Service Area Reduction (SAR) Opportunities

Written by Rachel Brammeier

What is a Service Area Reduction (SAR)?

An SAR is when a Medicare Advantage (MA) carrier chooses to not renew a specific plan in its service area. If a client is enrolled in a non-renewing plan, they will lose insurance coverage at the beginning of the calendar year.

A Cross Walk is when an MA carrier chooses to keep the clients active but migrates them to another plan that will continue to exist the following year. If a client is in a plan that is cross walking to a new plan, they may choose to do nothing because they will still have a plan that will renew the following calendar year.

Clients will receive Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) letters before September 30.
Clients will receive a Non-Renewal Reminder Notice in November.

If a client’s plan is non-renewing and no longer offered in the service area, then the client will have ONE election that begins on December 8 of that year and goes to the last day of February the following year.
Election Code: SEP Contract Non-Renewal
The effective date will be the following month after the application was taken. For example, if the application was taken in December, the effective date would be January 1.
For assistance on election periods, visit our Election Period Assistant!

Clients who have a non-renewing plan also have a guaranteed issue right to enroll into a Medigap policy with no underwriting.
The GI time period begins 60 days before disenrollment and ends 63 days after the last day of coverage with the non-renewing plan.
See our chart for what plans are GI for people eligible for Medicare prior to 2020 and after 2020.
Click here to view the CMS document on the SAR GI right.

Communication with clients can begin on October 1 regarding their SAR and plan non-renewing.

Due to the longer election period of December 8 – end of February and the Medicare Supplement GI window, agents have an extended marketing time frame to meet with current clients and to add new clients.
Consider ramping up your marketing efforts during and after AEP if you are in a region where you may have an SAR opportunity.
- Check out our Agent Marketing Portfolio (AMP) service, free for contracted agents. Get personalized business cards, letterheads, trifold brochures, and flyers today!