Annual Open Enrollment Period
Suppose you are already enrolled in Medicare but would like to make some changes to your coverage. In that case, you should take advantage of the Annual Open Enrollment Period, which takes place on October 15 and ends on December 7 of each year.
What Can You Do?
Every year, changes can take effect to your Medicare plans. These changes can be to both costs and coverage. During this period, you can review these changes to ensure you are still satisfied with your plan’s cost and coverage.
You can:
- Change from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
- Change from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare and vice versa.
- Enroll in or drop a Part D prescription drug plan.
- Switch from one insurer to another.
While you are not required to take advantage of this period, Capstone Insurance & Financial Group highly suggests that you review your Medicare coverage each year. Not reviewing your plan and ignoring any changes made can result in you paying more out-of-pocket or no longer receiving the coverage you need.
Plan Notices
If you’re wondering how you can review your plan each year, no worries. You should receive a couple of documents every September from your Medicare plan that discusses any changes that will be made and will take effect on January 1 of the next year.
One of these notices is the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). This will list out the upcoming changes to your coverage, costs, and service area. Another document you will receive is the Evidence of Coverage (EOC). This will list out all the coverage and cost changes with your Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.