The Scope of Appointment is the document that separates a legal Medicare Advantage discussion from a CMS violation. Here is what SOA is, what CMS requires, and the CRM workflow that keeps you audit ready without the paperwork headache.
A Scope of Appointment (SOA) is a form a Medicare beneficiary signs before you discuss Medicare Advantage or Part D plans with them. It documents what plan types the beneficiary agreed to discuss. If you discuss a plan type not listed on the SOA, that is a CMS violation.
Before any MA, MAPD, or PDP discussion. Inbound calls, outbound, in person. Every time.
Plan types the beneficiary agreed to discuss. Contact info. Agent info. Date of the scheduled meeting.
Med Supp discussions don't require SOA. Neither do educational events. Marketing events do.
| Rule | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Timing | SOA must be signed BEFORE the plan discussion begins |
| 48 hour rule | For personal marketing appointments, SOA must be obtained at least 48 hours in advance (with limited exceptions) |
| Plan types | Must list specific product types beneficiary agrees to discuss |
| Signature | Beneficiary signature required. Electronic signatures allowed. |
| Retention | 10 years from date of signature, even for appointments that don't result in enrollment |
| Accessibility | Must be producible on request during a CMS audit |
Appointment booked for a Medicare prospect, SOA form auto sent via SMS or email.
Prospect clicks the link, reviews, signs electronically. Timestamp and IP captured.
Signed SOA attached to the contact record. Retrievable with a single search.
No signed SOA, no meeting. Calendar reminder blocks the call until SOA is on file.
We build Medicare SOA workflows inside your CRM: auto send, electronic signature capture, 10 year retention, and audit ready retrieval. Every meeting, every time.