It is hard to avoid the streams of ads from Aetna, AARP (UnitedHealthcare), AmeriHealth, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield and others. As annoying as they are, if you are on Medicare and have a Medicare Advantage (Part C) or Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D), the ads are a reminder that it is time to think about your medical coverage. The Medicare Open Enrollment Period, sometimes called the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), starts October 15 and runs to December 7.
This is the time you have to make changes. As far as Medicare Advantage Plans and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans are concerned, what plan you are enrolled in on December 8 is what goes into effect January 1, 2015. (You have limited options for change after that.)
The reality is that plans can and often do change annually. Whatever plan you have is required to send you an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), which you should get in early October – if you have not gotten it already. I urge you to read it. It is important and may require action on your part. Unless your plan is discontinued, you will be continued in your current plan for 2015. If you plan is discontinued, read the ANOC to see whether you will be automatically moved into a different plan or will have to enroll yourself in a new plan.
If you do not understand the changes or if you want to find out about a different plan, contact someone to help you. It can be the insurance company, a licensed insurance agent or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) office. Getting advice will cost you nothing, except a little time.
If you are in Medicare Supplement plans and are happy with what you have, you can stick with your plan without doing anything. Other than possible premium increases in the new year, Medicare Supplement plans will not change in 2015. Members of such plans do not have to renew the plan.
It is also important to know that New Jersey offers several programs to assist people on Medicare, depending on income. Most notable are Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged & Disabled (PAAD) and Senior Gold Discount Program which assist people with limited income in paying for prescriptions.
For general Medicare information, go to www.Medicare.gov (not .com). To get information on various Medicare topics and/or to find your local SHIP office, go to www.state.nj.us/humanservices/doas/services/ship/. Information on PAAD and Senior Gold are found at http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/doas/paad/.
Above all take the time to review what your Medicare coverage will be in 2015 to insure you are in the best plan on January 1.
