Last Updated: 10/14/2025

With so many moving parts and changes to Medicare, AEP is shaping up to be a historic enrollment season. Be sure to bookmark this resource as a meeting place for all things AEP prep! The Spark Team will be updating it weekly.

💡 With 7 days to go until AEP, the most important thing you need to know this week is that we’re here for you! Other updates:

1. 2026 plan disruption analysis results are rolling in — see impacted clients in Spark.

2. Check newly announced non-commissionable plans and SARs for Elevance Health.

3. Track SunFire applications with our new dashboards.

5. See if you have contracting action items in Spark.

2026 AEP Kickoff

Missed our AEP Kickoff? Catch the replay and presentation to explore key industry trends and new Spark features to help agents succeed. We received more great questions than we could answer live—check out our top Q&A responses here.

Carrier Certifications and First Looks

💡2026 RTS (Ready to Sell) Statuses are now live in Spark! To view your 2026 statuses, click here.

Please note: Statuses will only appear for carriers currently providing 2026 statuses in their reports. You can view a list of carriers currently providing 2026 statuses here.

Once you have completed AHIP and have your certificate, you can upload that certificate to various carriers from the AHIP site. Every year you must re-certify with the carriers you wish to contract with to sell their MA/PDP Plans for the next Plan Year.

Use the following chart as a resource to quickly find certification open dates and first looks (when available).

National Carriers

Carrier	Certification Open Date	2026 First Look	Enrollment Kit Instructions
Aetna	June 25, 2025 (Walkthrough)	HERE	Aetna: MA/MAPD Enrollment Kit Aetna Marketing Portal
Alignment	Walkthrough	-	Alignment: Download Enrollment Kits
Elevance/Anthem	July 1, 2025 (Walkthrough)	-	Anthem: Order Enrollment Kits
Healthspring	July 21, 2025 (Walkthrough)	Kick off meeting First Look	Cigna: Enrollment Kits
Devoted	Jun 24, 2025 (Walkthrough)	HERE Rollout Events 2026 Plans at a Glance	Devoted: Download Enrollment Kits
Humana	July 8, 2025 (Walkthrough)	HERE	Humana: Order Enrollment Kits
Wellcare	July 22, 2025 (Walkthrough)	HERE	Wellcare: Order Enrollment Kits
UHC	Jun 2, 2025 (Walkthrough)	HERE	Order Sales Materials & Enrollment kits from UHC Jarvi

Regional Carriers

Carrier	Certification Open Date	2026 First Look	Enrollment Kit Instructions
Astiva	Walkthrough	Rollout Events	-
Clover	Walkthrough	-	-
Community Health Choice	July 7, 2025	-	-
Eternal Health	July 9, 2025	Maricopa First Look Pima First Look	-
Florida Blue	June 20, 2025 (Walkthrough)	Statewide Kickoff North/Central Kickoff South/West Kickoff	-
Freedom/Optimum	July 1, 2025 (Walkthrough)	-	-
Gold Kidney	July 1, 2025 (Walkthrough)	-	-
HCSC	Walkthrough	-	-
HealthSun	July 1, 2025	-	-
Highmark	August 1, 2026	-	-
Imperial	August 11, 2025	-	-
KelseyCare	TBD-mid/late July (Walkthrough)	Broker Roadshow 8/26	-
Memorial Hermann	July 20, 2025	-	-
Molina	TBD-mid/late July (Walkthrough)	-	Molina: Download Enrollment Kits
Prominence	July 7, 2025	-	-
Scan	July 15, 2025 (Walkthrough)	Virtual Sneak Peak (AZ, TX, NV, NM) Virtual Sneak Peak (SoCal SoCal Rollout Event	SCAN: Download Enrollment Kits
Zing	June 26, 2025 (Walkthrough)	HERE	-

Non-Commissionable Plans

View a database of verified non-commissionable plans at the resource HERE from our carrier partners. Please note that this list may not be comprehensive. Please reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions.

Spark Platform Release Roadmap

Check out our the features coming to your Spark platform before this AEP. Keep an eye out for more info and training to help you make the most of Spark this AEP.

