To speak with a licensed agent, call (805) 548-8672 (TTY 711 M-SU, 8am-8pm) or email kip@meredithinsurancecenter.com

Medicare’s Annual Election Period Begins on October 15

Posted by Kip Meredith
Estimated Reading Time 1 minute 32 seconds

Medicare’s Annual Election Period Begins on October 15

As you might already know, the Medicare Annual Election Period (Open Enrollment) will begin on October 15 and run through December 7. Since this is your opportunity to review your current plan and make any necessary changes for next year, it’s time to get ready. Here’s what you need to do as Medicare AEP approaches.

Gather everything you will need. You will need your plan identification card, along with the card for your prescription plan or any other supplementary plans, so that you have your Medicare ID number handy.

Hopefully you’ve kept track of your out-of-pocket medical expenses from the past year, and can easily access those via receipts, credit card statements, or monthly statements from your plan administrator. Gather those into a stack and review them to assess whether you feel comfortable with your spending or would prefer to try and lower expenses.

Check your Annual Notice of Change. Your plan administrator should send you an Annual Notice of Change, which details any upcoming changes to your current plan. If you don’t elect to switch plans, you will be automatically enrolled into the same one.

Contact your physicians and preferred facilities. You want to ensure that they plan to remain in your plan’s network. If you’re on Original Medicare, you can use any doctor or facility that accepts Medicare. But those on Advantage plans are subject to networks of providers that can sometimes change.

Make a list of your current prescription medications. This information will help you as you examine the drug formularies among different Part D plans or Advantage plans that include prescription coverage. The plan formulary will inform you of which medications are covered (and yes, this can change from one year to the next as well).

Get help. These tasks will get you started toward evaluating satisfaction with your current plan. But comparing different plans can feel overwhelming. Give us a call so that we can help you sort through your options, and we will help you identify a plan that most closely suits your needs.

Remember, Medicare AEP starts on October 15. Begin to address the above tasks now, so that you’re prepared to make an informed decision.

Kip Meredith
Meredith Insurance Center // kip@meredithinsurancecenter.com

I am a local, licensed and trained independent insurance agent. I am certified with many top Medicare Advantage, Prescription Drug and Medicare Supplement insurance plan carriers. I represent most major companies with a Medicare contract and am qualified to answer any questions you may have.

Get Free Medicare Assistance

Friendly, licensed professionals are available to answer all of your questions. Call (805) 548-8672 or complete the form below and we’d be happy to reach out to you.







      By submitting this information, you acknowledge a licensed insurance agent may contact you by phone, email, or mail to discuss Medicare Advantage Plans, Medicare Supplement Insurance, or Prescription Drug Plans.

      Close Accessibility Tools
      Accessibility Controls Reset
      Content Adjustments
      Font Size

      Default

      Line Height

      Default

      Content Scaling

      Default

      Highlight Titles
      Highlight Links
      Highlight Forms
      Align Left
      Align Center
      Align Right
      Focus Mode
      Color Adjustments
      Desaturate
      Monochrome
      Contrast

      Default

      Saturation

      Default

      Accessibility Statement

      Despite our attempts to make this website accessible for everyone, there may still be some pages or sections that are not completely accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or do not have a suitable technological solution to make them accessible. Nevertheless, we are always striving to enhance our accessibility by adding, updating, improving its options and features, and incorporating new technologies.

      We want to provide our users with the best experience possible, so we strive to support as many browsers and assistive technologies as possible.

      If you wish to contact this website's owner, please use the contact form on the website.

      Our User Interface Adjustment Options

      Font adjustments - With this tool, users can modify font size, style, letter spacing, and line height for improved alignment and readability.

      Color adjustments - Users can customize their color contrast profiles to light, dark, desaturated, and monochrome.

      Content highlighting - Users can prioritize key elements such as links, forms, and titles.

      Content focus - Users can enable focus mode to highlight the current page information based on their mouse movement.

      Close