OK| Oklahoma Insurance Department Bulletin No. 2026-03 responds to the ongoing reduction or elimination of commissions on Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage products by clarifying when licensed producers may charge consumers a reasonable consulting fee for advisory services. Citing 36 O.S. § 1435.2(6)’s definition of an Insurance Consultant and CMS guidance that the marketing-consulting-fee prohibition in 42 CFR § 422.2274(c)(8) applies specifically to agents and brokers appointed by MA organizations to sell MA plans, OID notes that fees charged outside that scope may fall under state authority.
Because 36 O.S. § 1435.3(A) treats a producer soliciting or negotiating insurance as representing the insurer rather than the insured, a producer must choose one income stream per transaction — either a consulting fee charged independently of the MA plan or a sales commission/shared commission from the plan, never both. OID will not disallow consulting arrangements provided the consultant is not selling, soliciting, or negotiating on behalf of an MA plan, is not a fiduciary for the MA plan or organization, and receives no direct or indirect sales or shared commission; all MA product rules and federal and state marketing/sales requirements are followed; and the fee is “reasonable” — a fair, justifiable, market-appropriate amount proportional to the cost of the service that a prudent person would expect to pay, understood and agreed to in writing terms between the parties before any service or transaction. The guidance is effective immediately.