Important CMS Update to Definition of Marketing Eff July 10, 2023
CMS has made an update to the Definition of Marketing as it relates to Medicare Advantage/PDP. Any content included in a MA/PDP piece (mailer, flyer, television, social media, website, etc.) that a beneficiary can receive/view that includes mention of benefits such as Dental, Vision, Hearing, and cost-savings, will meet the standard definition of marketing. Previously, unless a specific dollar amount was listed, these mentions in a piece would not meet the content standard for marketing and the piece would be considered ‘generic communication’.
Beginning July 10, 2023, any material or activity that is distributed via any means (e.g., mailing, tv., social media, etc.) that mentions any benefit will be considered marketing and must be submitted for review/approval by CMS.
What do I need to do?
Review any client-facing assets in-use/planned to use on/after July 10, 2023, either created in-house, through a third-party vendor, or from the Marketing team at Cornerstone Senior Marketing (mailers, flyers, brochures, ads, web pages, social media, etc.). If any contain benefit information, (ie: mention of dental, vision, hearing, travel, cost-savings, etc. in relation to MA/PDP) and have not already been filed with CMS for review/approval, discontinue use or modify, removing benefit information, on or before July 10, 2023.
Alternately, you may send any such materials to Cornerstone Senior Marketing to submit to CMS for review/approval. Please note the review and approval process may take upwards of 75 days to complete and use of the material on/after July 10, 2023, must be suspended until approval is granted.
Compliance Services from Cornerstone Senior Marketing
Client-facing materials for the Medicare market, specifically those that include information about MA/PDP, can be submitted for a compliance review prior to use, by sending via email to: compliance@cornerstoneseniormarketing.com.
We highly recommend submitting scripts with storyboards for television/video prior to recording or development of these projects to ensure compliance and avoid potential, costly re-work if the content requires changes in order to be compliant.