Medicare Open Enrollment Period Coming Earlier 
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) and numerous Medicare advocacy groups, such as AARP, have announced the
open enrollment period for Medicare starts a month earlier than usual this
year. All Medicare beneficiaries should begin planning now as annual enrollment
starts Oct. 15th; changes to the prescription drug and other plans
are anticipated.
Millions of seniors and people with disabilities who rely
on Medicare could miss the change in Medicare’s annual open enrollment
period this year. Under a provision of the federal Affordable Care Act, the
Medicare annual open enrollment period has been changed; it is now Oct.
15th through Dec. 7th, 2011. (Typically, open enrollment
is from Nov. 15th through Dec. 31st.) All Medicare
beneficiaries are allowed this one time each year to make changes to their
Medicare coverage for the coming year. This includes anyone using traditional
Medicare, Medicare Advantage, prescription drug and Medigap supplemental
coverage.
One organization, Allsup, has a "Medicare advisor," an
impartial Medicare plan selection service that helps people understand and
choose the most affordable and appropriate Medicare coverage for their health
care needs. (Allsup is not a Medicare plan provider and does not accept
commissions from insurance providers.)
While the earlier Medicare open enrollment period may
take people by surprise, it will help ensure that they have their updated
Medicare membership cards at the start of 2012. The change was also prompted to
allow all beneficiaries to have their identification cards earlier, thus
avoiding a gap in coverage.
Several additional changes are coming to Medicare in
2012, including the following:
Prescription drug (Part D) costs will change. Overall,
costs will increase slightly, according to the CMS Standard Benefit Plan, which
outlines the minimum allowable plan coverage. Detailed cost information on
individual plans, however, will not be available until later this year.
Estimates show that initial Part D deductibles will increase to $320.
Medicare recipients reaching the donut hole will benefit
from higher prescription drug discounts. The gap in prescription drug coverage
(the donut hole) starts when a beneficiary reaches the initial coverage limit,
which is estimated at $2,930 for 2012, and ends when he has spent $4,700.
During the donut-hole period, all costs are covered by an individual out of
pocket. In 2012, people who reach the coverage gap will receive a 14 percent
discount on generic drugs (up from 7 percent in 2011) and a 50 percent discount
on brand-name drugs (unchanged from 2011).
Costs for Medicare Part B premiums are likely to
increase. Increases to existing Medicare Part B (medical insurance) premiums
are tied to the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which is announced in
October. For two years, there has been no COLA increase. Preliminary forecasts
indicate that there will be an increase in COLA for 2012, meaning all Medicare
beneficiaries are likely to experience an increase in Part B premiums.
Medicare Advantage plans also will see changes. Although
health care reform is reducing rebates paid to Medicare Advantage plans, these
plans continue to be popular. Nearly one in four, or 24 percent, of Medicare
recipients enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan in 2010. Most people will
continue to have dozens of Medicare Advantage plans as well as Part D plans
available to them, but these providers can change the coverage options they
offer from year to year.
Most Medicare beneficiaries should have received their
Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) and Evidence of Coverage (EOC) from their
existing Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plan providers by Sept.
30th. CMS is expected to make information available to the public on
www.Medicare.gov in October.
For an evaluation of Medicare options, beneficiaries are
urged to call an Allsup Medicare advisor specialist at (866) 521-7655 or go to
http://medicare.allsup.com.
--Compiled from various sources |
