In AEP Home Stretch, MAOs Make Final Push for Enrollment

by Lauren Flynn Kelly

With a bevy of plan options and supplemental benefits available to seniors and the omnipresence of multicarrier brokers, regional Medicare Advantage organizations are working doubly hard to get in front of potential and existing customers during this final stretch of the 2022 Annual Election Period (AEP). Complicating their efforts are continued slowdowns with mail delivery, which could impact brochures getting to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries before the AEP ends on Dec. 7, according to marketing experts. 

EMO Activity Remains ‘Fierce’ 

• Despite CMS having issued a “Third Party Marketing” memorandum in early October that warned of misleading tactics by some organizations, MA plans continue to see fierce competition from electronic marketing organizations (EMOs). 
• These brokers are effective because they use data-driven targeting to easily get in front of an audience by showing up in their preferred mode of communication, and they employ a clear “next steps” message that leads to an immediate response, explains Lindsay Resnick, executive vice president with Wunderman Thompson Health. They often rely on direct response TV advertising (DRTV) but also use direct mail. 
• Resnick says plans can take a page from this direct approach and should offer as much targeted and useful information to the consumer as possible, relying less on brand awareness or a high star rating. “Don’t make it all about you; make it about the customer,” he says. 

Direct Mail Still Key, Despite Delays 

• Other “bumps in the road” this AEP include the second year of both mail and printer delays, but “direct mail is still a workhorse when it comes to Medicare marketing,” Resnick says. “Television advertising is expensive and print ads tend to go unnoticed. Mail can deliver results…as long as they’re received by the member.” 
• Keeping in mind that this two-year mail slowdown is hopefully an anomaly, Resnick expects mail to continue to play its role in future campaigns. 

What Should MAOs Prioritize? 

• Cavulus, which assists MAOs with their technology platforms and direct marketing campaigns, suggests that in the AEP home stretch, the most important factor is who is communicating with potential customers. 

“Plans will modify web and social media campaigns, but I’d say the most impactful strategy shift we observe throughout AEP is the prioritization of sales channels,” Mark Kriscunas, executive vice president of business operations and finance, tells AIS Health. “For instance, a plan may realize better close ratios through external brokers, so they’ll begin funneling opportunities to those agents.” 

From Radar on Medicare Advantage