With More Online Enrollment, MAOs Must Add ‘Personal Touch’

Sep 16
Sep 16, 2021

As Medicare Advantage organizations prepare to promote their plans for the 2022 Medicare Annual Election Period (AEP), marketing experts say they see a continued shift to year-round and online campaigns. But with the increased use of digital engagement and enrollment leading to some member dissatisfaction, plans must take extra steps to ensure a positive experience early on, they warn.

CMS as of press time had not yet released its annual “landscape” files for the MA and Part D programs, but data released this time last year indicated that MA beneficiaries in 2021 had an average number of 47 plan choices per county, up from 39 in 2020, and that more than 4,800 MA plans were operating in 2021, compared with 4,300 in 2020. Marketing for the AEP begins on Oct. 1, and open enrollment runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.
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Lauren Flynn Kelly

Lauren has been covering health business issues since the early 2000s and specializes in in-depth reporting on Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and Medicare Part D. She also possesses a deep understanding of the complex world of pharmacy benefit management, having written AIS Health’s Radar on Drug Benefits from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2011 to 2016. In addition to her role as managing editor of Radar on Medicare Advantage, she oversees AIS Health’s publications and manages the health editorial staff. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in English.