For the first time, the upcoming RISE Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit will feature a candid panel discussion with members who are navigating Medicare Advantage, original Medicare, and the complexities in between. They will take the stage to share what works, what doesn’t, and what urgently needs to change. In this article, the panelists discuss why it’s crucial for marketing and sales professionals to hear their stories.
If Medicare marketers and sales professionals want to build trust, improve enrollment accuracy, and create products that genuinely work for people, they must hear directly from those whose lives depend on these decisions.
That’s the message from panelists who will share their personal journeys at RISE Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit, which will take place February 25-27 in Las Vegas. The session is presented in partnership with the Camden Coalition, a multidisciplinary, community-based nonprofit that works to improve care for people with complex health and social needs in the city of Camden, across New Jersey, and around the country.
Across the interviews, one theme surfaced immediately: Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and health insurance in general has become overwhelmingly complex for the people it’s supposed to serve.
Use plain language to explain benefits
Global patient advocate Connie Montgomery, a retired occupational therapist who manages multiple rare diseases while caring for disabled siblings and a veteran spouse, described the system as a daily balancing act.
For individuals who are already stretched thin, jargon heavy materials and rushed sales conversations create barriers rather than solutions. She emphasized that information must be simple, transparent, and in truly plain language, accessible at a third to fifth grade reading level.
Montgomery believes plan benefits that focus on whole-person-centered care are crucial to improving Medicare and Medicaid services.
This type of care and support will improve overall functional outcomes for people’s quality of living because one-size does not fit all individual needs, she said.
Furthermore, she said, “When you talk to me about Medicare and Medicaid, it needs to be brief, understandable, and transparent. And the relationship cannot be transactional. It has to be a relationship. You need to actively listen to me, not just listening to respond, but listening to what I’m saying.”
Her story is a reminder that most members shopping for coverage are doing so under extraordinary stress—managing caregiving, chronic illness, financial strain, and confusing benefit designs all at once.
Ask members what they want
Roderick Kersch, vice president for health plan sales at WEX Benefits, who will moderate the session, says the panel is an opportunity for Medicare marketing and sales professionals to stop guessing at what members want. It’s time to start asking them.
Kersch, who is known nationally as “the camper guy,” has spent the past three years traveling around the country interviewing more than 3,000 seniors at campsites. Those face to face conversations reshaped his understanding of member needs—and exposed the
disconnect between what plans design and what older adults actually value.
What members want is not a longer list of supplemental benefits, he said. Instead, they want:
- Simplicity, not complexity
- Benefits that reflect real life, not theoretical improvements
- Help navigating enrollment decisions
- Support for issues that impact daily living, such as vision, hearing, social isolation, and affordability
- Fewer barriers and clearer communication
During his discussions with seniors, Kersch has also found that healthy food cards and flex cards—while popular in theory—don’t make the difference plans assume they do. A $100 healthy foods benefit “lasts about a week,” he notes, which means it doesn’t meaningfully change long‑term health outcomes. Meanwhile, seniors repeatedly expressed greater need for things like hearing aids, vision correction, and social support.
He said he is moderating the panel to push for reality‑based design: “If we do what’s right by the member, the financials will come.”
Don’t let members fall through the cracks
Disability and health equity advocate Doris Maldonado Méndez’s story illustrates the extreme consequences when Medicare Advantage system failures go unchecked.
Maldonado Méndez, who was born with congenital heart disease and has several co occurring illnesses and disabilities, is also caretaker for medically complex children. She has spent her career advocating for marginalized communities. Yet she recently experienced a devastating series of disenrollments and coverage errors that led her to be turned away
from an emergency dental appointment, despite state systems showing her as a dual-eligible active member.
Her case has required multiple escalations, 10‑hour phone marathons, with a representative from UnitedHealth staying on the line with her for five hours, and still is unresolved. A call to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed she had been unenrolled since 2023—even though she had been actively receiving care.
“If this is happening to me, someone who is well‑versed in the system, what is happening to those who are not?” she asked.
Her story underscores:
- How poorly communication flows between agencies and plans
- How dangerous enrollment errors can be for disabled members
- Why trust in Medicare Advantage is rapidly eroding in some communities
Maldonado Méndez said that it’s crucial that Medicare sales and marketing professionals remember that Medicare Advantage isn’t just for seniors. The program also is meant for people who have disabilities, yet they often fall through the cracks. This is especially true for those with invisible disabilities, she said.
She urged marketing and sales professionals to make their presentations accessible to everyone and in plain language so that the information is relatable, actionable, and digestible. For example, she said, organizations can make information more accessible by using closed captioning when sales or marketing presents PowerPoint slides or online webinars and offering closed captioning in other languages.
Maldonado Méndez, Montgomery, and Kersch hope their candor will push marketers and sales leaders to rethink their strategies with empathy at the center. When members are heard and their real needs shape benefit design, the entire system works better for everyone.
The RISE Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit will take place February 25-27in Las Vegas. Click here to learn more, including the full agenda, roster of speakers, and how to register.