What pay-per-call Medicare leads are
Pay per call is a way of buying Medicare leads where the unit you pay for is a phone conversation. A shopper sees a compliant ad, calls a tracking number, passes a short screening step and is connected to your agent. If the call stays connected past an agreed length of time, called the billable duration or buffer, it becomes billable. If it does not, you pay nothing.
That structure moves much of the risk away from the buyer. With data leads, you pay for a record whether or not anyone ever answers. With pay per call, you pay for a live person who stayed on the phone long enough to show real interest. It is the model MedicaresCall.com uses for every lead we sell.
Pay per call also lines up your vendor's incentives with yours. A network that is paid only for calls that pass the buffer has every reason to send callers who want to talk, and no reason to pad volume with numbers that never answer. That shared interest is a large part of why pay-per-call Medicare campaigns tend to stay focused on quality.
How pay-per-call Medicare leads work
- 1A publisher runs a compliant ad on search, social, TV, radio or mail, with a tracking number unique to that campaign and source.
- 2The caller is screened by an automated phone menu or a live screener, hearing the recording notice and TPMO disclaimer first.
- 3The call is routed to a buyer whose agents are licensed in the caller's state, inside their open hours and below their daily cap.
- 4The buffer timer runs from the moment your agent connects. Calls that pass it are marked billable.
- 5You review the call with the recording, source, duration and outcome in your dashboard.
Each step is logged, so every billable call can be traced back to the ad that produced it and the consent that allowed it.
Choosing the right billable duration
The buffer is the most important setting in a pay-per-call campaign. Too short, and you pay for callers who hang up after a greeting. Too long, and publishers lose interest in sending you traffic, so volume dries up or prices rise. Most Medicare campaigns land between 90 and 180 seconds.
| Buffer | Works well for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| 90 seconds | Inbound calls where callers reach agents directly | Some shorter conversations become billable |
| 120 seconds | Most Medicare Advantage and Part D campaigns | A balanced middle ground for price and quality |
| 150 – 180 seconds | Warm transfers and higher-priced campaigns | Higher price per call, fewer short billables |
Your agents' opening also matters. A greeting that moves quickly into a friendly needs review keeps callers on the line past the buffer for the right reasons.
How pay-per-call pricing is set
Price per call depends on a handful of factors that shape both how hard a call is to generate and how much it is likely to be worth to you:
- Call type. Inbound calls usually cost less than live or warm transfers, which add screener time.
- Product line. Medicare Advantage calls in enrollment season are in the highest demand.
- Geography. Some states have more competition among buyers and fewer callers.
- Timing. Prices often rise during the Annual Enrollment Period and ease afterward.
- Buffer length. Longer buffers usually carry a higher price per billable call.
We quote pricing after you apply, based on your states, products and the volume you want. You can change caps at any time, and the price for each call is fixed when it is billed.
Returns, duplicates and disputes
Even with good screening, some billable calls will miss your criteria. A clear return policy keeps both sides honest. On our network, you can flag a billable call within the return window in your agreement. We review the recording and issue credit when the call clearly misses the agreed rules.
Caller not on Medicare and not turning 65 soon, caller outside your states, or a caller looking for a carrier's member services line.
Repeat calls from the same number within your duplicate window are not billed twice.
Callers who were qualified but chose not to enroll, or calls your agents ended early.
Every decision is based on the recording, so both sides see the same facts.
Controls that protect your budget
Pay-per-call campaigns run in real time, so budget controls matter. Every campaign on MedicaresCall.com includes the same set of controls:
- Daily caps stop billable calls once you reach the number you set for the day.
- Concurrency limits keep calls from arriving faster than your agents can answer them.
- Hours by day ring your line only while your floor is staffed, in your time zone.
- State and ZIP targeting limits calls to areas where your agents are licensed.
- Pause anytime from the dashboard, effective for the next incoming call.
These controls let you test with a small budget and scale quickly once you know which states, hours and sources convert for your team.
Tracking and attribution
Every pay-per-call campaign uses unique tracking numbers for each publisher, channel and creative. That means a billable call is never anonymous: you can see which ad produced it, what time it arrived, how long it lasted and how your agent marked the outcome. Over a few weeks, those details show which sources bring callers who enroll and which bring callers who only ask questions.
Use that information to shape your campaign. Raise caps on the hours and sources that convert, tighten screening where returns cluster, and adjust your buffer if many calls end just before or just after it. Pay per call rewards buyers who review their data regularly.
Pay per call compared with other Medicare lead models
Pay per call is one of several ways agencies buy Medicare business. Pay per lead charges for each contact record. Pay per click charges for visits to your own landing page, leaving you to convert them. Pay per call charges only for live, qualified conversations, which is why it usually costs more per unit and less per enrollment.
For agencies with an established phone team, pay per call is often the fastest way to add enrollments without building an in-house marketing and compliance operation. You keep control of the sales conversation while the network handles traffic, screening, routing and recordkeeping.
Pay-Per-Call Medicare Leads FAQ
What does pay per call mean for Medicare leads?
You pay for live phone calls from Medicare shoppers rather than for contact records. A call becomes billable only when it connects to your agent and passes the agreed billable duration.
What is a buffer in pay-per-call campaigns?
The buffer, or billable duration, is how long a connected call must last before it is billed. Medicare campaigns commonly use 90 to 180 seconds.
Am I charged for calls my agents miss?
No. A call that never connects to your agent is not billed. Concurrency limits and hours help make sure calls arrive only when someone can answer.
Can I change my daily cap during AEP?
Yes. Caps can be raised, lowered or paused from your dashboard at any time, and changes apply to the next incoming call.
How do I return a bad call?
Flag it in your dashboard within the return window. We review the recording against your agreed criteria and credit valid returns.
Start paying for calls, not clicks
Apply with your licensed states and target volume. We will set up a test campaign with a buffer and cap that suit your floor.
Start pay-per-call campaigns