit movie “Rudy” used a technical glitch as a point to his philosophy of life. “That’s what it is all about,” the Notre Dame grad said as he thanked the tech crew for fixing his intro video. “Collaboration is key to success.” The crowd of 400 attendees eagerly leaned in as the famed underdog began his promo with a personal touch, his complete ignorance of his current Medicare coverage. “Medicare, Medicaid, I don’t know what I have,” he said, noting he was not alone in his medical coverage muddle. “I have no idea if I have good stuff or bad stuff. But I know I’m paying for it! They call and I hang up because I’m so confused.” But he was determined, as with anything he has tackled in his life, to figure it out with the help of others. “I failed most of my life, but I never gave up,” said the 73-year-old former insurance agent. “We failed before I came up here, but we made it. We worked together.” He continued to inspire the audience and offer insight into a senior’s view of the health care system, throughout his rousing speech. “There are people being inspired by your attitude right now and you can help them,” he said. “If you know how to collaborate in this business you are going to be so big.”

The national study surveyed nearly 3,400 seniors with a 2021 Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, a 2021 MedSupp plan, or Original Medicare Only for 2021. It aimed to understand how seniors’ shop for health plans, their experiences with the entire process, and what it means for consumerism. Among the trends: • One out of nine seniors changed their insurance in some way during the AEP. • The market is moving quickly to MA. Nationally, the MA penetration rate rose this AEP from 44 percent to 45.4 percent. • The number of seniors who switch plans has decreased over the past six years even though they have more product choice.

Rudy set the tone for the following sessions to help participants prepare for changes in the industry.

• The strongest drivers for plan or carrier switching are high monthly premiums and supplemental benefit coverage issues.

“You already have the skill and talent to be here,” he said. “Get better each day and focus on what you should do and you won’t believe where you will be in 20 years.

“Most seniors do not want to invest the time to consider new Medicare coverage unless they absolutely need to,” Dippel said. “MA members continue to switch at slightly CLICK TO SEE OTHER ARTICLES

higher rates than their MedSupp counterparts. However, the figures are slowly converging, which is an indicator to marketers that everyone is fair game and both types of consumers are looking.”

running questions about dental and vision benefits. “We know and reach out to them to solve the problem,” Dey said. “It’s the basics of relationship building. Be nice, reach out and when they especially need you, be there.”

The large number of plans available to seniors also causes confusion as Rudy noted during his keynote presentation. Most seniors don’t know which plan they have, Dippel said. If there were only four options, there is a good chance seniors could determine which one worked for them. But with all the choices, it’s difficult to make a change when you don’t know the best option, he said.

• Use data to your advantage. Uber is known for its consumer experience and the importance of member engagement, with retention being the goal of each interaction. To engage your clients, have a unified engagement platform with flexibility to meet members where they are. “There is a lot of data to consume but make it actionable data to intervene and then create a delightful experience in what would have otherwise been a complaint,” Donovan said. “Leverage the data to anticipate and solve a problem before there is one.”

Panel: Keys to Master the Member Experience Steven Selinsky, vice president of product strategy, marketing, and community outreach, HAP, moderated a panel on key drivers to master the member experience with Archie Dey, director of consumer experience and insights, SCAN Health Plan; Caitlin Donovan, global head, Uber Health; and Kristy Croom Tucker, director of member experience & acquisition, BayCare Health Plans.

Panel Hot Topic Discussion: Fallout from the “Joe Namath” Medicare Commercials A topic that was brought up at nearly every session was the national television commercials encouraging seniors to switch their Medicare plan. Selinsky returned to the stage to discuss the issue with Naomi Irvin, chief of staff-government markets, Blue Cross NC.

