Medicare Open Enrollment (also known as Annual Enrollment) for the 2020 health insurance and medicare coverage is open! This is the time of year when you can easily change or upgrade your current medicare plan. Hurry up and don’t miss out! This time only comes once a year.
We suggest you take your time and do your research. There are multiple plans out there that might not be tailored exactly to your needs. By researching and learning about different plans, you prepare yourself for a better year of Medicare coverage.
In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know.
1. Important Dates and Information About Open Enrollment
One of the most critical periods of the year is the open enrollment season because you have the opportunity to sign up for Medicare or change your current plan. Subscribing to health insurance allows you to customize health coverage according to your needs, your profession, the needs of your loved ones, get instant benefits and the recompense (partial or total) of the costs incurred. Here are the dates and information you need to keep in mind to proceed correctly:
- Fall Open Enrollment opens 15th October and runs through December 7th
- Disenrollment period Jan 1st to Feb 14th of each year
- You can sign up online at socialsecurity.gov, by phone at 1-800-772-1213, or at your local Social Security office.
- Fall open enrollment and open enrollment for market places are not the same
2. Why is it Crucial to Enroll for Health Insurance?
The most common health insurance plans provide insurance coverage in the event of hospitalization and post-hospital recovery, medical expenses for illnesses and accidents and in the case of permanent disability. If you have already had health insurance, you can make an essential modification if needed. For example, if you had a new child, you can add them on your plan during this period. It can happen that some companies make changes in their policies that implies you may need to customize your plans based on those modifications.
3. What Insurance Do You Need?
There are many options and different coverage packages out there, hence, you will need to consider some important factors to pick the best one. For example, if you wear glasses or you have some health issues with your eyes, you need to know that original Medicare typically doesn’t cover certain eye exams. In this case, you will need to search for vision insurance. Take into account your family history of diseases and skip the ones you unlikely will deal with in the upcoming year. You can add any coverage even later during the next open enrollment seasons. If you are in a younger age, you may not need to care about having disability coverage, but you may be interested in purchasing one if you are in your 50s. Pay attention to get your insurance independently of the company you work, because you may risk not to have one when it comes to change your job.
4. Do You Need a New Medicare and Health Insurance Plan?
Before enrolling, you need to consider if you have any change in your circumstances or if you will change something next year. You may be on someone else’s insurance at the moment but this situation may change soon and you will need your own coverage. You need to take into account the type of coverage. For example, in case of dental insurance, the premiums are usually as high as the amount they cover if you are single, but it can be convenient if you have children to put on the plan. You may not satisfied with your current medicare and you want to make changes, however, even if you are fine with your coverage, we recommend you to look around. You may find a better medicare option that contains more suitable health insurance or drug coverage in your area.
5. Compare Medicare Drug Plans
Be cautious while searching for the best drug plans! You can lose even more than a thousand dollars if you pick the wrong one due to the price difference of the same drug. According to a study “Because Medicare isn’t negotiating prices on our behalf, there’s no consistency in drug pricing among Medicare Part D drug plans,” You may find an extremely high price for a certain medication if it is not on the list of covered drugs. Therefore, it is essential to search for your prescription drug across Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plans using Medicare Drug Plan Finder at www.Medicare.gov. This tool can help you make filtered and customized searches based on the medications you currently use. You can get help with a personalized plan by answering a few questions at BenefitsCheckUp.org.
[1]https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2018/11/09/the-procrastinators-guide-to-medicare-open-enrollment/#2abf00659f02
[2]https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-medicare-2388479
[3]https://www.cardinalhealth.com/en/cmp/ext/rp/medicare-open-enrollment.html
[4]https://www.medicareinteractive.org/get-answers/medicare-health-coverage-options/changing-medicare-coverage/six-things-to-know-about-fall-open-enrollment
[5]https://www.marketwatch.com/story/4-ways-to-find-savings-on-health-care-in-retirement-2018-11-13
[6]https://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/medicare/slideshows/things-you-need-to-know-about-medicare?slide=11
[7]
[8]https://www.investmentnews.com/article/20180928/FREE/180929913/an-advisers-guide-to-medicare-open-enrollment
[9]https://www.medicareinteractive.org/get-answers/medicare-health-coverage-options/changing-medicare-coverage/six-things-to-know-about-fall-open-enrollment
[10]http://www.medicare.gov/
[11]https://www.benefitscheckup.org/
