Medicare Spam Calls During Open Enrollment: How to Protect Your Plan and Your Agent

If your phone starts ringing nonstop every September and October, you’re not imagining it and you’re not being singled out. Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, ACA Open Enrollment overlaps it, and tens of millions of Americans review their health coverage inside the same few weeks. Marketing follows the calendar.

Some of those calls are outright fraud. Some are legitimate licensed agents working a call list. And some display a company name on your screen that you actually recognize. That mix is exactly what makes enrollment season so disorienting — you can’t sort the calls by how professional the caller sounds.

So we give clients one rule that works regardless of who’s on the other end:

Don’t make an insurance change because of an unexpected phone call.

If you already have an agent you trust, call them first. If you’re a Mere Benefits client, call us first. Because a single enrollment can change more than your benefits — it can change who’s listed as the agent servicing your policy. That part deserves its own section, and it’s below.

Why the calls spike every fall

During AEP, people with Medicare can change their Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug coverage. ACA and Marketplace Open Enrollment runs in the fall and winter too, with deadlines that vary depending on where you live and the effective date you want.

Millions of people making coverage decisions in the same window means a marketing surge in the same window. You’ll hear openers like:

• “You’re eligible for additional benefits.”
• “We can get you better benefits.”
• “There’s a new version of your plan.”
• “We can keep you with the same insurance company.”
• “You qualify for benefits you aren’t receiving.”
• “We’re calling about your current Medicare plan.”

Some of those calls are fraudulent. Others are perfectly legal sales calls. Either way, the person calling is not necessarily your agent — and that distinction is the one that costs people something.

Caller ID does not prove who is calling you

The sentence we hear most often is: “But my phone said it was my insurance company.”

Caller ID isn’t proof. Caller ID spoofing is technology that alters the information transmitted to your display, so a call can appear to come from a different number or organization entirely. The FCC has rules against spoofing intended to defraud or cause harm, but the technology still gets used, and a familiar name on your screen is not verification of anything.

There’s also the possibility people don’t expect: the caller may genuinely be a licensed insurance agent. They can sound professional, use the right terminology, and know which plans are available in your county — and still be a stranger whose goal is to enroll you today.

Yes, we’ve heard callers claim an agent died or retired

Over the years clients have relayed some remarkable stories, including being told that their existing insurance agent had retired — or had died — apparently to convince them they needed someone new to handle their coverage.

If an unexpected caller tells you something about your existing agent, don’t take it at face value. Call your agent directly, using the number you already have saved.

For our clients: we’re here, we’re working, and no, you don’t need a new agent because a stranger on the phone says so.

Be careful even when you place the call

This one genuinely surprises people, because it doesn’t feel like a risky situation at all.

Say you have a Medicare Advantage plan and you want to know how to use your over-the-counter (OTC) benefit. You call the number on your card. You believe you’re speaking with customer service — and at first you are. Somewhere in the conversation, you may be transferred to another department or another representative, and the discussion shifts from answering your question to reviewing other plan options.

Before agreeing to anything, stop and ask two questions:

1. “Am I speaking with customer service, or a licensed sales agent?”
2. “Is anything we’re discussing going to change my current plan?”

If you work with an independent agent, you can end the call there and check with them before any enrollment decision gets made.

What actually happens if another agent enrolls you

Here’s the mechanic almost nobody explains, and it’s the reason this article exists.

When another insurance agent completes an enrollment for you, the agent associated with that policy can change. This can happen even when you’re enrolling with the same insurance company you already have.

You might believe you’re simply getting an updated version of your existing plan, or adding a benefit you were told you qualify for. In reality, you may be completing a brand-new enrollment. And if a different agent becomes attached to that policy, your previous agency may no longer be able to provide the ongoing servicing it provides its clients.

For Mere Benefits clients specifically: if another agent enrolls you and we’re no longer the agent of record, we can’t continue serving that policy as your agent. We would much rather hear from you before a change than have you discover the gap at the moment you need help.

How independent agents actually get paid

Consumers should understand this relationship, and we’re happy to be direct about it.

Mere Benefits is an independent insurance agency. We are not employees of your insurance company. For many of the products we help clients enroll in, the insurance carrier compensates our agency when we help enroll and continue serving eligible clients.

That’s why our clients don’t get a separate bill every time they need help with:

• Finding a provider
• Understanding their benefits
• Troubleshooting a prescription problem
• Reviewing insurance correspondence
• Making sense of a claim or a bill
• Evaluating a renewal
• Comparing plan options
• Preparing for the next enrollment season

The clients we help enroll and continue to serve are what make that year-round service possible — the staff, the phone calls and emails, the educational materials and videos, the hours spent researching complicated coverage questions.

