Medicare drug plans and Medicare Advantage/HMO plans can change every year…..sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. It is important to review the information sent by the current Medicare stand-alone drug plan or Medicare Advantage/HMO carrier in order to decide whether or not to make a change in a stand-alone prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage/HMO plan coverage during Medicare’s Annual Enrollment, which begins on October 15 and ends on December 7. Please remember that the change will not be effective until January 1, 2016.
**Each year Medicare requires the insurance carriers for stand-alone drug plans and for Medicare Advantage/HMO plans to provide their current members in September with information on their plan benefits for the upcoming year.
If an individual is happy with what they see after reading the plan materials from the carrier for the upcoming year, they don’t have to do anything. The stand-alone prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage/HMO will then automatically renew for 2016.
*NOTE: Medicare Supplement/Medigap policies do not change. They are defined by Medicare but can be offered by different insurance carriers at different premiums.