Educational and marketing events: a CY2027 planning checklist

Plan distinct educational and marketing segments

The CY2027 CMS update permits a marketing event to directly follow an educational event in the same location when attendees are informed and have an opportunity to leave. The changed timing does not make the educational segment a marketing presentation. Classify the actual segments and review the agenda accordingly.

Use current CMS and carrier instructions for the intended event and materials. Record the coverage year, event type, presenter, venue and responsible reviewer. A reused event deck may contain older sequencing instructions even when the invitation has been updated.

Write the transition into the agenda

Create a clear closing point for education and a separate opening point for marketing. Assign the presenter a reviewed transition statement explaining the change of activity and the choice to leave. Build a real pause and logistics that make departure practical; a tiny footer note on a slide does not demonstrate that the transition happened.

For virtual events, review how the transition will work within the meeting platform. Consider the chat, registration page, slides and follow-up materials as part of the experience. Preserve the final agenda and presentation versions in the event record.

Keep materials and collection steps organized

Separate educational materials from the subsequent marketing materials in the production folder and presenter workflow. The current beneficiary-contact rule addresses educational-event activities, including SOA forms, while preserving limits on the educational segment. Follow the reviewed collection process and do not treat event attendance as permission for every later outreach channel.

This structure helps staff deliver the planned event rather than accidentally blending two distinct experiences.

• Label each segment and its intended purpose in the agenda.
• Assign an owner to the transition announcement and pause.
• Review the actual invitation, deck, handouts and linked destination.
• Identify which forms are used and how evidence reaches the agency.
• Keep the attendee's choice separate from operational convenience.

Rehearse the room and platform experience

Walk through the event from arrival to departure. For an in-person event, check that exits remain obvious and attendees can leave without passing through a sales queue. For a virtual event, practice the announcement, pause and subsequent presentation start. These are practical design checks intended to support the reviewed process.

Check that the presenter opens the correct deck and does not begin plan promotion while still using the educational introduction. Ask someone unfamiliar with the plan to describe when the educational event ended and what happened next. Confusion during rehearsal is easier to fix than confusion during the actual event.

Work through an illustrative two-part webinar

An agency schedules a general Medicare education session followed by a separate plan-marketing session. The invitation and agenda are reviewed in their full context. At the educational closing, the presenter makes the reviewed announcement, provides the opportunity to leave and then begins the separate marketing segment.

The agency saves the final agenda, material versions and operational record. It evaluates later inquiries through its normal reviewed contact and appointment process. This example demonstrates sequencing controls; it does not establish that every invitation, statement or collection method in an actual webinar is permitted.

Audit the event as an operating workflow

After the event, ask whether the actual sequence matched the plan, whether the transition was clear and whether the correct materials were used. Retain any deviations and corrective actions beside the event record. If a presenter skipped the transition, repair the script and rehearsal process before repeating the event.

Review follow-up messages separately. A well-sequenced event can still be followed by inappropriate or poorly documented outreach. The useful CY2027 change is the ability to plan a clearer immediate sequence under the current requirements, supported by material review, attendee choice and a dependable evidence handoff.

Questions agents ask

Keep reading

• Lead consent provenance: what an agency should retain
• Medicare marketing guidelines for 2027: an agent workflow update
• Medicare marketing services for independent agents