CMS has toughened its oversight on celebrity Medicare Advantage sales pitches following a surge of complaints last year, The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 31.
Six things to know:
1. The fall typically sees an increased volume of Medicare Advantage TV advertisements ahead of the enrollment period, which runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 this year.
2. Consumer marketing complaints about the ads increased 165 percent last year compared to 2020.
3. CMS has put into place stiffer rules for marketers that sell policies on behalf of insurers. Marketers will be required to disclose more to their customers and the insurers will be responsible for what their marketers say.
4. A CMS spokesperson told the Journal that many of the complaints stemmed from confusion over who operated Medicare Advantage plans. Some thought the plans were administered by the government.
5. Surveys of state insurance departments by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found complaints about alleged fraudulent activities, including beneficiaries being enrolled with forged signatures.
6. Vicki DuFrene, who directs a health-insurance information program for older adults in Louisiana, told the Journal people sometimes do not learn their longtime physicians are not in their new plan's network until they arrive for an appointment.