The Six Weeks Before AEP: What a Medicare Agency Should Have Live by October 15

Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period opens October 15, and the six weeks before AEP decide whether your phones ring or sit quiet. Agencies that wait until October 1 to update their site, ads, and CRM lose the early shoppers to whoever showed up first. Here's what needs to be live before the clock starts, built the way real insurance agency marketing runs.

By Brotherly SEO Team

What Is AEP and How Long Does the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period Run

AEP, the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period, is the annual window when anyone already enrolled in Medicare can switch Medicare Advantage plans, switch Part D prescription drug plans, or move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. It applies to current Medicare beneficiaries, not people turning 65 for the first time, who typically use their Initial Enrollment Period instead. AEP runs October 15 through December 7 every year, a fixed eight-week window that CMS does not extend for individual agencies, carriers, or plans, and any changes made during it take effect January 1 of the following year.

For Medicare agencies across America, this eight-week stretch is the single biggest revenue window of the year. It rewards agencies whose marketing, website, and lead systems are already running before the first shopper starts searching, and it punishes agencies still building those pieces once volume hits.

The Six Weeks Before AEP: What Your Agency Needs Live by October 15

The six weeks before AEP, roughly September 1 through October 15, is the runway. Search volume for Medicare plan questions climbs steadily through September, CMS opens the door for plan-specific marketing on October 1, and enrollment itself opens two weeks after that. Agencies that treat October 15 as the starting line instead of the finish line spend the first two weeks of AEP building instead of converting.

Your Website Checklist Before October 15

By the time AEP opens, your site should already have a current plan comparison page reflecting the new benefit year, service-area pages for every county you write in, a mobile-friendly scheduling and call-request flow, and a privacy policy with the CMS disclaimers required on any page that names a specific plan. Save the full redesign conversations for spring. The six weeks before AEP isn't the time to rebuild a site from scratch, it's the time to make sure everything already live is accurate, fast, and available under real traffic, not just a desktop preview a few weeks old.

How Many Weeks Out Should Marketing Start

Most agencies get the strongest return by starting general marketing about six to eight weeks before AEP, in late August or early September. That's enough runway for Google Ads management campaigns to clear the platform's learning phase, for new website pages to get indexed, and for your team to catch broken forms or tracking gaps in a soft-launch window before real volume hits October 15. Agencies that skip this runway and launch cold on October 1 are effectively competing for the busiest month of the year with a campaign that hasn't been tested yet.

CMS Compliance Rules for Medicare Marketing Before October 1

CMS marketing rules split into two buckets: what agencies can say before October 1 and what opens up once AEP-specific marketing rules apply. Before October 1, agencies can generally run branded and generalized marketing, brand awareness, "call to review your options," educational content, without naming specific plan benefits, premiums, or star ratings for the upcoming plan year. Once October 1 hits, marketing that references specific plan benefits for the new plan year is typically allowed, though enrollment itself still can't happen until October 15.

Can Medicare Agents Advertise or Market Before October 1

Usually, yes. Generalized marketing, agency branding, educational content, and appointment-setting are typically allowed year-round. What's restricted before October 1 is plan-specific marketing for the upcoming benefit year, since CMS wants beneficiaries comparing accurate, current plan-year details rather than information that could still change. Because CMS guidance is detailed and enforcement varies by violation type and carrier, agencies should confirm specific campaign language with their compliance officer or upline carrier before it goes live, not after a complaint comes in.

Lead Generation and CRM Systems to Set Up Before AEP

AEP volume punishes any gap in your intake process. Before October 15, an agency should have a CRM that tags leads by source and plan interest so nothing falls through during peak weeks, an automated response for after-hours inquiries, call tracking numbers tied to each campaign so you know what's actually producing appointments, and a documented follow-up cadence for leads who don't book on the first contact. Agencies running paid search or social campaigns without a CRM behind them typically lose track of a meaningful share of leads once volume triples during the busiest week of AEP, and those leads rarely come back on their own.

What Happens If Your Agency Isn't Ready by October 15

Agencies that go into AEP without a current website, an active CRM, and compliant marketing lose in three ways. First, they lose the early searchers, since a meaningful share of Medicare shoppers start researching in September and pick a plan or an agent before October 15 even arrives. Second, they lose efficiency, since a team improvising forms and follow-up mid-AEP spends hours on fixes instead of appointments, right when appointment volume is highest. Third, they carry more compliance exposure, since rushed marketing copy written under deadline pressure is where CMS violations tend to happen. None of this is recoverable once AEP starts. There's no second eight-week window until next year, and agencies that serve their community well during this stretch earn referrals that carry revenue into the next enrollment cycle too.

Your Medicare AEP Readiness Checklist

A working AEP readiness checklist usually covers five areas: website pages current for the new plan year, CMS-compliant disclaimers and a privacy policy in place, CRM and call tracking live and tested end to end, marketing campaigns approved and scheduled to launch six to eight weeks out, and a documented follow-up process for leads who need more than one touch. Agencies that walk through this list by the first week of September enter the six weeks before AEP building on a stable foundation instead of racing to lay one while the phone is already ringing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between AEP and OEP? AEP, the Annual Enrollment Period, runs October 15 through December 7 and is open to any Medicare beneficiary switching plans for the next benefit year. OEP, the Open Enrollment Period, runs January 1 through March 31 and is open only to people already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, letting them make one additional switch or return to Original Medicare. OEP has narrower eligibility and allows just a single change.

What is the busiest week of AEP for Medicare agents? Call and enrollment volume typically peaks in the first two weeks of AEP, mid to late October, as shoppers who researched in September act as soon as enrollment opens. Volume usually rises again in the final days before the December 7 deadline as procrastinators make last-minute decisions, with a quieter stretch in between during early to mid November.

Can Medicare agents market or advertise before October 1? Usually yes, for generalized and branded marketing. What's restricted is plan-specific marketing naming benefits, premiums, or star ratings for the upcoming plan year, which CMS reserves for October 1 forward. Confirm exact campaign wording with your compliance officer, since specifics can vary by carrier and marketing channel.

How long does the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period last? AEP runs exactly eight weeks, from October 15 through December 7, and does not end early or get extended for individual agencies. It doesn't shift based on weekends or holidays, and any plan changes made during that window take effect January 1 of the following year.

Get Your Agency's AEP Marketing Built Before October 15

If your website, ads, and CRM aren't ready for the six weeks before AEP, we can have them there before the calendar makes the decision for you. Start with a free SEO consultation and we'll tell you exactly what's missing.