Medicare Advantage Organization Social Media Policy Checklist

Your social media policy should distinguish routine education from marketing, set a review path for promotional content, and give employees, agents, and vendors clear rules for posts and messages. The Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines apply based on a post’s content and purpose—not just the platform it appears on.

Which social media posts qualify as Medicare marketing?

A post is generally marketing when it is intended to draw attention to a Medicare Advantage plan, influence someone’s plan choice, or encourage an enrollee to stay—and it addresses plan benefits, premiums, cost sharing, rewards, or plan rankings. CMS considers the audience, timing, surrounding information, and other context, not only how the organization labels the post. Review 42 CFR § 422.2260 for the definition.

• Likely marketing: paid or organic posts promoting plan benefits, costs, enrollment, rewards, or Star Ratings.
• Not necessarily marketing: general Medicare education that does not promote a plan or address plan-specific benefits, costs, rankings, or rewards. It may still be a communication subject to accuracy requirements.
• Review each format: captions, videos, livestreams, comments, paid promotions, and reposts may each convey marketing content.

Do not assume a post is exempt because it is short, unpaid, or published on an agent’s personal account. Organizations must avoid misleading or materially inaccurate information in communications and marketing. See CMS’s Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines and 42 CFR § 422.2262.

What review and CMS submission steps are required?

When a post qualifies as marketing, treat it as a marketing material for review and submission purposes. Social media is not a blanket exception to CMS marketing material submission. MA organizations generally submit marketing materials through the HPMS Marketing Module; CMS rules allow distribution after approval, deemed approval, or an applicable File and Use process. File and Use is limited to designated material types and has specific timing and certification requirements. See 42 CFR § 422.2261.

1. Classify the post as marketing or non-marketing using its purpose, content, audience, and context.
2. Confirm the plan year, service area, plan name, benefits, cost information, and any required disclaimers.
3. Route the material through the organization’s documented compliance review, including review of images, captions, video scripts, links, and calls to action.
4. Submit materials requiring CMS review through HPMS, and wait for approval or use an applicable deemed-approval or File and Use pathway before publishing.
5. Keep the approved version, submission and disposition records, publication date, and any later edits together so the live post can be matched to the reviewed material.

CMS guidance identifies HPMS as the primary system for collecting and reviewing materials that must be submitted. It also describes the treatment of designated File and Use materials and other submission details in the Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines. Apply the current contract-year requirements and your organization’s approval procedures before posting.

Which disclaimers and plan identification details must appear?

Identify the MA organization or marketing name associated with the plan. For online and social media advertisements, the name must be displayed throughout the advertisement at a size equivalent to the advertised phone number, contact information, or benefits. This identification rule is separate from the Federal Contracting Statement. See 42 CFR § 422.2263.

The Federal Contracting Statement generally names the organization, identifies the plan type, states that the organization has a Medicare contract, and explains that enrollment depends on contract renewal. However, the regulation specifically excepts social media from the requirement to include this statement. Do not confuse that exception with the separate requirement to identify the MA organization or marketing name. See 42 CFR § 422.2267.

If a marketing post mentions Star Ratings, include the Star Ratings disclaimer conveying that Medicare evaluates plans yearly using a five-star rating system. CMS’s guidance says that, for space-limited electronic media such as social media, the disclaimer may be made available to viewers through the advertisement’s click-through. Ensure the linked information is easy to find and matches the rating claim. Consult the CMS guidance on Star Ratings disclaimers.

Use the TPMO disclaimer when required for a third-party marketing organization. Other disclosures may also apply when a post promotes particular benefits or arrangements—for example, when discussing special supplemental benefits for the chronically ill or co-branded provider relationships. Check the applicable requirements in 42 CFR § 422.2267 rather than adding a generic disclaimer that does not address the claim.

How should testimonials, reposts, and paid endorsements be handled?

Review a member’s comment before reposting, quoting, featuring, or otherwise using it to promote a plan. CMS guidance has treated republication of a user’s plan-promoting social media content as a product endorsement or testimonial. That means a repost can become the organization’s marketing material and may require the same review, submission, and claim checks as original content. See CMS’s Medicare marketing guidance on endorsements and testimonials.

• Name the plan or product clearly, and verify the member was enrolled in the plan when the testimonial was created, consistent with CMS guidance.
• Clearly disclose a paid endorsement or other material connection. If someone is paid to portray a situation, identify it as a paid actor portrayal.
• Do not edit a testimonial so that it changes the speaker’s meaning or implies a result the person did not describe.
• Substantiate objective claims in a testimonial—such as claims about savings, coverage, or outcomes—with reliable evidence. A testimonial alone is not substantiation for an advertising claim.

