The Do’s And Don’ts Of Medicare Open Enrollment

Do:

Take advantage of this period.

Medicare Open Enrollment serves a very special purpose. It was designed to give Medicare enrollees a yearly chance to ensure their healthcare coverage is up to par. By sitting on the sidelines and not participating, you could pass up your chance to cut costs, keep your doctor, get your prescriptions covered, and more.

Make your moves on time.

Open enrollment lasts from October 15 to December 7. That means you don’t have a ton of time to look at your current coverage and shop around for a new plan. As long as you get everything done by December 7, you can look forward to your new plan’s benefits (if you make that change) by January 1 of the coming year.

Take a strong look at your Annual Notice of Change.

Your ANOC should have arrived in the mail by now. Why is it important? Because it details any changes to your Medicare plan that you should be aware of.

If these changes increase your costs, reduce prescription coverage, or negatively impact your doctor or other providers, you may need to change to a better-fitting plan.

Review your health over the past year.

Hopefully, 2020 was a good year for your health. If it wasn’t, and you suddenly need to see specialists or require new prescriptions, then your current Medicare plan may not be enough. In short, it may be time to shop around while you still can before 2021 kicks in.

Get help if you need it.

You can tackle open enrollment by yourself, or you can solicit the help of some trusted sources. Since shopping for a plan may be a bit intimidating, these resources can simplify the process so you find what you need without spiking your stress:

• Medicare Plan Finder
• SHIP or State Health Insurance Assistance Program
• My Medicare Matters

Don’t:

Wait until the last minute.

You want to have enough time to review your current coverage, assess your healthcare needs, and shop around for a new plan without being rushed. This is an important decision, so your best bet is not to wait until the last minute.

Fall for scams.

It’s unfortunate, but scammers have set their sights on Medicare Open Enrollment and seniors as a preferred target. You can avoid open enrollment scams by doing the following:

• Guarding your Medicare card and never revealing your Medicare number with strangers.
• Only paying attention to Medicare correspondence that comes in the mail, and not by scammers in person or over the phone.
• Ignoring phone calls from numbers you don’t recognize.
• Never offering referrals to agents asking if you know of friends or family who need health insurance.
• Ignoring agents who approach you in public.
• Ignoring leaflets or pamphlets you find that claim to offer Medicare assistance.
• Ignoring any offers for cheap health insurance plans, prescription cards, health cards, or refunds from previous coverage.

In short, your best bet is to stick to those trusted resources above when shopping around and ignoring the rest of the noise.