There are some things in life I can always count on:
- Smoke detector batteries only go dead between the hours of 2and 3in the morning.
- Long-awaited return phone calls only come while I am in the bathroom.
- The red lights on Tryon Road in Raleigh are perfectly programmed to turn red the minute my Mazda6 comes into view.
- My dog Harvey will demand to go out the minute I put up the footrest on my recliner. He only wants to take one lap around the porch (and remind me who runs the show) and come back in. If I do not comply, he will bark until I do.
There is one other thing that everyone can count on – The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). Medicare-eligible people can count on this time of year to review their health care coverage and see if their current plan still meets their needs. The world is changing, and so are we. Is the coverage you selected for yourself in the past serving your needs today and tomorrow? Do you even know how many options there are available?
A great resource for your annual Medicare review is the Medicare website (www.medicare.gov). This site is easy to navigate and packed with information:
- Check and compare your plan’s star rating against others in your area. Star ratings are based on how well a plan takes care of its members and how satisfied its members are with the plan.
- Enter your drug information into the system and get a list back of the best plans out there to meet your individual medical needs. I’m not sure how this works, but I believe it involves algorithms and high-tech robots that I know nothing about.
- Compare the premiums you are paying now for your supplement, Part D plan and Medicare Advantage plans. Can freeing up a few dollars a month for things like going out to eat and travel improve your quality of living? Maybe a switch is in order.
The most important thing to remember about the Medicare AEP is that you do not have to do anything at all if you are satisfied with your Medicare coverage and living a healthy life. Anyone calling you on the telephone or preaching to you over the television and telling you that you must make a change should be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone is different; don’t get taken advantage of by people trying to make you switch when you don’t need or want to.
If you find something intriguing and want to know more, call the individual companies directly and see how well they answer your questions and, even more important, how they treat you while on the telephone. Company websites are great sources of information, too.
The AEP for Medicare happens every year from October 15 until December 7 for a January 1 effective date. The sooner you review your needs and gather information, the better equipped you will be to make an informed choice. While you are at it, plan to change those smoke detector batteries. No one needs to be up at 2in the morning dealing with those things.
Lora Felger is a Community Outreach/Medicare Advisor with FirstCarolinaCare. She is the mother of two terrific boys, a world explorer and a major Iowa State Cyclones fan. She also has a naughty yet lovable Yellow Labrador Retriever named Harvey. Like this article? Feel free to respond to FCCOutreach@FirstCarolinaCare.com Thanks for reading!