Establishing relationships with health care providers can help you maintain a steady flow of potential clients. Physician offices, local clinics, pharmacies and even nursing homes are ideal places to network and connect with patients who need help with their Medicare coverage.
Whenever you conduct marketing or sales activities in a health care setting, it’s important to stay compliant with CMS guidelines. These guidelines are intended to protect Medicare beneficiaries from misleading information, high pressure sales tactics and unsolicited contact. There are very specific rules for what you can and cannot do.
Where to Conduct Marketing Activities
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Do:
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Don’t:
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- Conduct marketing and sales activities in common areas, such as waiting rooms, lobbies, cafeterias and conference rooms.
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- Conduct any marketing or sales activities in areas where patients receive care. This includes exam rooms, dialysis centers, hospital rooms or pharmacy counters where patients may be consulting with a pharmacist.
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Educational vs. Sales Events
Once you have established a relationship with a provider office or pharmacy, you may decide to set up an information table or host a sales or marketing event. Remember there are unique compliance regulations for each type of event. CMS and some insurance carriers send out secret shoppers posing as Medicare beneficiaries to ensure the rules are being followed. Noncompliance can result in serious repercussions including sanctions and even loss of your license.
Educational Events
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Do:
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Don’t:
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- Promote your event as educational.
- Hand out generic CMS-approved educational materials on Medicare.
- Hand out your business cards and encourage attendees to reach out to you to set up an appointment. You may pass out business reply cards (BRCs) as long as they state that by submitting the reply card the individual is giving you permission to contact them.
- Provide light snacks and small giveaways as long as your expense does not exceed $15 per person.
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- Display a sign-in sheet or ask for contact information.
- Present any plan-specific information.
- Pass out or collect SOAs, applications or enrollment forms.
- Discuss any non-Medicare products.
- Make any type of unsolicited contact. If you are working at a table or booth in a common area, you must allow the attendees to approach you. Attendance at such an event is not considered permission to contact. If you hold an event at nursing home or assisted care facility, you must remain in the common area and cannot go to residents’ rooms without a prior appointment.
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Sales Events
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Do:
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Don’t:
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- Use attendee sign-in sheets that clearly indicate contact information is optional.
- Name all the products and plans you will be discussing up front.
- Use only CMS- and carrier-approved brochures and talking points.
- Hand out your business card and BRCs.
- Collect SOAs at least 48 hours prior to meeting with a prospect.
- Collect enrollment forms only if the enrollee has a valid election period.
- Provide light snacks and small giveaways as long as your expense does not exceed $15 per person.
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- Attempt to contact anyone who did not fill out an SOA or BRC.
- Discuss any non-Medicare products.
- Host a sales event within 12 hours of an educational event in the same building or an adjacent building.
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Building relationships with the provider community can be a mutually beneficial partnership.
- You gain access to a great resource for high-quality prospects.
- Providers ensure their patients receive accurate information from a trusted and knowledgeable Medicare advisor in their community.
Do you have compliance questions? The team at Western Asset Protection is here to help. Contact us today.
