Medicare 2026

Medicare Seminars and Sales Events: What Agents Can and Can't Do There

If you're new to Medicare — or just trying to make sense of your options for next year — you've probably seen flyers for free seminars, lunch-and-learns, or "Medicare 101" events at a library, community center, or local restaurant. These gatherings can be useful, but they come in two very different flavors under federal rules: educational events and sales (marketing) events. Knowing the difference helps you decide what to expect, what questions to ask, and what an agent is — and isn't — allowed to do while you're there.

Educational events: learn, don't enroll

An educational event is designed to generally inform people about how Medicare works — Parts A, B, C, and D, enrollment windows, how prescription drug coverage is structured, and so on. By rule, it must be advertised as educational.

At one of these events, agents and plan representatives may:

• Hand out materials about Medicare basics.
• Answer questions you raise.
• Give you a business card.
• Collect your contact information if you offer it, including business reply cards and a Scope of Appointment form that permits a later, separate conversation about specific plans.

They may not:

• Market or compare specific Medicare Advantage or Part D plans.
• Give a sales presentation.
• Hand out or accept enrollment applications.

Medicare.gov is explicit: plans and agents can't market or enroll people during an educational event such as a health fair or conference. If something feels like a sales pitch at what was billed as an educational session, that's a red flag.

Sales events: presentations and enrollment are allowed

A sales event (also called a marketing event) is where a licensed agent or plan can actually walk you through specific plan options and, if you choose, help you enroll. Presentations and applications are fine here — that's the point.

But there are still guardrails. At a sales event, agents and plans may not:

• Require a sign-in sheet or your contact information as a condition of attending.
• Conduct health screenings or surveys that could be used to steer certain people toward certain plans.
• Use information gathered from raffles or drawings for any purpose other than the raffle itself.

Federal rules also bar plans from providing meals to potential enrollees, regardless of value. Gifts are allowed only if they're of nominal value, offered to everyone whether or not they enroll, and not cash. Medicare.gov puts it simply: plans and agents aren't allowed to offer cash, gifts worth more than $15, or free meals as an incentive to join a plan.

And after the event? An agent may not call an attendee unless the person gave express permission to be contacted. If you didn't say "yes, you can call me," they shouldn't.

What's changing for 2027 marketing

Under CMS's contract year 2027 final rule — whose marketing policies apply to 2027 plan-year marketing beginning October 1, 2026 — a sales event may directly follow an educational event in the same location. That ends the previous 12-hour separation requirement. The rule has conditions: attendees must be told the educational portion is ending, and must be given a sufficient opportunity to leave before any marketing begins. If you came for education and don't want the sales pitch, you can walk out, and the host must make that clear.

Staying neutral when you compare coverage

A good educational session won't tell you which route is "best." Original Medicare paired with a stand-alone Part D plan (and often a Medigap policy) and Medicare Advantage are structured differently, each with trade-offs around networks, cost sharing, extra benefits, and flexibility when you travel. Which fits depends on your doctors, your prescriptions, your budget, and your preferences. Any honest presenter — in any setting — will lay out the trade-offs and let you decide.

A few 2027 numbers worth knowing

These are national, program-level facts you'll likely hear referenced:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Maximum Part D deductible any plan may charge: $700 in 2027.
• Part D base beneficiary premium: $41.33 — used in the national late-enrollment penalty calculation; actual plan premiums are set plan by plan.
• Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 coverage: October 15 – December 7, 2026, with changes effective January 1, 2027.
• Social Security COLA: 3.6% for benefits payable beginning January 2027, announced October 14, 2026.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the IRMAA income brackets, had not been announced at the time of writing; CMS releases those in the fall, usually in November. Watch Medicare.gov for the official numbers.

If you have Medicaid or Extra Help

If you qualify for Medicaid or the Extra Help program for Part D costs, you have a monthly Special Enrollment Period to move from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare paired with a stand-alone Part D plan, or to switch stand-alone Part D plans. Full-benefit dual-eligible enrollees can also join an integrated D-SNP in any month. You don't need to wait for the Annual Enrollment Period to make these moves.

Where to get unbiased help

For official information, plan comparisons, and enrollment, go to Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24/7. Those are the government's own resources — free, impartial, and current.

Seminars can be a helpful starting point. Just know the rules of the room you're in, don't feel pressured to sign anything, and remember you can always take materials home, think it over, and verify on Medicare.gov before you make any decision.