Humana is running many TV ads for MA in OEP

policywunk

Guru
542
I have noticed that that here in Florida Humana is running many TV ads now that look like your typical AEP ads except for last few seconds of ad it says in font only Turning 65? Changing residence? I guess this is their way of getting around the OEP marketing restrictions.
 
Didn't know marketing restrictions applied to carriers. None of the other rules apply, so why is this different?


My understanding is the same rules apply to carriers as agents.Marketing in the OEP is allowed as long as you are not marketing the OEP. It seems like Humana 's TV ads are a work around to this .
 
The inbound calls those commercials generate go to their telemarketing department and the ones they can't sell on the phone are then passed on to career field agents who go F2F. In other words those leads never leave the carrier. If audited and it's found that their sales weren't all T65 and SEP MOV, LIS, MDE, etc., then it'll be hard for them to prove that they didn't bait and switch. Or maybe B&S isn't against the rules as long as they said T65 in the ads?
 
Carriers will use all kinds of tricks to convert an agent's client to a house account. Plenty of anecdotal evidence of carriers contacting Medicare beneficiaries by phone and other means during AEP. The solicitations are usually for MA plans which are supposed to be a violation of CMS marketing rules.

IMO either carriers are given free reign to do whatever they wish, or they are using the same mindset of robocallers. Violate the rules on the belief you will not get caught. If caught plead innocence and beg forgiveness.
 
lowly agent shall be disciplined, terminated, prosecuted, etc

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IMO either carriers are given free reign to do whatever they wish, or they are using the same mindset of robocallers. Violate the rules on the belief you will not get caught. If caught plead innocence and beg forgiveness.

Since Enron and Arthur Anderson, the Feds have shown a complete unwillingness to go after a company that isn't a complete scam. Once Arthur Anderson as a firm plead guilty to criminal charges, they were barred from government contracts, which basically meant the end of the company. Even with the Mortgage crisis, I don't believe there were any criminal charges against any company. Because to be convicted would mean the end of the company.

I'm pretty sure the companies are well aware of this, and thus they don't care. Generally the fines aren't large enough to really hurt.
 
The time may be ripening for enlisting elected officials to help level our marketing playing field. I know many of my "constituents" rank insurers' Medicare coverage ads right up there with athletes' foot and robocalls among their most-loathed daily experiences.

I'm confident we might be able to come up with some policy planks for their election campaigns that check several of their "consumer champion", "friend of the elderly" and "sensible health coverage policy" boxes.....
 
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