There are three elements that Dey relies on when communicating with the 65+ community: • Agency aspect: Respect the agency of older adults • Personalization: Tailor your approach to where they are coming from, who they are in their lives, and their preferences • Reassurance: Everyone wants to be reassured that they have made the right decision and have help for making future changes. For example, Dey said that during the pandemic, his team reached out to members just to let them know they feel their struggle and were working to fix any supply or work shortage that led to longer wait times. “That’s it and it was really appreciated,” Dey said. “Sometimes they don’t want the problem solved, just acknowledged.” Selinsky said that this year his organization has made its net promoter score (NPS) a company-wide goal. “Our NPS was in the high 50s and now in the 60s and it’s been a real effort. But it has also shared across the organization the importance that each individual shares in creating a great user experience.” Other suggestions from the panel to ensure a positive member experience and retaining a good Star rating: • Put triggers in place for a customer service intervention when a client has called a few times in a week or has 6

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National carriers have paid for commercials featuring celebrities, including Joe Namath, that urge seniors to call a 1-800 number for information about plans that may offer better benefits. As a result, thousands of seniors have unknowingly switched plans, only finding out weeks later when their new identification cards arrived in the mail. Irvin’s regional carrier lost and then reinstated more than 600 members who had no intention of changing plans. “If this is not on your radar, it should be,” Irvin said. Two big issues that Blue Cross confronted this year included the number of members who were embarrassed that this happened and didn’t want to change back or make things worse, and members who were trying to get reinstated but were unable to find the right customer service points.

To counteract the impact of the national commercials and third-party marketing, Irvin suggests connecting with your members with as much local advertising and community outreach you can, from contacting local news to placing advertisements in all major media outlets. More than anything, she said, stay true to who you are and meet your members where they are. The national commercials influence will eventually fade and seniors will need to know who to turn to. “This Joe Namath thing won’t work for everyone, and it will catch up to those who are leveraging it,” Irvin said.

Regulatory Challenges: Understanding Changes That Impact Sales and Marketing While reading regulations is no picnic, it’s important to understand changes made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), said Deborah Marine, JD, compliance officer, SummaCare, who joined Irvin for a regulatory update session. One challenge is that the burden is on the plan to interpret the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) and Medicare Communication and Marketing Guidelines (MCMG) correctly. The CFR is the source of truth, so when in doubt, speakers said to refer to the CFR. Although the MCMG does not capture all the information in the CFR, it does provide examples that can guide your understanding for marketing materials. Some of the new guidelines can be confusing and you may need to consult multiple sources to determine compliance. There also can be penalties if a plan interprets rules or guidance incorrectly. “With all of these challenges, collaboration is especially important,” Irvin said. “Have the legal and marketing departments in lock step, communicating properly, and make a compliant piece of material.” Bottom line, if you aren’t sure, ask. Submit questions to marketing@cms.hhs.gov when requirements are unclear. However, be careful who submits this email and make sure that legal and marketing agree on the content. If CMS misunderstands your request, you will need to abide by its final answer.

Leadership Advice on Medicare Marketing and Sales in a Post-COVID World Disruption has been a constant as the industry rides out COVID regulations and changes. Being able to pivot quickly and evolve has been essential to surviving in a post-COVID world.

Dustin VanDuine, director of new business sales, Health Alliance Plan, Barbara Sandoval, manager, Medicare field sales, Providence Health Plans, and Nicole Norder, senior insights product manager, Unite Us, discussed what has worked for them during a leadership panel on adapting to the shift in Medicare marketing and sales to capture business and prepare for unknown COVID variables. Their tips: • Have the right customer relationship management (CRM) tools and track where you are spending your dollars and attention, to keep you afloat when unforeseen issues flood your company and your members’ experience. We are tagging info at every point,” VanDuine said, noting that harvesting the information is just the start. “It takes time to do it right and to know what it is telling you and interpreting that correctly.” • Use the data in a personal way and make sure all team members have as much data as they can to retain members. Health Alliance Plan emails a retention notice to its agents weekly so they can know if a member has slipped away and can act accordingly. By empowering agents with this information, the organization has brought back 40 percent of its members since the last OEP. • Once you have the members attention, messages need to resonate and be more specialized and personalized than traditional marketing. “It’s really that personal touch,” Sandoval said. “Having their trusted advisors, whether it be their representative or their broker, reach out to them is important.” Non-health organizations, such as banks and big box stores, have gone to a level of specialized personalization that the health care industry has yet to figure out. “Members are going to expect a level of experience that they are getting elsewhere,” Sandoval said. “People are coming to the table with more diverse needs that have to be fulfilled for them to feel satisfied with the plan. We are shifting our focus now. If we’re not able to retain members, it’s a moot point. We are at the beginning of looking at what that looks like.” • Use the data to understand what is working in the moment and continually mine it for how it can work for you as well as your members’ benefit. “As things continue to evolve, people’s comfort levels and ways they want to engage with us is going to evolve,” Norder said. “Follow the data and trends and know what is working. Pivot to change what you are doing to meet the member where they are. ■

