By Howard Peck
Senior Insurance Solutions, LLC
267-923-5281
The TV commercials are starting. The postcards and envelopes are filling up your mailbox and text messages and emails will soon be inundating your devices.
Each year The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) begins on October 15th and ends on December 7th. This is the time when specific changes can be made to your Medicare Plans.
Please note that all changes made during the forthcoming AEP become effective on January 1, 2027.
The changes that can be made during AEP are as follows: If you want to go in or out of a Medicare Advantage Plan or if you want to go in or out of a Part D Stand-alone Drug Plan, this is the time to do it. These changes do not include medical questions. You are automatically accepted upon applying.
If you are happy with your Medicare Advantage Plan, there’s nothing you have to do. If you are happy with your Part D Standalone Drug Plan there is nothing you have to do, as they will both rollover into 2027.
If you have a traditional Medicare Supplement (Medigap), you can change these plans any time of year. Changing Medicare Supplements does include medical underwriting questions.
Two weeks before the AEP the insurance companies will release their Annual Notice of Change (“ANOC”) where they list changes to their Medicare Advantage Plans or their Part D Standalone Drug Plans for the following year. Changes can include premium increases, co-pay changes and prescription drug coverage.
You will receive the ANOC typically via US Postal Mail. Most people don’t read these notices, but this is where the changes are announced.
The efforts behind the AEP marketing blitz are very sophisticated and well-funded. The insurance carriers and large marketing organizations want you to think that you must do something during this Annual Enrollment Period because they want your business. But again, if you are happy with your Medicare Advantage Plan or Stand-Alone Part D Drug Plan …there’s nothing you have to do.
The Annual Medicare AEP is for people who are on Medicare and want to make changes to their plans. If you plan on going on Medicare sometime in 2027 the AEP does not pertain to you. You are on your own timeframe based on when you are turning 65 or when you are retiring after age 65.
One word of caution: if you make changes on a telemarketing call or on the Internet, you typically don’t get all the details that can prove to be problematic. In addition, customer service after the fact will not provide you with the comfort level that you deserve. Working with a local brokerage is important. Having a relationship with a local broker allows your questions to be efficiently answered along with having easy accessibility should issues or concerns ever arise.
If you have any inquiries about the Annual Enrollment Period or anything else Medicare related, please call our office and it will be our pleasure to assist you.