Grove Benefit Advisors posts free guide on stopping Medicare sales calls

Grove Benefit Advisors has released a free guide during Medicare Annual Enrollment that explains how people on Medicare can reduce sales calls, robocalls and scam outreach before the Dec. 7 deadline. The Fort Collins agency says the guide covers do-not-call lists, federal Medicare rules, phone screening and AI tools that can help with opt-outs.

Why it matters: - Medicare Annual Enrollment runs through Dec. 7, and sales calls to people on Medicare typically increase during that window. - The guide aims to help people block unwanted outreach without paying for a service or spending much time. - The instructions also matter because some calls now use recordings or computer-generated voices that can sound human.

What happened: - Grove Benefit Advisors, an independent health insurance agency in Fort Collins, published a free guide called "How to stop Medicare sales calls and robocalls." - The guide focuses on steps people can take in about an afternoon. - Grove makes the guide available free at the full guide.

The details: - The guide tells readers to join both the National Do Not Call Registry and the Colorado No-Call List. - The national registry requires a confirmation email to be clicked within 72 hours of registering online. - Sales calls can take up to 31 days to stop after national registration. - Colorado's list is sent to telemarketers four times a year, so a new registration can take a few months to take effect. - The guide notes that do-not-call lists do not block calls; they only tell lawful callers not to call. - The guide says scammers can still keep calling regardless of list registration. - Under 42 CFR 422.2264, Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans, and the agents who sell them, may not contact beneficiaries by cold call, robocall, text message or voicemail unless the beneficiary asked to be contacted. - The rule also covers calls based on referrals. - Medicare Supplement policies are regulated by states rather than Medicare, so Medigap sales calls fall under the do-not-call lists instead. - Tina Price, a benefit advisor with Grove Benefit Advisors, said people should hang up if they did not ask for the call. - The guide covers built-in call screening tools, including Screen Unknown Callers on iPhones running iOS 26 and Call Screen on Google Pixel phones. - The guide warns against pressing a number to be removed, calling back an unfamiliar number, or confirming a name, birth date or Medicare number. - The guide lists reporting options: DoNotCall.gov, the Federal Trade Commission's ReportFraud site, 1-800-MEDICARE and the Colorado No-Call complaint form. - A separate section is written for adult children helping a parent. - That section advises signing up every number the parent uses. - It also recommends adding doctors and pharmacies to the phone's contacts so screening allows those calls through. - The guide says families should review the Medicare Summary Notice together for services the parent never received. - Lexi Abbott, a benefit advisor with Grove, said the process can be handled in about an hour and should include a reminder not to share a Medicare number, Social Security number or bank information with unsolicited callers.

Between the lines: - The guide positions phone-screening and do-not-call registration as basic defenses, but it treats Medicare's cold-call ban as the stronger protection because it makes many sales calls illegal in the first place. - Grove is also using the guide to steer readers toward self-help tools, including AI assistants, rather than forcing them to rely on paid services. - The advice reflects a broader problem: legitimate-looking outreach and scam calls can be hard to distinguish in real time.

What's next: - Grove says people who want a Medicare plan review before Dec. 7 can book a time or call the agency directly. - The guide says its recommendations can be carried out with routine phone settings, free government lists and basic caution. - Grove also says its advisors do not make cold calls.