Feature	Description	Target Release Date
2026 Ready to Sell statuses in Spark	Confirm your 2026 Ready to Sell statuses on the contracting page in Spark.	August 6
AEP Marketing Materials	Download white-labelled AEP marketing materials from your Spark account here.	August 12
AEP Retention Program - Configuration	Configure send dates and needs assessments for the AEP retention campaign. More info here.	August 12
Ready to Sell Manager	New and improved contract status manager on the Spark Contracts page.	September 15
Contact Work Queues	Access lists of high-priority clients in your book of business with new changes to the Spark Contacts page. Webinar coming soon.	September 23
Plan Exit Campaign Opt-in	Opt-in to automated emails to your clients affected by the plan that exists in the new year.	September 23
Updated Production Reports & Dashboards	Track your Sunfire applications and carrier production with new and improved reports and dashboards.	September 30
2026 Plan Data is Live	2026 plans and benefit information added to Sunfire. Spark's policy database will be updated with 2026 plans shortly thereafter.	October 1
AI-Assistant	Spark's AI Assistant is live. AI Assistant will provide analysis on your book of business in Spark, providing prioritized insights on your clients affected by plan disruptions and benefit degradation in 2026.	October 7
Plan Cheat Sheets	Quickly access local 2026 plan benefit information with our plan grid database.	October 7
2026 Medicare 101 Release	2026 Medicare 101 packets will be downloadable in your Spark marketing center. Please note the date is subject to change due to CMS timelines.	October 28

Spark AEP Retention Program

Identify which clients need extra support this year. Spark’s AEP retention campaigns send needs assessments to your clients, helping you evaluate whether their current plans still meet their needs, while ensuring every client hears from you before AEP begins.

Learn more about this year’s program HERE.

Key Dates and Deadlines

This year, choose from four campaign start dates throughout September. See their deadlines for submitting your book of business and confirming opt-ins.

Campaign Start Date: The date that the first email and postcard are sent to your clients. For those who do not configure a date, the default date is September 9th.
Book of Business (Contacts) Upload Deadline: The final date to upload your contacts/book of business to Spark to participate in this campaign option. If you have not uploaded your book of business to Spark you can do so HERE.
Configuration Deadline: The final date to configure your survey to participate in this campaign option. Configuration will be live in your Spark account on 8/13.

Campaign Launch	Campaign Start Date	Book of Business Upload Deadline	Configuration Deadline - live in Spark on 8/12
1	Sept. 3	Aug. 11	Aug. 27
2	Sept. 9 (Default Date)	Aug. 15	Sept. 2
3	Sept. 16	Aug. 22	Sept. 9
4	Sept. 23	Aug. 29	Sept. 16

Checking Contracting/RTS Status

Contracting Prep

If your contract is currently under a different top-of-hierarchy and you wish to move it to Spark before this year’s AEP, please see AEP 2026 Contracting Prep for more information.

Agent/Agency Created Communication and Marketing Materials

Agents and Agencies who are creating materials to use for lead generation during AEP must submit them to Spark Compliance no later than Jul 15, 2025 to have them approved in time.

To submit your marketing materials, please fill out the following form: Marketing Compliance Review.

Enrollment and Marketing Guides

Instructions for how to order sales and enrollment kits for various carriers are available HERE.

Training Opportunities to Learn about PY 2026 Changes

Visit our Spark Events page to register for learning opportunities.

Our Agent Training page <COMING SOON> contains valuable resources for your reference.

Spark AEP Retention Program

Refer to the resources linked below for more information on our retention program and other useful features:

Client Retention: Improve your client retention without lifting a finger!
Platform Features: Access the tools to grow your business, manage your admin, and serve your clients.
Quote & Enroll: Quote Medicare Advantage and Supplement plans from 100+ companies and enroll your clients directly from the Spark platform.
Marketing: Explore a wealth of resources for marketing strategy, creativity, and success.
Client Services: Spark’s team of healthcare experts help resolve many of your clients’ issues on your behalf.
Record Your Calls: Information and resources regarding mandatory call recordings.
Platform Changelog: View the changes we’ve been making at Spark!

AHIP

AHIP and certification season is in full swing! Use the resources in this guide to get ahead on completing your 2026 certifications.

📢 2026 AHIP opens on June 23, 2025.

Discount

You must recertify with AHIP every year.

Spark provides a discount link, which is available here:

AHIP DISCOUNT LINK

No coupon is required. The discount brings the cost down to $125 ($50 off the standard $175 exam price). For additional details, you can review the discount link instructions here.