Running a Medicare Advantage call center is a constant challenge because of rigid marketing rules and privacy provisions. On top of that, it’s a fast-paced environment where agents often handle high call volumes, especially during the all-important enrollment season.
This is where the right Medicare Advantage dialer can make a huge difference. You’ll want to choose a solution that not only improves productivity for agents but also complies with ever-changing requirements from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
CMS Compliance Requirements for Medicare Dialers
CMS enforces stringent marketing rules for Medicare Advantage health plans. Your dialer needs to meet the following requirements, or your call center could face penalties for noncompliance.
1. Retaining Calls
To stay in CMS’ good books, you’ll want to invest in a Medicare Advantage dialer that can securely record, store, and retrieve calls. Sales and marketing calls may need to be kept for up to six years, while calls that include both sales and enrollment may need to be retained for up to 10 years.
Also, consider a solution that stores calls in the cloud and indexes them by agent, date, and other criteria. This way, you can quickly find what you need in an audit.
2. Getting Consent for Recording Calls
CMS requires that all inbound and outbound calls be recorded within the “chain of enrollment,” which is the period from when someone learns about a Medicare Advantage plan to when they enroll.
However, you’ll also need to consider call recording laws in different locations. Some states require all parties on a call to provide consent before recording them, while other states have one-party consent rules.
The right dialer can help you manage these differences with recording notifications and other features. For example, dialers with automated interactive voice response (IVR) tell beneficiaries a call will be recorded before the conversation even begins. Call scripts, on the other hand, make sure agents read out CMS-required disclosures every time.
3. Making unsolicited cold calls
Unsolicited cold calls that market Medicare Advantage plans aren’t allowed under CMS rules. So, your call center will need to take certain precautions when contacting potential beneficiaries.
A good dialer can help here. For instance, it can scrub your contact lists against the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry and the Reassigned Numbers Database (RND) so agents only call verified leads that have opted in to your communications. As a result, you can comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and other legislation.
Different Dialer Types for Medicare Advantage Marketing
There are four main types of dialer that you might want to use when marketing Medicare Advantage plans:
1. Predictive Dialers
A predictive dialer calls multiple numbers at once and connects answered calls to available agents.
- Pros: This technology may increase productivity in your call center by reducing idle time between conversations and allowing agents to handle more outbound calls.
- Cons: Because predictive dialers call ahead, a beneficiary may answer when there’s no agent available. This can lead to an abandoned call or just dead air.
- Best Practices: Only use predictive dialers if you have enough agents to handle all connected calls.
2. Power Dialers
A power dialer, also known as a progressive dialer, automatically calls a beneficiary from a contact list when an agent is available.
- Pros: Power dialers only call out when an agent is ready, which can reduce abandoned calls.
- Cons: As power dialers wait for agents to become available, your call center may generate fewer calls per hour.
- Best Practices: This Medicare Advantage dialer type is best suited for small and medium teams that want to improve compliance but still maintain momentum when contacting beneficiaries.
3. Preview Dialers
A preview dialer displays a beneficiary’s information on the agent’s screen before a call is placed. This gives them time to review details before connecting, potentially resulting in more personalized conversations.
- Pros: Preview dialers may not be classified as automated dialing systems because using them involves human intervention before a call is placed. This can help improve compliance in your call center.
- Cons: As agents review information before a conversation, fewer calls might take place.
- Best Practices: Preview dialers are a good choice for more complex conversations and when compliance is a top priority.
The Verdict: Hybrid Medicare Advantage Dialing Solutions
When managing a Medicare Advantage call center, the best solution may not be a single type of dialer but a more comprehensive software platform that lets you run multiple marketing campaigns simultaneously.
For example, with the right software, you can use a preview dialer to learn more about new leads and provide personalized experiences. Then you can switch to a power or predictive dialer for older leads or larger outbound campaigns.
CallTools for Medicare Advantage Call Centers
CallTools offers both high-speed dialing and a cloud-based CRM interface, allowing you to segment contact lists based on different criteria and route higher-priority leads to specific agents while staying on the right side of the law.
Features include native DNC list scrubbing, automatic call recording, CMS compliance, and more. You can even prioritize queues and schedule callbacks during high-volume periods like enrollment season.
Learn more about the Medicare Advantage Dialer from CallTools.
