Eligibility screening for Medicare Advantage
The qualification screen for Medicare Advantage transfers has several non-negotiable gates. The consumer must be enrolled in both Medicare Part A and Part B — Part A alone does not qualify. Age alone is not sufficient confirmation; many consumers over 65 are still on employer coverage or have not yet enrolled. The consumer's county of residence matters because MA plan availability is entirely county-specific; a consumer in a county where the buyer's plan is not offered cannot be transferred regardless of their other qualifications. Lock-in period status is also relevant: consumers who enrolled in a plan outside of a Special Enrollment Period or Annual Enrollment Period cannot freely switch, so confirming the current period is open — or that the consumer qualifies for an SEP — is part of the screen. Centers should confirm all four: Parts A and B, county of residence, and enrollment period eligibility.
Non-affiliation disclosures
CMS marketing rules require that callers identify themselves and their organization at the outset of any Medicare-related call, and explicitly state that they are not affiliated with or endorsed by the federal government or Medicare program. This is not optional language that a script can soften — it must be present and clear. For call centers operating in this vertical, the disclosure must be made before qualification begins, not as an afterthought at the end of the screen. Scripts supplied by the buyer will include this language; centers that modify the script without buyer approval create a compliance exposure that falls on both parties.
How Medicare Advantage differs from Medicare Supplement
The distinction matters operationally because the two product types use different qualification criteria and attract different buyer profiles. Medicare Advantage replaces original Medicare with a private plan and typically includes drug coverage; it pays on a capitated basis and restricts the consumer to a plan network. Medicare Supplement pays alongside original Medicare, has no network restrictions, but carries a separate premium and does not include drug coverage. Consumers interested in one are not necessarily qualified for or interested in the other. Running a Medicare Advantage script on consumers attracted by Medicare Supplement messaging produces a mismatch that generates rejections. Centers should not mix the two campaign types without distinct scripts and distinct traffic sources.
Enrollment period timing and volume planning
Medicare Advantage campaigns are heavily seasonal. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, and the Open Enrollment Period for MA specifically runs January 1 through March 31. Outside those windows, transfers are only billable for consumers who qualify for a Special Enrollment Period — a qualifying life event such as a move, loss of coverage, or Low-Income Subsidy eligibility. Centers should plan staffing and dialing capacity around these windows rather than treating Medicare Advantage as a year-round constant-volume campaign. During AEP, buyer capacity fills quickly, so onboarding and certification should be completed well before October.