We are just one week away from the Annual Election Period. The Annual Election Period runs from October 15, 2019 until December 7, 2019.
This is the only time of the year that you can make changes to either your Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan or your Medicare Advantage Plan unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.
My schedule is filling up quickly with clients that have received their Annual Notice of Change letters (ANOC) from their insurance companies. These letters go over changes with premiums, deductibles, co-pays, tiers in which medications are in, and networks.
To help you prepare for this busy time of the year, here are a few steps to take to make sure you do everything you need to do before the deadline of December 7th.
- Call Balanced Care for help. As a broker, we are contracted with every major insurance company in the states of NH and Maine. This allows us to work for you by looking at every option that is available to you, going over the plan, answering your questions, and making sure you understand how to have the coverage work for you.
- Make a list of your physicians. This is most helpful especially if you are looking at Medicare Advantage plans. Every plan has a different network and by law, we are required to look up your physicians, hospitals, etc. to make sure that they will cover your healthcare.
- Make a list of your prescriptions. Whether you have a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan or a Medicare Advantage plan, it’s important to know that your prescriptions are on the plan’s formulary. The formulary is simply a list of medications that the plan covers. This also allows us to let you know what tier the medication is in so that you can plan ahead for deductibles and co-pays for each of your medications.
- Lastly, make an appointment with Balanced Care. We have a small office we can meet at in Rochester, NH or we can meet at a local coffee shop/restaurant. We have done appointments in homes of our clients, however, it is important to note that in order to look up medications and physicians, it’s helpful to have internet access.
This is a busy time of the year for Medicare beneficiaries. At Balanced Care, we are open for business on Saturdays by appointment during the Annual Election Period to make sure we have ample time to help you.
You are never under any obligation and there is no fee to help you with your choices.
It’s information for you to think about. It is education to help you understand the complexity of Medicare.
Most importantly, it is your health and your healthcare.
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 insurancCare is to “Insure Security and Peace of Mind One Family at a Time”.