Spark

This Thanksgiving, we're grateful for you. 🧡✨ To everyone in the Spark network – agents, partners, and team members: your work makes a real difference. You help people navigate complex systems and ensure beneficiaries get the support they need. Thank you for your dedication and unwavering commitment. Wishing you a warm and restful Thanksgiving!

Last week, our Sales, AM, and GTM teams came together at The Ranch at Laguna Beach for our 2026 Revenue Kickoff. We spent a few days digging into how we can better support our agents and create real growth opportunities for them. We focused on alignment, collaboration, and building the kind of connection that only happens when you're in the same room. Highlights included: 🤝 Real talk about supporting agents and driving growth 💡 Breakout sessions that sparked ideas we're already running with 🍽️ Dinner get-togethers where colleagues became teammates (and teammates became friends) Coming together under one roof, we're reminded how much more we can accomplish when we move together. We left Laguna Beach energized and ready to make 2026 the strongest year yet for our partners. Here's to the work ahead and the team making it happen. Elin Smith Henry Figueroa Jason Ellis Jacqui Smojver Ruben Diaz Luis A Vazquez Haley Wayman Al Lamb Amanda LeFranc Erica Salas-Zavala Kalan Warrick Jennifer Barrueta Sara Shull Jamie Bartucca Lara Sugameli Melissa Spozio Stephanie Roman Zachariah Freed Sam Brody Andrew Walters Chris Spagnuolo Kayla Kilpatrick Jenna Scherma Charlie Bryan Chance Heath Jordan Greene Liz Frailey Caleb Campbell James Jiang

CMS just gave our industry a huge reason to be grateful this Thanksgiving. Its 2027 MA and Part D proposed rule, released yesterday, would deliver real wins for beneficiaries and brokers. Two big ways that the rule would help clients: 1. New SEP if their doctor leaves the network → A mid-year provider change can drastically derail continuity of care. Now beneficiaries would no longer be stuck on a plan if their doctor unexpectedly goes out of network.   2. Part D donut hole fully closed → More predictable drug costs, thanks to clearer rules on drug manufacturer discounts and how costs count toward IRA’s $2k OOP cap. This should lead to better adherence to care — and better health outcomes.  Just as importantly, CMS is recognizing the indispensable role that brokers play in helping beneficiaries navigate care. Several proposed changes would make it easier for them to support beneficiaries actively seeking guidance: 1. More sensible event & SOA rules → No more waiting periods between educational and marketing events at the same place, or between SOAs and client meetings, to name just a few. 2. More flexible TPMO disclaimers → They simply need to be given before discussing benefits instead of the first 60 seconds of a client meeting.  3. Reasonable call-recording requirements → Retention period would be shortened to 6 years for marketing and sales calls. It’s great to see CMS actively soliciting industry feedback, particularly around marketing guidelines. Stronger oversight is widely welcomed across the ecosystem. There’s more reform needed, but this is easily the most exciting proposed rule that I’ve seen in years. If passed, the proposed rule would give beneficiaries greater choice and control, and brokers better tools to deliver a quality client experience — a potential win-win we don’t often get to celebrate.

Here's something to put on your TV watchlist for Thanksgiving break. John Oliver recently covered Medicare Advantage on Last Week Tonight — potentially misleading viewers, but also pointing out valid flaws in the system. As someone deep in the MA market, it’s worthwhile to unpack a few things he points out: 1. “MA is overly expensive for the government due to upcoding.” → Members with multiple chronic conditions cost more and carriers should be appropriately compensated. We still need to fight improper upcoding, and the best way to do this is to encourage healthy market competition to incentivize carriers and providers to curb misconduct and improve the member experience. 2. “MA offers limited networks and requires prior authorizations.” → Carrier requirements are necessary to manage costs and get beneficiaries appropriate care. But they can be misused and cause consequential delays. That’s when beneficiaries need advocates. At Spark, our brokers can use our Client Services to find new providers, research policy coverage, help with prescription drugs, and more. 3. “MA marketing is aggressive.” → While non-clinical services can contribute to positive health outcomes, we don’t support spammy marketing focused on supplemental benefits. There’s an opportunity here for the industry to build technology to identify and prevent low enrollment quality. Think things like proactive plan fit analysis, telephonic improvements, and broker quality scoring. Is MA a perfect option? As John Oliver showed us, no, there are valid criticisms. The average consumer can’t fix these issues on their own, but as agents and industry leaders, we can work together to fight for beneficiaries and push the industry in the right direction. https://lnkd.in/eTKQBeXW

AEP tip from Karen Alicea of KAS Insurance Agency: Treat your clients like family. In the rush of AEP, it's easy to focus solely on enrollments. But Karen reminds us that lasting success comes from building relationships that go beyond the sale. “Medicare business is about sales, but it’s also about retention.” Her approach? Think of clients as family members. Listen to their concerns and priorities, and make recommendations you'd feel confident giving your own loved ones. This means checking in and being there when your client needs help navigating changes, during AEP and beyond. As we get into the final stretch of this busy season, Karen’s advice is to remember that a satisfied client becomes your best referral source.

This is why we do what we do. ✨ Our Senior Agency Contracting Specialist Audra Palermo recently saw a Spark agent work their magic in real time — at her mom’s house.  Audra watched her mom go from panicked (thinking her plan was cancelled after years with the same carrier – and she hates change!) to giving the Spark agent a big hug. "It was so rewarding to see my mom’s agent guide the conversation with the help of Spark’s tools and give my mom one less thing to worry about. She was so excited, so was I, and proud of us."

AEP halftime check-in: What's working for top Medicare agents right now? ✓ Building digital presence ✓ Community partnerships year-round ✓ Providing value before selling ✓ Remembering why we do this work The Independent Medicare Network hosted AEP Halftime Strategies this week, bringing together former Medicare agents Pam Harrison, Gilberto Enriquez, and Jesse Hendon, who shared what it takes to have a successful AEP without burning out. Here's the truth: People don't refer salespeople. They refer trusted advisors who truly helped them. "It's not about doing one big thing; it's about being present." - Gilberto Enriquez Watch the full recording here: https://lnkd.in/eh9jfWWa

Changing of the guard? The recent Medicare Advantage enrollment update from Spark Advisors is fascinating. What the data actually means is in the eye of the beholder - it does not capture 100% of enrollments nor takes into account disenrollments. But...ball don't lie. The data supports Humana's significant growth in membership, predominantly at the cost of United's. This article https://lnkd.in/exwXudZq dives into the disruption taking place. Enjoy! #MedicareAdvantage