The Annual Election Period (AEP) will be here before you know it and runs between October 15, 2018 through December 7, 2018. This is time of the year that individuals that are on Medicare can make changes to either their Prescription Drug Plans or their Medicare Advantage Plans.
Very soon, anyone that is on Medicare will start to receive letters, pamplets, postcards, and booklets from every Medicare Insurance company that is contracted to sell Medicare plans in their state. Although this is necessary to help individuals remember that the Annual Election Period is coming, it can also bring about a lack of understanding and uncertainty.
Balanced Care would like to help you prepare for this busy season to make sure you are taking the necessary steps to guard your health with the right plan.
First of all, it is important to make sure you understand exactly what you can do during this time of year. If you currently have a Prescription Drug Plan, you can change it to a different plan. If you don’t have a Prescription Drug Plan (It is also called Medicare Part D), but you are already enrolled in Medicare, you can sign up for a Prescription Drug Plan during the AEP. If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan with another carrier if you wish. If you are currently happy with your plan whether it is a Prescription Drug Plan or a Medicare Advantage plan and it still meets your needs, you don’t have to do anything further. The plan will automatically renew in January if you do not make any changes providing your premium is still paid.
Around October 1, 2018, you will receive a Notice of Plan Changes for either a Prescription Drug Plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan. Changes such as deductibles, co-pays, networks, and pharmacies should all be reviewed. Balanced Care is more than happy to meet with you to go over changes, benefits, etc. to make sure your plan is still the best option for you. We can start going over the changes on October 1st, but if you want to change plans, that has to wait until the Annual Election Period. Again, the Annual Election Period begins on October 15th and will end on December 7th. If you do make a plan change, the new plan will begin on January 1, 2019.
Prior to October 1st, it would be a great time to compile a list of your medications, dosages, doctors, etc. Doing this will enable you to make sure your doctors will cover your services in a Medicare Advantage Plan as well as your prescriptions are covered at the best co-pay. Any prescription that is not on the formulary of the drug plan (a formulary is a list of medications that the Prescription Drug Plan covers) will have to paid for at full price.
One thing that is often overlooked is which pharmacy you use. Remember that every Medicare Advantage Plan as well as a Prescription Drug Plan have Preferred Pharmacies or Standard Pharmacies. Preferred Pharmacies are where you will get your best co-pay pricing. I often see drug stores advertise saying that they will cover all Prescription Drug Plans. That may be true, but the pricing can be up to five times higher if that pharmacy is not a Preferred Pharmacy. It pays to know where to go to get the best pricing on your prescriptions.
The Annual Election Period happens every year and every year, confused clients call me for clarification. If you, a parent, an Aunt or Uncle, or a neighbor have questions about what you can do during this time of the year, it’s important to reach out.
You may not need to make any changes, but it’s still worthwhile to go over the changes in your plans so you know exactly what to expect come January 1st. Your health and well being are too important to ignore and wait until it could be too late.
Terri Trepanier is the owner of Balanced Care Health and Supplemental Insurance and a licensed insurance consultant and broker with Associated Brokers. Licensed in both Maine and NH, her specialty is working with small businesses, individuals, and families with their health and life insurance needs. She is certified to offer health plans both on and off the exchange and is contracted with every health insurance company that offers plans in both New Hampshire and Maine. Her other passion is assisting Medicare beneficiaries with their Medicare Supplemental, Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans, and Medicare Advantage plans. Terri has seen firsthand the importance of insurance products and how they help families. Her goal with Balanced Care is to “Insure Security and Peace of Mind One Family at a Time”.