CMS Compliance, timing, and custom mailers!
Are your AEP LEADS FOR MAPD (Medicare Advantage Part D) CMS compliant?
Every year the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) for Medicare tends to raise lots of questions. One of the most common questions we’re asked as we approach AEP is: Are your leads CMS compliant?
With yearly CMS compliance changes, we continue to make every effort to offer CMS compliant mailer options. Last year, we established our own HPMS account (Health Plan Management System) with CMS to submit mailers directly. CMS does not “approve” mailers, however. They only “accept” them. Direct mail pieces are not technically considered approved until a carrier “opts in” or gives us approval. One CMS guideline change this year requires carrier approval BEFORE submitting to HPMS. With the help of partnerships developed with FMOs (Field Marketing Organizations) over the years, we have several who are currently assisting with submitting our AEP leads to carriers for approval.
Some of the “Do’s” and “Do not’s” from the CMS guidelines this year are below. We must preface this to say… we are not an insurance company or FMO. We are not in the business of compliance. We are sharing information as it has been shared with us. If you are concerned about the compliance of any mailer you are sending out, please always check with your FMO or carrier.
- DO – Include the CMS required TPMO (Third Party Marketing Organization) disclaimer on all MAPD (Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug) mailers.
- DO – Identify the carriers when including specific benefits on the mail pieces.
- DO – Identify on the mailer who the agent, agency, and/or company is that is sending the mailer.
- DO NOT – Use “Medicare” or “Medicaid” or their images/logos without CMS approval or in a misleading manner.
- DO NOT – List benefits on a mailer without listing the carriers you sell for who offer those benefits.
- DO NOT – Mail a piece that mentions specific benefits to areas that do not offer them.
- DO NOT – Advertise “savings” based on comparisons.
Agents are responsible for their own compliance and are encouraged to submit mailers to their own compliance departments or the compliance departments of the carriers they sell for. TargetLeads makes every effort to provide appropriate guidance and options based on the information shared with us by FMOs and carriers.
The second biggest question we get asked during AEP is: When is the best time to mail?
Mailing earlier during AEP season, the better the response usually is. If you would like your mailer sent on a specific date, PLEASE call to place your order and lock up your names EARLY. (Remember, at TargetLeads, we protect your names from being over mailed).
To best serve you, during AEP our printers are going almost 24/7 to keep up with demand. Our normal turn time to print and mail is 3 to 5 business days. During AEP, please allow up to 7 business days as order volume is extremely high. You can place your orders early so we can have your job printed and ready to drop in the mail on the date of your choice. Call or email our office to speak to one of our trained sales reps for guidance on the best time to finalize your AEP order.
Important to also note… if you are sending a mailer to advertise a seminar or educational event, PLAN AHEAD. Mailers should ideally be ordered at least 4 weeks before the first event to allow for standard mail delivery.
The third biggest question we get asked during AEP is: Can you mail my custom mailer?
Answer: YES! A big resounding YES! We offer full print and mail services. Whether you have your own mailer designed, are using a carrier-designed mail piece, or want to have us design a custom piece for you… we can do it all!
Postcards are definitely a specialty of ours. Our pricing, convenience, efficiency, and flexibility are unparalleled.
Pricing: Our pricing to print and mail postcards beats or exceeds many of the large postcard mailing competitors.
Pricing and convenience: Our pricing includes the mailing list, which many postcard mailing companies don’t include it.
Pricing, convenience, and efficiency: Our expedited system can print and mail 3 different sizes of postcards in 3 days or less in many cases.
Pricing, convenience, efficiency, and flexibility: The postcard sizes available for the expedited system are: 4.25” X 6”; 5.5” X 8.5”, and 5.5” X 10.5”. We can most definitely print other sizes as well. Other postcard sizes typically process on the normal 3 to 5 business day turn time. Aside from postcards, we can print custom letters, flyers, tri-folds, quad-folds, and more.
To complement our pricing, convenience, efficiency, and flexibility, we have a number of postcard templates available for this upcoming AEP season. See the upcoming article on customizing a template. If you can’t hardly wait, (which we understand) contact our office to view the samples.
In a nutshell, our success is driven by your success! Naturally, we are invested in helping you make each AEP season better than the last.
**If you’ve read this far, THANK YOU! Please mention this blog post when you place your next mailing order to receive the duplicate list FREE as a Thank You for your time.