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WHAT TO EXPECT AT THIS YEAR’S VIRTUAL AEP MEDICARE READINESS SUMMIT

Supercharge your plan’s sales and marketing

communications and retention strategies for AEP 2023 at RISE’s live-streaming event June 13-14.

This year’s AEP Medicare Readiness Summit will cover the latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) marketing guidelines, discussions on effective digital outreach, marketing compliance, and the CMS crackdown on non-compliant third-party marketing. The live-streaming virtual event will take place June 13-14. Here’s what we’ve planned:

High profile presentations Amy Sanchez, founder and CEO of Swim Against the Current, an executive coaching company, will kick off the conference at 10 a.m., Monday, June 13, with a keynote address on how to influence others in a digital world. She’ll explore new ways to do business in a remote world and help attendees learn how to adjust their strategies to successfully lead, influence, and communicate remotely.

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The next day Christie McMullen, best-selling author of the book, Learning Can Stick, will lead an interactive workshop on how to analyze, improve, move, and spear your target. She’ll guide attendees as they analyze current systems and ways of working and examine strategies to improve satisfaction, productivity, engagement, accountability, and retention. Michael S. Adelberg, principal, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, will take part in a fireside chat on federal marketing oversight on Tuesday. Adelberg previously served as the CMS Insurance Programs Group director, acting director of the Exchange Policy and Operations Group, Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, and Director of Medicare Advantage Operations. He’ll discuss the steps the Biden administration has taken to tighten the oversight of Medicare Advantage marketing and look back at the marketing crackdown by the Obama administration and see how it might inform Biden’s policies.

Hot topic sessions Day one of the virtual event will feature a panel discussion on contemporary approaches to optimize member experience and improve retention. The discussion, moderated by Kristin Ray, sales manager, Medicare Advantage, Physicians Health Plan, will focus on new ways to turn happy members into loyal ones, strategies to build a work culture that supports member retention and satisfaction, and how to provide a more satisfying consumer experience from sales to enrollment, through OEP and beyond. The first day will also feature a presentation on digital marketing strategies for regional health plans. Learn how to outsmart the competition instead of outspending it by maximizing digital marketing performance and getting the highest ROI. Gain insight into which formats, designs, and creative approaches can lead to the strongest results for age-in and AEP campaigns. A panel will discuss how to mitigate third-party marketing organization issues for Medicare Advantage. Kevin Mowll, chair of RISE’s Medicare Member Acquisition & Experience Community, will moderate the panel. Discussion will focus on CMS’ call letter, the Joe Namath Medicare commercials and similar campaigns that impact compliance, and how to comply with CMS requirements while minimizing administrative burden. The virtual event will also explore the intersection of AEP and Stars and how to bring together sales, marketing,

