If you market Medicare Advantage or Part D plans online, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) treats your website as Third-Party Marketing Organization (TPMO) material — and its rules require two specific disclaimers: a multi-plan disclaimer and a non-government-affiliation disclaimer. Missing or burying them is one of the most common — and most avoidable — compliance gaps we see on agent sites.
Here is exactly what each one is, where it belongs, and how to keep it defensible.
The Two Disclaimers CMS Requires
1. The multi-plan disclaimer. If you don’t offer every plan in a service area, you must say so. CMS’s standardized language reads:
“We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1‑800‑MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.”
2. The non-affiliation disclaimer. You must make clear you are not the government. A commonly used form:
“We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program.”
The exact wording can vary with your setup (for example, agents representing a single carrier have different requirements), but the intent is fixed: don’t overstate your plan coverage, and don’t imply you are Medicare.
| Disclaimer | What it makes clear | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-plan | You don’t offer every plan in the area | Every page that markets plans |
| Non-affiliation | You are not the government or Medicare | Every page that markets plans |
Where They Belong
- Visible, not buried. CMS expects the disclaimer to be prominent — readable without hunting. A footer that appears on every marketing page is the practical home; a single disclaimer stranded on a legal page is not enough.
- On the material that markets. If a page describes plans or invites contact about coverage, it needs the disclaimer. That includes landing pages you run ads to.
- Legible. Real font size and contrast. A gray 9px line technically “present” but unreadable defeats the purpose — and reads as a red flag to a reviewer.
Why This Is Worth Getting Right
Two reasons. First, the obvious one: TPMO violations put your ability to market — and your carrier relationships — at risk. Second, the one agents underuse: doing compliance visibly builds trust. A prospect who sees a clear, honest disclaimer reads you as legitimate. Compliance done well is a selling point, not just a shield.
This is also why we treat the disclaimer as a system, not a copy-paste. On the sites we build, required disclaimers render automatically on every marketing page, and every piece of published content passes an independent compliance check before it goes live — so a missing disclaimer isn’t something a busy agent has to remember.
This article is educational and not legal or compliance advice. CMS marketing rules change and depend on your specific arrangements; confirm current requirements against the CMS Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines and your carriers’ rules.
Marketing in a regulated vertical and not sure your site is defensible? Book a strategy call — we’ll tell you honestly where the gaps are.
