If you decide to go the Medicare Advantage route rather than enroll in a Medicare supplement plan, it's important to remember to evaluate your Medicare Advantage plan annually.
Review Your Medicare Advantage Plan Annually
A Medicare Advantage plan can offer solid senior health coverage, particularly if a Medigap plan isn't in your budget. It is vital, however, that you review your Medicare Advantage plan each year during the Annual Enrollment Period.
Each Fall, you can expect to receive your Medicare Advantage plan's Annual Notice of Change. This notice will list changes to your Medicare Advantage plan, set for implementation in the upcoming January. In addition to potential benefits changes, you'll want to keep an eye on changes to your plan's network and prescription drug formulary.
Yes, there is a chance your current primary care physician may no longer be in your Medicare Advantage plan's network the following year. If you are diligent about reviewing your plan each year, you can avoid network issues and easily switch to another Medicare Advantage plan that is accepted by your doctor.
Drug formulary changes can also have significant financial implications. Rather than review your plan's new formulary yourself, it's probably easier to have your insurance agent run a new prescription drug report with your current list of prescriptions against your Medicare Advantage plan's new prescription drug formulary.
Again, reviewing your Medicare Advantage plan annually can help avoid any unpleasant surprises.
Compare Your Medicare Advantage Plan Annually
In addition to ensuring your Medicare Advantage plan is still accepted by your doctor and adequately covers your prescription drugs, it makes sense to compare your plan against other Medicare Advantage plans.
Just as your plan can change each year, so can the competition. While your current plan may have been the most competitive on the market a year ago, as other plans change, that may no longer be the case for the upcoming year.
The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period is from October 15 to December 7. During the Annual Open Enrollment, you can switch between Medicare Advantage plans with no penalty. It's worth having an independent agent run a free Medicare Advantage comparison report each year.
Particularly due to plans changing their prescription drug coverage each year, having a comprehensive comparison report can lead to hundreds of dollars in savings.
If you'd like to have one of our Medicare consultants review your current Medicare Advantage plan and make sure you're plan is still the best fit for the coming year, please don't hesitate to give us a call or request a quote online. Our services are entirely free to you and we're happy to help.
