Your plan can change even if you don't
The plan you picked last year isn't guaranteed to be the same plan next year. Medicare Advantage and Part D plans can change their premiums, copays, deductibles, drug lists and provider networks from one year to the next. Those changes take effect January 1.
Plans are required to tell you about them. Every fall you should get an Annual Notice of Change in the mail, usually by the end of September. It's an important document. It's also long, written in insurance language, and easy to set on the counter and forget about. I understand why most people do.
That's the main reason I review every client's coverage every year. Not because I expect something to be wrong, but because I'd rather catch a change in October than have you find it at the pharmacy counter in January.
Your life changes too
Plans aren't the only thing that moves. Over a year, a lot can happen:
- A new prescription, or a change in dose
- A new specialist, or a doctor who retired
- A surgery coming up that you didn't know about last fall
- Spending more time with family in another part of the state, or another state
- A budget that's tighter, or a little looser, than it was
A plan that fit well when you were taking two medications may not fit as well when you're taking five. The only way to know is to look.
What “my plan is fine” usually means
When someone tells me their plan is fine, it usually means they haven't had a problem with it yet. That's good news, and it's often true. But it's not the same thing as knowing the plan still lines up with your doctors, your prescriptions and what you can afford next year.
Medicare isn't one size fits all, and it isn't set-it-and-forget-it either. A short review is how you find out whether “fine” is still fine.
When the review happens
The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 through December 7. During that window you can change your Medicare Advantage or Part D coverage, and the new coverage starts January 1. That's when I schedule reviews with my clients.
If you're on Medicare Advantage, there's also a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31 that allows one change. It helps if something slipped by, but I'd rather we get it right in the fall.
Medicare Supplement plans work differently. They don't have an annual enrollment window the same way, and changing one may involve health questions depending on your situation. I still look at Supplement clients' coverage and rates every year. I just handle those conversations differently. My Medicare enrollment guide covers the different periods in more detail.
What a review is not
A review isn't a sales call. Plenty of my reviews end with “stay right where you are.” If your plan still covers your doctors and prescriptions at a cost that works for you, there's no reason to change for the sake of changing.
What I'm trying to do is make sure the decision is yours and it's an informed one, whether that means staying put or making a move.
No pressure. No pitch. Just a local agent who'd rather check than guess.