By: Elena Mart

The Lead Quality Alliance (LQA) is a pioneering coalition of companies in the lead generation space, currently focused on Medicare, which goes beyond Consumer advocacy to drive real change. Committed to regulatory compliance, consumer protection, and transparency, LQA members don’t just discuss improving lead quality and consumer experience—they collaborate to make it happen. By sharing data-driven insights, best practices, and operational strategies, the alliance fosters a higher standard for the industry, ensuring that ethical, consumer-first marketing isn’t just an ideal but the foundation of successful business.

The Beginning

In late 2023, Pat Murphy, CEO of LeadScorz, and Mark Seghers, CEO of Inspire Health Tech (IHT), met for the first time to explore synergy between their two companies. It was clear that LeadScorz, which provides an AI-based Lead Management Platform and Grading Engine, aligned with lead buyers to empower them with technology solutions that optimize the value of the leads they buy. Inspire Health Tech, on the other hand, provides claims-based predictive algorithms to help lead generators align each consumer to the right Medicare or ACA plan, and aligns more with lead generators to help them create higher-quality, plan-aligned leads and calls. 

Another founding member, Michael Cho, CEO of MyMedicareBot (MMB), was also enthusiastic about the vision of the LQA and brought a critical “3rd leg to the stool” with his extensive healthcare experience and MMB’s powerful and intelligent Field Agent Platform, which ultimately receives the leads and supports agents’ interaction with consumers and plan providers.

We realized that LeadScorz, IHT, and MMB shared a special consumer orientation. At the time, the leads marketplace was known more for hyper-aggressive marketing tactics and a short-term profit orientation. This focus on the consumer’s needs was perceived by the public as lacking in the lead business and was known by many in the industry to be something that was not true of most marketers. According to  Pat Murphy, “Mark and I both had seen that more companies across the leads business were beginning to appreciate that by providing a clear, transparent, high value consumer  experience – and leveraging tools and processes which confirmed and monetized higher-intent buyers – businesses could build truer relationships with consumers, leading to higher long-term value (LTV) and more positive brand awareness.”

Many Points of Light

Pat and Mark began to circulate the idea among customers, business partners and national industry leaders, and found significant interest across the full spectrum of the marketing chain. They decided to focus first on the Medicare vertical, since it was a key market for both companies, and due to heightened regulations had experienced a resurgence of consumer orientation in its marketing. The LQA entity was created, a board of Directors was formed, and a website was launched.  Companies began to join, including technology solutions such as TrestleIQ, EnrollHere, ACE Agents, eQuoto, and Active Prospect. 

 Performance marketers such as Insure.com, Quote Velocity, and Qualfon jumped on board, as did the LQA’s first health insurance carrier, Priority Health of Michigan. One of the leading Medicare compliance attorneys (an amazing woman well-known to the industry) agreed to join, and the LQA was launched.

Mark explained the approach. “By building the LQA from our existing list of customers, vendors and business partners, we were not only starting with organizations we trusted and had already vetted, but that were also aligned naturally around promoting and delivering quality.”

Pat added, “Regulatory Compliance was only the beginning – the least common dominator. Rather than openly fighting against well-intentioned regulations like the FCC 1:1 Rule, we believed a better path would be to work within the industry to help companies understand, appreciate, and embrace these regulations.”  “Over time,” Mr. Murphy explained, “We believe this approach will position us well to work with the regulating bodies themselves and help them respect and assimilate into future regulations the navigational challenges and communications nuances involved in well-intentioned marketing.”

LQA leaders believe that not all regulations are bad or good—that each regulation needs to be judged on its merits and impacts. The LQA is designed to work with the US Government to ensure regulations consider marketplace realities. The LQA exists to embody and provide input into “reasonable and practical regulations” that don’t paint with too broad a brush and accommodate practices that are both good for the consumer and efficient for the ethical marketer.

The LQA is Not for Everyone

Unlike other collaborative organizations in the marketing space, companies cannot simply pay an annual fee and become members. They must apply for membership.

The LQA offers membership applications that differ depending on the type of organization applying. Within their LQA application, organizations must attest to their respective compliance, quality assurance practices, certifications, technology specifics, and customer support service levels. Companies that fail to meet these attestations are not accepted into the LQA. Companies that meet these criteria are accepted and given an LQA Seal of Certification to display proudly on their websites and professional social media.

Enabling Active Collaboration

Below is one example of a supply chain which combines several members of the LQA, ensuring quality standards are employed across the entire marketing value chain – from clear, quality messaging, to high-value consumer experiences, to efficiencies applied to all consumer marketing channels to promote high-quality inbound calls and consumer-initiated appointments.

 Integrating these elements of the supply chain leads to swift, efficient sales processes designed to satisfy customer needs and provide long-lasting brand value:

In the Medicare arena, LQA companies are collaborating to apply these practices:

• Trusted consumer affinities and compliant, transparent advertising and search drive people to responsible, compliant, helpful Medicare consumer websites.
• Within these sites, consumers enter information about themselves, and AI technology makes plan recommendations that align them to their coverage needs.
• Consumers then choose a plan and select an agent who sells that plan. They are then told what to expect and must consent to move forward. The Consumer can call the matched agent or request to set an appointment, using appointment setting and intelligent call and lead-routing technology.
• FMOs (Field Marketing Organizations) that are part of the LQA make available their list of agents by geography and insurance company coverage so that an appropriate local agent can be presented to each consumer.

• LQA-approved Contact Centers or Agencies can also sign up for these high-quality, plan-aligned, fully 1:1 transparent, compliant calls and appointments.

How to Apply for Membership to the LQA

If your organization is committed to transforming industry standards through collaboration, compliance, and consumer-first marketing, and you would like to join a groundbreaking coalition of companies in the Medicare lead generation space, visit our website and apply today for membership!

Being part of the LQA not only connects you to like-minded companies and resources, but it can also provide you with opportunities to participate in innovative ongoing projects. Joining the LQA might be the most impactful marketing decision you make this year!

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or business advice.

Published by Jeremy S.