Scope of Appointment Policies & Procedures.

The Centers for Medicare Insurance FMO and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires that the Scope of Appointment (SOA) must be agreed to by the Medicare beneficiary prior to any face-to-face personal/individual marketing appointment for an FMO for Medicare Advantage Plans or Prescription Drug Plan. An SOA is not required for Medicare Supplement Plan presentations.

Agents can document the SOA in writing via an SOA form. If the SOA is being documented by recording a phone call in advance of the appointment, the call should be placed by the plan sponsor and not the agent.

Medicare insurance agents shall only discuss during that appointment those products that have been agreed upon by the beneficiary during that appointment. If the client requests to discuss a product outside of the original SOA form, the agent must complete a new SOA form and schedule a second appointment no sooner than 48 hours.

Agents shall comply with each plan sponsor’s requirements for submission of the SOA form and retain a copy of the form for at least 10 years. An SOA form cannot be used for more than one appointment — each appointment requires a separate completed SOA form.