As a Medicare beneficiary you know we are in the middle of the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period. Our team gets hundreds of questions but the one we hear most often is:
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Do I need to make any changes during AEP if I am happy with my Medicare plan?
There is no requirement to make any changes to your Medicare plan. However, now is the time to check your plan benefits if you have:
- Had any changes to your prescriptions
- Changes in your overall health
- Or simply want to see if you can find a better plan for your current situation
This question makes a lot of sense since many people are used to making annual changes to their corporate medical plans. For many medical plans, you had to opt in every year. Of course, many corporate plans also had coverage and price changes each year so “open enrollment” was your opportunity to make any necessary changes.
Medicare works differently. Once you are signed up your plan will auto-renew every year (assuming you pay your premiums if your plan has one.) You don’t have to make any changes if you’re happy with your plan. If you’re not happy, well, then AEP is your window of opportunity to make any necessary changes. You can switch between Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage plans) or into and out of Medigap or Medicare Advantage plans, and you can add or change your Medicare Part D drug plan if needed.
What you should do during Medicare AEP:
- Review your Medicare plan with a CoverRight agent to see if any of your coverages or benefits have changed
- Double-check your doctors and medications to verify everything is covered and to see if you can save any money on your prescriptions.
What you shouldn’t do during AEP:
- Don’t let any advertisements or salespeople convince you to switch plans if you’re happy with your current coverage.
- Switch plans because someone else is on it. Your situation might not match theirs and you could end up with the wrong coverage.
- Forget to check if you can save money on your healthcare with a quick Medicare year-over-year plan review. CoverRight is happy to do this for you and there is never a change (no one should charge you to do this.)
When does my new Medicare Plan go into effect?
If you decide to change Medicare plans your new plan will start on January 1, 2023.
When can I make changes to my Medicare Plan?
With a few exceptions, AEP is the one time a year you can change your Medicare plans and coverage.
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CoverRight is on a mission to make the Medicare plan selection process easy to understand. We are here to help you compare Medicare plans and find the one best suited to your specific situation. Try the platform for yourself.
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