And because we’re independent, we’re not trying to keep everyone with one carrier. Sometimes our recommendation is stay exactly where you are. Sometimes it’s there’s a better option this year — occasionally with an entirely different company. That independence is worth protecting, on both sides.

“Don’t be pressured” does not mean “wait until the last minute”

This distinction matters enormously, and we want to be precise about it.

We’re telling you: don’t let an unexpected caller pressure you into changing your insurance on the spot.

We are emphatically not telling you: “You have months. Don’t think about enrollment until December.”

Please don’t do that. Enrollment periods are compressed, and good agents may be helping hundreds of clients inside a short window. Our process is built so clients can educate themselves before their enrollment appointment — we send videos and materials explaining plan benefits and upcoming changes, so the appointment itself is a decision, not a cram session.

What we’d like you to do:

1. Review your information early — starting with your Annual Notice of Change, which arrives by late September.
2. Watch the videos and read the materials we send.
3. Email or text us your questions as they come up.
4. Think about what actually matters to you — your doctors, your prescriptions, your budget.
5. Then schedule your enrollment appointment, and we complete it together.

Our goal is to have most necessary AEP changes for existing clients handled during October. Yes, AEP runs through December 7. But waiting until the final days creates avoidable stress and limits appointment availability. Don’t rush because a stranger called — and don’t procrastinate with the agent you trust. Our six-week AEP prep checklist lays out the whole runway.

Mere Benefits clients: save these three numbers

Thirty seconds now makes the next three months dramatically simpler. Save these in your phone under Mere Benefits – Insurance Agent:

Those are the numbers our team uses to reach clients. Once they’re saved, enrollment season sorts itself: a call from one of them is us, and an insurance call from any other number can go to voicemail. If the caller leaves a message claiming something important is happening with your coverage, call us on a saved number and we’ll tell you whether anything actually needs doing.

Frequently asked questions

Why am I getting so many Medicare calls? Medicare beneficiaries see heavy marketing activity, especially around enrollment periods when millions of people are reviewing Medicare Advantage and drug coverage. Some calls are legitimate marketing, others are spam or fraud. Someone knowing that you have Medicare does not mean they represent Medicare, your insurance company, or your agent.

Does Medicare call you to change your plan? Be skeptical of anyone who contacts you unexpectedly claiming you need to change your Medicare coverage. Medicare doesn’t make unsolicited sales calls, and CMS rules restrict when plans and agents may contact you without permission. If you get such a call, don’t decide on the call — contact your agent, or Medicare directly at 1-800-MEDICARE.

Can someone change my Medicare plan over the phone? Enrollments can be completed by phone in certain circumstances, which is exactly why you need to notice when a conversation shifts from information to enrollment. Before providing information or agreeing to anything, be certain you know which plan is being selected and who is completing the enrollment.

Can changing my Medicare plan change my insurance agent? Yes. A new enrollment can change which agent or agency is associated with your policy. That’s why anyone who already has an agent they trust should call that agent before enrolling with someone else.

What is caller ID spoofing? Technology that alters the information sent to your caller ID so a call appears to originate from a different number or organization. It’s why a familiar name on your screen isn’t sufficient to verify who’s calling.

Someone says they can give me better Medicare benefits. Now what? Don’t assume it’s an upgrade to what you have, and don’t assume it’s a scam either. Write down exactly what’s being offered, end the call, and bring it to your agent. Comparing the proposed plan against your current one is a fifteen-minute conversation that occasionally finds a genuinely better fit — and more often prevents a costly mistake.

Should I call my insurance company or my agent when there’s a problem? Carriers have member services departments that can help. But if you have an independent agent who provides ongoing service, starting with your agent usually gets you to the right answer faster — and keeps someone in your corner who knows your whole file.

What if I already enrolled in something by accident? Contact your agent as soon as possible. What can be done depends on the type of insurance, what enrollment was submitted, the applicable enrollment period, and when it happened. Don’t wait until the new coverage starts to ask for help — options narrow with time.

Don’t answer. Don’t enroll. Call Mere.

Insurance is complicated enough without having to vet every caller who reaches your phone. You don’t have to. If you already have an agent you know and trust, use them: ask the questions, review your coverage early, understand your options — and don’t let an unexpected phone call undo a relationship you’ve spent years building.

Save our numbers. Read what we send you. Ask us anything. Then schedule your appointment and let’s get your 2027 coverage settled properly. Reach out for a free review or call 904-654-5450. Kate Spilsbury (RSSA®, CMIP®) and the Mere Benefits team are independent agents based in Jacksonville, serving Northeast Florida and Camden County, GA.

Simply For Your Benefit.

This article is educational and not medical, tax, or legal advice. Enrollment periods, plan availability, and marketing rules are subject to change; verify specifics with your plan or official Medicare resources. Mere Benefits is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program. We don’t offer every plan available in your area.