10/02/2025
ATTENTION Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plan Recipients:
tired of soliciting phone calls? Know the rules. This is illegal. Don't fall for it. hang up and call your agent, if you want your plan evaluated. Make informed decisions if your making changes. ask your agent to explain benefits. You want an agent in your area familiar with your plan, not someone from clear acrossed the US.
CMS Rules:
Prohibited contact methods
Unless a beneficiary has given explicit permission, the following forms of contact are forbidden:
Door-to-door solicitation: This includes going to a beneficiary's home uninvited to sell or endorse a plan, or leaving flyers.
Unsolicited phone calls: Calls are not allowed unless the beneficiary is already a member of the plan or has given documented permission to be contacted. Sales agents are not permitted to make unsolicited calls.
Text messages or voicemails: Unsolicited text messages and voicemails are explicitly prohibited.
Contact in healthcare settings: Marketing in clinical settings like exam rooms, patient rooms, or at the pharmacy counter is not allowed.
Rules for permitted contact
Even with a beneficiary's permission, strict guidelines must be followed to ensure transparency and proper conduct.
Permission to Contact (PTC)
Before calling or texting a beneficiary to discuss Medicare Advantage or Part D plans, you must have their documented permission, known as Permission to Contact (PTC).
PTC can be obtained through a business reply card (BRC) or an online contact form, and it is valid for 12 months.
Each beneficiary must provide their own consent; for example, consent from one spouse does not apply to the other.
For contact generated through a Third-Party Marketing Organization (TPMO), one-to-one consent is now required, meaning a beneficiary must specifically consent to having their data shared with each individual entity that will contact them.