Or I might remark that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.".*

Medicare is a complicated subject.  We, at datadecisions Group, are always looking for an opportunity to discuss the complexities of Medicare Marketing and Sales. We look forward to hearing feedback from Rise: The Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit 2020 in Las Vegas, February 25-26,2020 .

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation article** states that in 2020 there will be 3,148 Medicare Advantage plans offered in the US. 

I am back from Rise’s 12th Annual Medicare conference, and thought I would share to my experiences with those who did not attend.

First, the consumer will have from October 15th to December 7th, 2018 for AEP.  Then from January 1st to March 31st, 2019 there will be an open enrollment period. What communication plan do you have to first indicate that you would like to be the healthcare provider and then insure they are satisfied with their choice? At DDG, we segment this audience into market segments*: Consumers who wish to become a Medicare Advantage Member:  1,049,182 Individuals who prefer to purchase Medicare Supplement Insurance:  1,255,367 Persons who desire PDP (Part D) only:  937,833 Dual Eligible individuals:  488,602 Special Needs Persons (SNP):  6,621,042 Turning 65**           3,342,487 Turning 66**           3,342,487 Turning 67**           3,236,222 Movers***                1,305,457 These audiences are very useful in AEP campaigns—direct mail and Facebook.  We call these custom audiences-dataFaces.   However, OEP will present a different challenge.  Our market(ing) research does indicate that many consumers can not accurately describe the form of Medicare coverage they possess. Do you have a Medicare Advantage Plan? Does it include prescription drug coverage? Did you purchase a Medicare Supplement policy? Are you dependent on only Medicare Part A and Part B? Thus, it is certainly understandable that the member can become very dissatisfied with their coverage during the following months.  For example, did the individual consumer grasp that the PDP selected should match the prescription drugs that they are currently using? Does your customer service groups have training that enables them to assist the consumer in making the choice that optimizes their satisfaction?   Or does your member learn that they had choices from their neighbor and thus becomes irate that your firm did not explain. To measure your risk of “members switching” you can consider both a. market research and b. churn analytics.   Obviously, the goal of the two exercises is different but both can provide you with keen insight for member behavior in OEP.

On average, about 10% of your Medicare Advantage members churn each year (Kaiser Family Foundation). Let’s assume that you have 100,000 members and you average $800 per member per month (PMPM) in Medicare payments and premiums to your health plan. At a 10% churn rate, you are losing 10,000 members and $96 million in plan reimbursements!

Are you prepared for AEP 2017? Are you targeting the right Medicare beneficiaries? Are you using the most productive marketing channels for Medicare marketing? What will get you better AEP results in 2017? We answer these questions in our new Executive Brief: Successful Data-Driven Medicare Marketing in 2017.

 I am thrilled to be enrolled in Medicare. You can see it was a” Big Deal.” I started marketing Medicare Supplement in 1984. We offered United American Insurance Company as they had been selected as the best by Consumer Reports based on the first automated claim service. I thought I knew Medicare and its related options. But my personal experience was an eye opener.