and health care quality. Speakers will explain why plans are adjusting their AEP preparations in light of recent changes to Star ratings; determine how adjustments in Star ratings could change the market and what a greater emphasis on customer service means for sales, marketing, and product design; and explore the role of pharmacy and a strong MTM program in achieving a high Star rating to optimize AEP success. The second day of the virtual event will include an “AEP Prep Checklist” session to go over everything you need to do to prepare for a successful AEP. Speakers will discuss best practices for an effective production calendar and how to determine where readiness gaps exist and how to mitigate them. We’ll also take a deep dive into social media and ethical marketing. Attendees will learn the latest creative approaches and successful tactics to meet your social media marketing goals, how to be culturally relevant to help reach diverse Medicare populations, and discover innovative ways to promote your plan while being socially responsible, culturally sensitive, and considerate with data. A panel will also examine innovations in call center strategies. Panelists will discuss approaches to call center oversight and improve training on the needs of prospects, correct solutions, and determining when to proceed with phone enrollment vs seminars or appointments. They’ll also identify strategies for regional plans using national call centers and combat focus on national carriers and discuss how to measure call center success, including the effectiveness of training and cultivating internal sales. Speakers will also go over early MA marketing and go over what’s allowed and what’s not—according to CMS’ latest compliance guidelines. They’ll also describe new ways to stretch your marketing budget and explore innovative approaches to differentiate your plan through both digital and direct mail, including how to make your message stand out from the noise. In addition, the two-day virtual event will feature networking opportunities and spotlights on tools and technology. AEP Medicare Readiness Summit 2022 will take place as a live-streaming virtual event June 13-14. Click here for the complete agenda, speaking panel, and how to register. Attendees will receive access to all sessions up to 90 days after the event. ■

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LATEST MA&E SALES AND MARKETING USER GROUPS DISCUSS MARKETING CAMPAIGNS, PROVIDER MARKETING GUIDELINES, AND MORE

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A perk of becoming a member of the RISE Medicare Member Acquisition & Experience Community is participating in user group meetings. The intimate, interactive meetings are held virtually on a scheduled basis and facilitated by subject matter experts. The user groups are a safe space for peers to discuss challenges, insights, and lessons learned from firsthand experiences. If you haven’t yet had a chance to take part in these discussions, here are highlights from recent sales and marketing user group meetings:

February Marketing User Group recap Moderators: Steve Selinsky, vice president, product, marketing and community outreach, HAP, and Adrienne Tenney, director, project quality and operations, Engagys

Marketing during AEP • Digital campaigns appeared to outperform direct mail campaigns and outbound calls. More difficult to connect with potential members by phone. • One agent who represents multiple carriers said he saw tremendous success with providers who want to grow capitation. Lunch and learns providing basic information about Medicare were very popular, encouraging doctors when they see patients have a Medicare red, blue and white card to have them fill out information or encourage them to call the agency’s 800 number to get the member enrolled in their network. The leads continue to come in and the agent said they are busier now than they were during the AEP. • The broker channel is also a popular channel. Tenney said many agents focused on acquisition use brokers and she encouraged plans to enhance tools, so brokers have updated decision support tools and up-to-date formularies to make it easier for them to improve the member experience. Member service coordination is especially important to maintain and nurture the relationship. Selinsky said that four years ago brokers were 20 percent of his business. This year it accounted for more than 75 percent of the plan’s business. • Another idea is to send any material you provide to new members to agents and brokers as members will likely call the agent/broker with questions. By providing the welcome kit and any material sent to members throughout the year, you are educating agents/brokers and creating a partnership with them. Strengthening the relation will help you retain those members. • One participant said her plan has been focusing on AgeIns. They have been working with a FMO and invites

Age-Ins to dinner. The plan and FMO split the cost and they’ve averaged 20-25 people at events. The events aren’t year-round. In January/February they stopped during them due to the surge in the Omicron variant. However, the plan is considering offering a Saturday breakfast to attract potential members who work and can’t make the evening events. • The agent on the call said 90 percent of his business is virtual, over the phone although a few agents do go to a doctor’s office for enrollments. • Member preferences: Important that after you capture information on how people want to receive the information, you deliver on the information. Understand how you are going to deliver the information before you capture their preferences. If you can’t deliver it will depress the member experience. • Website chat function: One plan started offering the ability for potential members to chat with a customer service rep on their website. But once they enrolled, the website didn’t have the chat function. Members complained and the plan is now working to provide the function for all aspects of the website.

