It’s Medicare Open Enrollment Time

It’s that time of year again — time to reassess whether your Medicare plan is working for you and to jump ship if it isn’t. Medicare’s open enrollment period runs from October 15 to December 7.

During this period, you may enroll in a Medicare Part D (prescription drug) plan or, if you currently have a plan, you may change plans. In addition, you can switch out of a Medicare Advantage (managed care) plan and return to traditional Medicare (Parts A and B), enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan from traditional Medicare, or change Medicare Advantage plans. If you are in traditional Medicare, are happy there and don’t have or want a prescription drug plan, you don’t need to do anything.

Beneficiaries can go to www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to make changes in their Medicare prescription drug and health plan coverage.

During the open enrollment period, you should review your current plan by looking at the costs and coverage for next year to determine if it is still the right plan for you. It is especially important to review your Medicare Advantage plan if you are in one. Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicare is supposed to cut $156 billion in payments to these plans by 2022 (although these cuts have been delayed for a second year in a row). This has stirred fears that Medicare Advantage plans will raise premiums and trim their networks of doctors. You should call your providers to ensure that they still participate in your plan.

Remember that fraud perpetrators will inevitably use the Open Enrollment Period to try to gain access to individuals’ personal financial information. Medicare beneficiaries should never give their personal information out to anyone making unsolicited phone calls selling Medicare-related products or services or showing up on their doorstep uninvited. If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud or identity theft, contact Medicare. For more information on Medicare fraud, click here or here.

In addition, you can now get the same information found in the handbook “Medicare & You” online. Find out what’s new for the year, how Medicare works with your other insurance, and what Medicare costs and what it covers. The handbook information on the Web is updated regularly, so it will always reflect the most up-to-date Medicare information.

Furthermore, Colleen Ceh Becvar, Gerontologist and Certified Elder Care Coordinator for Strohschein Law Group, and member of the Elgin TRIAD will be available at the Elgin TRIAD Medicare Maze event held at the Centre of Elgin in the Heritage Ballroom on  Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 9:00-11:00 a.m. You can RSVP to attend the event to Elgin Township 847-741-2045.