According to CMS, there have been complaints of hard sale methods that have caused some people to sign up for inadequate health plans. For this reason, CMS has set up some new Medicare rules that limit contact between insurance agents and the elderly and disabled, when selling Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans. Some of these changes handed down from Congress are: “No unsolicited contacts with beneficiaries; no selling of other insurance products, such as annuities or life insurance to beneficiaries; no free meals at promotional or sales events; and new requirements for training or testing of agents,” the AP (9/15, Freking)
CMS will also monitor about 900 “secret shopper” visits “using undercover agents who will attend sales presentations and report violations to the agency. Medicare officials will review print and broadcast advertisements, listen to recordings of calls between plans and customers, and confirm whether plans are reporting agents and brokers who break the rules to federal and state authorities,” The Hill (9/15, Young).
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