Other marketing ideas/concerns • Selinsky noted the announcement that CMS made earlier in the day that this spring that Medicare will pay for at home COVID testing kits. Fortunately, MA plans have a couple of months to figure out how to operationalize and message it. The commercial side only had a few days. • One participant mentioned that her plan created a campaign that compared the plan’s benefits against other plans. But it backfired because the other plans began commenting on social media that that they do have the benefits, in fact benefits better than their plan. • Star ratings are not a great selling tool: Members don’t necessarily lean on Star ratings to stay or switch to a different plan, and they don’t necessary trust the Star ratings. However, Selinsky noted that the high number of plans that had high ratings did attract attention this year. Educate seniors about the Star ratings and make efforts to maintain the high ratings and it could gain more traction. • Members are more concerned with convenience than Stars. If their providers are in a network, they will keep things the way they are. Tenney encouraged participants to emphasize of convenience and ease for seniors, such as in-home benefits and making it easy to find out whether their doctors are in your network. It will resonate with them and if they can quickly figure out that they can see their doctors with your plan, they will stay with your plan. CLICK TO SEE OTHER ARTICLES

• UPS slowdown: Mail delivery slow down as of Oct. 1 created a significant delay with delivery of literature (in some cases it took 21 days to fulfil). One plan in the Kansas City metro area ended up using FedEx to deliver the kits requested. Another plan had pdfs of the prospect kits available so that customer services could send the info electronically, so the prospect had immediate access to it and then the phone center agency walked the prospect through the material. They then followed up with the mailed literature. • Disenrollment surveys: Selinsky said 681 members in 2021 were unknowingly switched to another carrier and after they complained his plan was able to bring them back in to the plan. This year over 500 were switched during the OEP and 74 were switched during AEP. Many of the issues stem from the “Joe Namath/Jimmy Walker” television commercials. Members are often vocal and upset but some are embarrassed that they let it happen, so they stay with the plan they were switched to. Selinsky suggested participants pay attention to disenrollment surveys and customer services calls to see if they are getting complaints that they didn’t mean to disenroll in the plan and want to be reinstated. • CMS did issue a third-party marketing memo, but some participants worry that the agency may create tighter restrictions on all plans of what they can and can’t do. • How did television commercials perform this year: Plans noted Humana ran many 30-minute “infomercials.” One participant said her plan’s commercials used music, paid actors to capture enrollee’s attention and focused more on awareness of the plan rather than lead generation acquisition. The plan ran 30-second, 60-second, 80-second and 160-second commercials and many featured Hall of Famer George Brett. The plan vetted the commercial with CMS to avoid the Joe Namath situation. Many of the brokers said potential members called asking for the “George Plan.” While she doesn’t have quantitative backed data, she does believe it worked from an awareness standpoint. • Other marketing techniques mentioned included Facebook marketing promoting medical groups; A/B testing, and text to call. • Dual eligible: Difficulty explaining benefits to providers and compensation. Need to bring together provider networking and contracting teams to help educate and cement the relationship, explaining how different risk arrangements are set up and how products differ. It’s an important revenue stream for them so worth the efforts to educate them.

