Informational Documents
How to Host an Educational Event
Hosting an Educational Event/Seminar Rules
The Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines (MCMG) differentiate between educational and marketing events.
At educational events, the focus is on informing beneficiaries about Medicare Advantage, Prescription Drug, or other Medicare programs without steering them towards a specific plan.
Agents/presenters are not allowed to discuss any individual plan-specific information, such as premiums, co-pays, or plan-specific benefits.
Educational Events should be held in a public setting, such as a restaurant or public library. They should not be held in-home or one-on-one settings.
Meals at Educational Events
There is currently (2024 selling year) no dollar limit on the meals as CMS has excluded meals at an educational event under the nominal gift rule.
See page 10 of Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines (MCMG).
Do’s and Don’ts for Educational Events
DO’s | DON’TS |
Provide generic business reply cards (BRC) to attendees. | Display a sign-in sheet to collect contact info. |
Give out business cards and contact information for beneficiaries to initiate contact with agent/agency | Hand out applications/’enrollment forms or any materials or give aways that contain specific plan information |
Use handouts that are generic and educational in nature | Provide or collect SOA’s, schedule future appointments |
Give an informative and educational presentation and answer attendee questions | Hold a marketing event within 12 hours of the educational event in the same or adjacent building |
Provide snacks/refreshments/ meal | Give away cash/ monetary rebates |
Educational Events do not have to be filed with CMS.
You can advertise Educational Events through most forms of media, including:
newspaper
radio
flyers
direct mail
social media
Marketing Educational Event Guidelines
All educational events must be explicitly marketed as “educational” to beneficiaries
Ads and invitations must contain this disclaimer:
“For accommodations of persons with special needs at meetings, call <insert phone and TTY number>.”
For more information on TTY, please see 711 for TTY-Based Telecommunications Relay Service.
Agents are allowed to have other “community partners” co-sponsor and be present at the event.
Examples:
Realtors
Financial and Investment Advisors
Other senior focused businesses in the area.
How to File Events with Carriers
Most carriers require events to be filed at least 14 days in advance, so plan accordingly.
Aetna
Aetna
Please reach out to your local Aetna Broker Manager to register events. A current list of Broker Managers is located on Producer World. Go to Individual Medicare, then scroll down to the bottom and click on “Aetna Medicare Broker Manager contact list” to find the Broker Manager in your area.
Alignment Health
Alignment Health
Alignment Requires Spark to file events on agent’s behalf.
The events submission deadline is the 14th of the month for events for the next month.
For example, May events are due April 14; June events are due May 14; July events are due June 14th and so on.
Exceptions must be submitted at least 7 days prior to the event date. (We are aware that new event opportunities do come up after the monthly deadline, but do ask for sufficient time for processing)
Most events should be submitted to Alignment Health Plan by the monthly submission deadline.
Future events can be submitted ahead of time if they are confirmed with venue.
All event changes or cancelations need to be sent to Alignment as soon as possible; and at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Download and complete the spreadsheet; submit to [email protected]
Cigna
Cigna
Log in to the Cigna Broker Portal.
From the home page scroll down to Tools
Click on Salesforce, then click on Campaigns.
Click on New, fill in the form and click Save/Submit.
Devoted
Devoted
Log in to the Devoted Broker Portal.
From the home page, click on Events and on the left side menu
Click on the orange box Submit New Event Request in the upper right corner and follow the instructions.
Humana
Humana
Use Humana’s QR code to register events.
Scan the QR code below and follow the instructions.
Molina
Molina
Molina Requires Spark to file events on agent’s behalf.
Please download and complete the Molina Event Submission Spreadsheet:
Send completed sheet to [email protected]
UHC
UHC
From the Jarvis Home page, click on Sales Tools.
Click on Meeting Resources, then click on Events.
Click on New Event Request form.
Download, complete and submit following the instructions on the form.
WellCare
WellCare
Work with your local WellCare Broker Manager to file events.
Click here to find the Sales Leader in your area.