The Annual Election Period (AEP) is a period of time in which Medicare-eligible people are given the opportunity to shop for and commit to new Medicare supplemental plans. In 2022, AEP occurs between October 15 and December 7.
During AEP, Medicare Supplement providers must beef up their staff in order to field questions and close sales for new members. These new staffers help them connect with as many potential customers as possible, but also brings in relatively less experienced staffers.
AEP represents both a significant opportunity for supplement providers, but also represents a significant risk increase as less experienced staff must interact with consumers while ensuring they remain compliant with governing federal regulations as mandated by the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS).
Why are CMS Compliance Audits Important During AEP?
During AEP, Medicare Supplement providers enroll new members and field questions about their plans. These efforts occur at multiple touchpoints including:
- Phone calls
- Informal Events
- Formal Events
- 1:1 Appointments
Each of these touchpoints represents a risk vector.
Since CMS stringently monitors these interactions through undercover audits, every conversation between a potential enrollee and a salesperson represents a potential violation.
When CMS catches violations, the punishments vary from fines all the way to loss of Medicare contract.
For these reasons, it is exceedingly important that Medicare Supplement Providers work to ensure their sales force and call center employees remain compliant with the strict rules enforced during AEP.
TrendSource CMS Compliance Audits
TrendSource offers year-round CMS Compliance Audits for all types of interaction, including phone call audits, informal and formal event audits, and 1:1 appointment audits. While we encourage our clients to maintain compliance audits year-round to guard against costly violations, at the very least it is imperative that supplement providers run CMS compliance audits during AEP.
TrendSource CMS Compliance Audits help supplement providers institute small-scale corrective action instead of facing the full wrath of CMS when violations are caught. This is because they mimic actual CMS mystery shops, putting sales and call center staff to the test.
By running CMS Compliance Audits during AEP, Medicare Supplement providers guard against punitive actions from CMS. TrendSource, as always, is here to help.
