By Tyler Mackie
With Health Care Reform on everyone’s lips, we wanted to take a minute and offer some guidance for the upcoming months, as well as few things for you to consider doing if you are on Medicare.
As you may know October 15th to December 7th each year is the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) for individuals on a Medicare Health Plan or Medicare Prescription Plan. This timeframe allows a member to make changes to their current plan, switch plans, or add a plan. This is an important time because it will determine what your coverage and co-pays will look like for the coming year, starting January 1st.
Here’s some helpful tips for AEP:
- Use Medicare.gov as a guide to which Prescription Plan or Medicare Health Plan with Rx coverage will offer you the lowest cost for your current Medications. This may need to be reviewed annually because even if your medications don’t change, the prescription plans do!
- Take note of the changes affecting your plan and what impact they may have on your co-pays or coverage based on the type of care you’re accustomed to receiving. If you most often use your coverage for routine care, does your plan have cost-effective Primary Care Physician Co-pays?
- Review all available plans to see what changes are being made both your current plan, as well as other plans available in your area.
- Take advantage of the extra benefits! Did you know some plans offer dental and vision allowances? Also many plans on the market today offer fitness center memberships at low or no cost to you!
- Let an agent do the work for you! As a broker that offers all the major plans, we can shop the various carriers and available plans to custom fit you with the best plan for your provider’s network, doctors’ co-pays, and prescriptions coverage.
Just like the leaves in the Fall, plans change every year. Let us know if we can help you navigate these changes, and personalize a plan to fit you best for 2015! We offer objective, knowledgeable advice from familiar faces you already trust. Don’t hesitate to call us at 423.283.9821 for questions.
Other Resources:
CMS Website
Healthcare.gov
Medicare Supplemental Insurance
