The tricks, one by one
These are techniques, not accusations against any one advertiser. They are why an ad can feel like a promise and still be true on paper.
- 'You may qualify.' The word 'may' does all the work. Most viewers will not qualify for what is shown.
- A rare benefit shown as ordinary. A food card, a giveback or an allowance that exists in some plans in some counties is shown as something everyone on Medicare can get.
- Fine print that flashes by. 'Benefits, features and device availability vary by plan and area' means the thing you just saw may not be offered where you live.
- A look of authority. Official-sounding names, Medicare-style colors and urgent voices make an ad seem like it comes from the government. Medicare's rules do not allow misleading Medicare logos or confusing words and images.
- Fake deadlines. 'Call now' and 'benefits are running out' are pressure, not information.
- Famous faces. A spokesperson is paid to be there. Being well known does not make a plan right for you.
- A phone number that goes to a call center. Many ads are paid for by marketing companies that pass your call to whichever agent or plan pays them.
- 'Zero premium' as 'free'. A plan with no premium of its own is not free: you still pay the Part B premium, and you may pay copayments, deductibles and more for care and drugs.
What Medicare's rules say
Medicare.gov lists what people representing plans may not do. Ads are covered too.
- They may not advertise without using specific plan names.
- They may not advertise using confusing words or images, or misleading Medicare logos.
- They may not call you unless you are already a member or gave permission.
- They may not offer you cash, or gifts above a small value limit, to join, or give you free meals during a sales pitch.
- They may not pressure you with lines like 'you have to join this plan or you won't have coverage next year.'
Ads you can learn from
Not every Medicare ad is bad. A good one names the plan, says what is covered in plain language and does not rush you. Use the test: if you could not write down which plan the ad was for, the ad was not for you, it was for the phone number.
How to check any claim
Compare what you heard to the plan's own documents. Nothing in a commercial binds a plan. The Summary of Benefits and the Evidence of Coverage do.
- Ask for the plan's name and look up its Summary of Benefits.
- Ask whether the benefit is in the plan you would join, in your county.
- Ask what it is limited to and who is eligible.
- Use 1-800-MEDICARE or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program for an unbiased second opinion.