Medicare Open Enrollment – Make Your Choices By December 7th

It’s that time of year again - Medicare’s open enrollment period started earlier this year (October 15th) and ends on December 7th. If you or a family member is 65 or older, you have less than a month to make any changes, so be sure to review your options and make selections before the deadline hits.

Even if you are satisfied with your coverage plan, I highly recommend that you still review all the options available to you. While you choices may look the same as previous years, you’ll want to note the rate changes for 2012 and make sure that the options still fit your needs and your budget.

Open enrollment is the only time of the year that you can make changes (unless you experience a qualifying ‘event’ that would allow you to update your plan).

Like many private insurance programs, basic Medicare does not pay for all of your health care costs. You are responsible for paying premiums, covering deductibles, and handling coinsurance or copayments. Basic Medicare services – both Parts A and B – do not pay for long-term care or extended stays in skilled nursing or assisted living facilities. Basic Medicare also only pays for about 20% of your doctor’s charges, so if you are under the standard Medicare plan, you probably want to buy supplemental health insurance to give you adequate coverage and help out with deductibles.

While Medicare can seem a little confusing – especially if you are new to the program, there are really just two main options involved, plus the coverage for prescription drugs. Medicare programs work like an HMO, run by private companies.

Your main choices are whether or not to go with basic (also called ‘original’) Medicare or with a Medicare Advantage Plan. The Medicare Advantage Plan gives you additional services, including a standard prescription drug plan. You can also enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription plan as an alternative.

If you need assistance, you can contact Medicare directly to ask questions. You can also visit the Medicare open enrollment Web site at http://medicare.gov/open-enrollment/index. You’ll find that the Web site does a good job of explaining options and answering frequently asked questions.

Don’t wait too long! Just as the holidays are almost upon us, don’t let December 7th come and go with reviewing all of your health care coverage options.