The 2019 Medicare open enrollment period is running through Saturday, Dec. 7.
That means it is time to decide which Medicare insurance plan is right for you in 2020. Even if you like your current plan, there might be another option that will better meet your needs and desires.
If you have a Medicare plan already, watch your mailbox for the Annual Notice of Change, which your Medicare Advantage plan will send. It will list any changes in your benefits for the coming year.
For example, in 2020 Medicare Supplement Plan F and Plan C will no longer be available to people who become eligible on or after Jan. 1. The new Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period that started this year will continue and will now be in effect from Jan. 1 to March 31 every year. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan you will have a one-time opportunity from Jan. 1 to March 31 to switch to another Medicare Advantage plan, drop your Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare Part A and Part B, and to sign up for a stand-alone Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan (if you return to Original Medicare).
There is good news for Medicare recipients. The Medicare Part D donut hole is closing, which means that drug manufacturers pay a bigger percentage of the drug costs and Medicare drug plans will boost the amount they cover.
If you have questions and need help navigating the enrollment process you can contact the various carriers directly or see an independent broker, such as Yvonne Kudray-Baraban, a local broker with Medicare Benefits Consulting, LLC. To reach her, call 602-575-0622 or email her at Yvonne.Kudray@Cox.net. For more information about Medicare, visit www.medicare.gov.