For paid endorsements and other material connections, make disclosures clear and conspicuous near the endorsement; a platform’s disclosure tool alone may not be sufficient. The FTC’s social media disclosure guidance explains that disclosures should be noticeable and understandable, while its Endorsement Guides address material connections and endorsements.

What rules apply to agents’ social media posts?

Apply Medicare Advantage agent marketing oversight to social media as well as to traditional sales materials. Agents and brokers who represent an MA organization must meet applicable state licensing and appointment requirements, complete required annual training and testing, and follow Medicare marketing rules. MA organizations must oversee representatives and submit agent or broker marketing materials through HPMS before use. See 42 CFR § 422.2274.

Make the policy clear that agent-created posts, livestreams, and responses that promote a plan must use approved claims and follow the organization’s review process. As operational safeguards, require agents to use current plan-year materials, prohibit unapproved benefit or savings promises, and escalate complaints or potentially misleading posts for correction. These controls help implement the organization’s oversight responsibilities; they do not replace applicable CMS or state requirements.

How can organizations manage direct messages and enrollee consent?

Do not send unsolicited Medicare Advantage solicitation messages through social media direct messaging. The current beneficiary-contact regulation expressly prohibits unsolicited direct messages from social media platforms. See 42 CFR § 422.2264.

If a beneficiary initiates a message or asks for information, keep the response within the requested topic and document the request according to your procedures. Do not treat consent given for one channel or purpose as blanket permission for social media outreach. Avoid asking beneficiaries to post personal or health information publicly; direct sensitive conversations to an organization-approved channel.

If a TPMO collects personal data for MA marketing or enrollment and seeks to share it with another TPMO, the applicable rule requires prior express written consent that identifies each recipient TPMO and allows the beneficiary to accept or reject sharing with each one. See 42 CFR § 422.2274.

What compliance checks help prevent misleading claims?

Before a post goes live, check that the plan name, benefits, premiums, cost sharing, provider and pharmacy information, and eligibility details are accurate for the right contract year and service area. Confirm that limitations are visible and that the post does not imply Medicare or CMS endorses the organization. MA organizations may not mislead, confuse, or provide materially inaccurate information to current or prospective enrollees under 42 CFR § 422.2262.

• Compare every benefit or cost statement with current approved plan materials and the applicable service area.
• Verify each Star Rating against the correct contract year and geographic area, and include the required Star Ratings disclaimer when ratings are mentioned.
• Check that the MA organization or marketing name is clearly identified, even when a Federal Contracting Statement is not required for a social media post.
• Review testimonials, paid endorsements, and reposts for disclosure, accuracy, and endorsement substantiation.
• Check the current TPMO disclaimer where applicable. For Contract Year 2027 materials beginning October 1, 2026, CMS updated the disclaimer language, removed the reference to SHIPs, and requires the disclaimer to be given verbally before benefits are discussed on sales calls. See CMS’s Contract Year 2027 marketing-guideline update.
• Keep source evidence for comparative and superlative claims. For Contract Year 2027, CMS says supporting documents no longer need to be included on materials using superlatives, but supporting data may still be requested in many cases. See the CMS update for Contract Year 2027.
• Recheck the published post after edits, platform cropping, or changes to linked landing pages so the live content remains consistent with the approved version.

FAQs.

Do Medicare Advantage social media marketing posts need CMS review and submission?

If a post qualifies as marketing, it generally must be submitted for CMS review through HPMS unless an applicable exception or pathway—such as designated File and Use—applies. Social media is not, by itself, an exemption. Non-marketing communications are generally treated differently. See 42 CFR § 422.2261.

When is the TPMO disclaimer required on social media?

A TPMO that sells plans on behalf of more than one MA organization must use the disclaimer in its applicable marketing materials, including qualifying social media marketing posts. The rule also requires electronic conveyance in specified beneficiary communications. Use the current standardized language and fill in the applicable organization and product counts. See 42 CFR § 422.2267.

Can an organization repost a member’s positive comment about its plan?

It can, but treat a promotional repost as an endorsement or testimonial: confirm the content is accurate, identify the plan, check applicable enrollment and compensation disclosures, substantiate any factual claims, and complete the required marketing review. CMS guidance has treated republished plan-promoting social media comments as endorsements or testimonials.

Are Medicare Advantage plan solicitation messages allowed through social media direct messaging?

Unsolicited social media direct messages are prohibited. If a beneficiary initiates contact or requests information, respond only within the scope of that request and follow applicable marketing, privacy, and consent procedures. Do not use a general or unrelated opt-in as permission to send unsolicited social media solicitation messages.

Checklist takeaway: Classify each post by its content and purpose, review and submit qualifying marketing materials through the appropriate process, use applicable disclaimers, supervise agent and TPMO activity, and keep evidence that claims and endorsements are accurate.