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March Marketing User Group recap Moderator: Margaret Mood, vice president of sales and marketing for Mass Advantage

Provider marketing guidelines • Participants agree that providers are hesitant to “market” one health plan (if we do for one, we must do the same for all, as per official Medicare Marketing Guidelines). Plans are trying to determine what they can communicate, where is the line for selling vs providing information on a plan a member already owns. • One participant said her organization has tried several initiatives, including provider affiliation letters, banners, signage in provider practices, EMR messaging, and emails to patients to let them know availability of plan. • Another plan that recently launched had some success with a follow-up piece to a provider letter. The provider group had purchased a list of prospects and sent a letter from CEO with information about the group and stating it was now accepting the plan and pushed them to call an independent advisor for information. This tactic skirts any concerns about abusing HIPAA guidelines. The plan also purchased a list and sent out a follow-up letter that highlighted its top three benefits. • Some plans’ interpretation of the regulations is that providers can tell a patient they are affiliated with a health plan but there can be no discussion of benefits, in accordance with Medicare Marketing Guidelines. One call participant said his plan’s compliance department’s interpretation of the regulations is that the plan can’t put its Star rating in letters – and the plan has a 5 Star rating this year. • Call for actions on letters include a tear-off at the bottom to call the plan for information, visit the plan website, register for an informational meeting, or contact an independent Medicare options advisor. • Others focus on educating providers about Medicare, the differences between initial enrollment period (IEP), AEP, OEP, and special enrollment. The information is meant to help providers understand that enrollment happens throughout the year. The letter advises the provider staff not to sell the plan, just be aware of the plan and if a patient asks, have the person call the plan or a broker. Another plan has a card that the receptionist can hand out if a patient asks about Medicare (call for action is to call the number of an independent Medicare options advisor to find the best plan).

• One call participant said pre-COVID, they had a tear-out pads at the provider front desk but during COVID most patients weren’t seeing providers in-person. The plan is toying with the idea of giving providers something they can attach to their badge with a QR code

Marketing campaigns • One plan is investing in a paid search campaign (sponsored ads). The plan also focuses on supplemental benefits offered, such as dental or over-the-counter benefits. • Another plan focuses on people who are late to retire and sends out an email every other month with information about online classes, blog post, so they see the name of the plan on a regular basis and hopefully will remember the organization when they are ready to sign up for an MA plan. • One call participant is considering sponsoring iPad covers or see if they can have some sort of screensaver that patients would see after they fill in information on a screen. • One plan has had success with Facebook Live, posting general discussions during AEP about Medicare plans and information. It also uses Facebook live for new member meetings or meetings on certain benefits, such as dental.

Sometimes the meetings are pre-recorded and then posted. Once posted, people tend to share them. “We get tons of exposure from people who share it. We get a better response with it then some other social media outlets.

CMS/Call center calls • One plan with a remote call center has had technology issues where calls were being disconnected. • Another plan noted that CMS test calls often focus on new drugs, formulary questions. The plan tries to track new questions and send to the team. • A third call participant uses an external call center, but the compliance department continues to do test calls to ensure the call center answers questions appropriately. • Another participant said he has an external call enter but has a dashboard set up so he can see who is on the call via his telephone system. He is even able to listen in to a call. • Another plan listens to calls within 24-48 hours as part of the QA process. • Want to continue the conversation? Visit our discussion board: February Meeting or March Meeting ■

Upcoming User Group Meetings RISE Association: Medicare Marketing User Group (Meeting 3) June 2, 12:30 PM EST | Click here to register

RISE Association: Medicare Sales User Group (Meeting 3) July 7, 12:30 PM EST | Click here to register

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UPCOMING EVENTS 5th AEP Medicare Readiness Summit 2022

June 13-14, 2022 | A Live-Streaming Virtual Event

RISE Association: Medicare Marketing User Group - (Meeting 3) Jun 2, 2022 | 12:30 PM EST

RISE Association: Medicare Sales User Group - (Meeting 3) Jul 7, 2022 | 12:30 PM EST

2022 Medicare Product Design Master Class August 25-26, 2022 | Nashville

7th Annual CMS Bid Boot Camp

VISIT THE EVENT WEBSITE

January 2023

QUESTIONS? REACH OUT TO OUR TEAM

Ilene MacDonald Editorial Director

imacdonald@risehealth.org

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Tricia Rosetti Content Marketer trosetti@risehealth.org

Tracy Anderson Marketing Coordinator tanderson@risehealth.org

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