AEP begins tomorrow. For Medicare agents, what should you have done, or be close to completing, to position yourselves for maximum 2027 AEP success tomorrow?
You Should Be Finished Talking to Your MA Non-Renewals
In our previous article on beginning-of-2027 marketing, we mentioned talking to your MA non-renewals first. These are your most vulnerable clients who need your immediate help to find the best 2027 coverage options for their needs.
Given the high volume of marketing they receive, if you haven’t already assisted these clients, they could already have one foot out the door regarding your partnership. Having these non-renewal clients ready to enroll in the best 2027 Medicare coverage as close to the beginning of AEP as possible enables you to quickly provide the protection and peace of mind they want, helping you maintain your partnership with them.
You can confidently follow up with them during AEP to ensure they’re comfortable with their choice and help other clients.
You Should Be Finishing Your Client ANOC Conversations
This larger group of clients is the next priority because there are a lot of them. Contacting all of them is critical to your book, but the clients with the most 2027 plan changes have the most questions and concerns about their next steps that potentially make them as vulnerable as your MA non-renewal clients
Promptly addressing these concerns is crucial for maintaining your partnership with them in the coming weeks. Your other clients with fewer changes to their current plans still need to hear from you with your reassurance that their 2027 MA plan is the best plan for them.
Your 2027 Training is Complete
After re-reading the CMS 2027 Agent/Broker Training and Testing Guidelines, you should be ready to operationalize the CMS standards for MA plans and Part D agents. You should also have all partner company certifications and product training completed so you hit the ground running for your first AEP appointments tomorrow.
You’re ready to confidently implement the 2027 CMS changes for agents as you’ve been practicing and testing them through your own business process changes. This includes updating administrative processes to reflect recent CMS changes, such as reducing the required retention period for sales and marketing call recordings from 10 years to 6 years.
For years four through six, transcripts may be used instead of recordings.
Your Technology Testing is Done
Testing of your CRM and all other technological systems, including the latest software updates and up-to-date CMS and HIPAA compliance for 2027, should be complete. You’re using these systems tomorrow, so now’s the time to know they work and meet all compliance requirements.
Don’t Stop 2026 Enrollments
Several Medicare beneficiaries can enroll for a 2026 effective date using a SEP. Don’t stop your 2026 new-to-Medicare, dual-eligible, and other SEP marketing efforts until you have to, at the end of November, as these enrollments are potential clients to partner with who will bring you revenue before January 1, 2027.
These 2026 enrollments also provide another opportunity for 2027 revenue if they need further assistance on or after January 1.
Ready for Tomorrow?
If you haven’t finished these things or need help finishing them, Agility is here to assist, with our Medicare experts providing the advice you need to resolve your specific issue quickly. When AEP gets rolling, they’re still here to ensure you spend less time figuring out what comes next and more time helping clients make sense of their Medicare options, which increases your Medicare sales.
The Agility Difference
As the insurance market changes, Agility helps agents stand out by sharing updates and offering our team’s expertise to help you grow. If you have questions or want to talk to our ACA, Medicare, CHOICE, Group, life, or ancillary experts, reach out to our dedicated Producer Support at (866) 590-9771 or support@enrollinsurance.com.
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