Medicare Open Enrollment: Where to find the information you need

Fall is the season for college football, hunting, and planning ahead for the holidays. For senior adults, it is also the annual season for Medicare Open Enrollment. This year’s Open Enrollment runs from Oct. 15 – Dec. 7.

It’s important to take Open Enrollment seriously, especially if you or your spouse are taking a large number of prescription drugs, or have one or more prescription drugs that are expensive. Don’t ignore the information from Medicare you receive in the mail or electronically. Take time to check out your choices before the deadline. This opportunity only comes around once each year.

One of the challenges in doing your research for Open Enrollment is that much of the mail you receive and websites that write about Open Enrollment are from insurance companies trying to sell you their products. They lack objectivity. In this story, we will identify what we regard as among the most reliable and informative sources for information about Open Enrollment. Just visit some of the links below and in a short time, you will be well informed and ready to make a wise choice on Medicare providers for 2021.

Why Bother With Open Enrollment?

If you are satisfied with your current Medicare providers, why should you bother with Open Enrollment? The reason is that plan terms and pricing can and do change from year to year. What was your best choice of insurance companies last year may not be your best choice next year.

Here are some key points to look for during Open Enrollment:

• Prescription drug coverage: Most plans have tiers of coverage with differing pricing formulas. How your drugs are covered may change from year to year. If an expensive prescription drug that you take slips to a lower tier, your out-of-pocket (co-pay) cost may be much higher next year.
• Medicare Advantage plans: Medicare Advantage plans have grown in popularity in recent years. They include prescription drug coverage and an in-network choice of doctors and hospitals you may use. The terms may change from year to year on competing Medicare Advantage plans, so it pays to shop and compare. During Open Enrollment, you may switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Traditional Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage: During Open Enrollment, you may also change your coverage from traditional Medicare to Medicare Advantage, or vice versa. You would consider making this change if traditional Medicare was too expensive, your health situation has changed significantly, or if you need a broader choice of hospitals and doctors. The COVID 19 coronavirus pandemic has motivated many seniors this year to look more carefully into the coverage and costs of their Medicare plans.

Where to Find Reliable Information About Open Enrollment

Beware of mail (or emails) you receive that are disguised to look official, as if it came from the government. Insurers are not allowed to call you or visit your home to discuss your Medicare coverage without an invitation. Also be aware that marketing information sent to you by insurance companies, while helpful, may not be complete and objective.

You need to do your own research, but it isn’t as hard or as time-consuming as you may think. Below are some of the best resources for doing your homework and making a wise choice in Medicare providers for 2021.

Just remember, you must submit your changes before the Dec. 7 deadline. If you are happy with your current choices, then no action is required to continue them. New and renewal plans take effect Jan. 1.

Medicare.gov: Medicare has an informative, easy-to-read website. Don’t shy aware from using Medicare’s website just because it’s a huge government bureaucracy. Their site provides useful tools to help you make an informed choice, especially their Medicare Plan Finder, which is updated each year. It lets you shop online for Plan D drug plans and to compare Medicare Advantage plans, using your personal data including your list of prescription drugs. Another helpful tool is the Medicare and You Handbook, which is updated each year. This 124-page illustrated booklet is authoritative and comprehensive, with answers to every question you might have about Medicare. If you are in the 62-64 age range, this would be a good document to read to learn more about Medicare prior to your first year of enrollment at age 65. By clicking this link, you can sign up to receive an electronic copy of the Medicare and You Handbook each year via email. Printed copies are also available.

Need even more help? Medicare maintains a toll-free Medicare hotline, 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227), that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. See this website page for more ways to contact Medicare.

NCOA’s My Medicare Matters: This educational website is provided by the National Council on Aging, or NCOA. This website is easy to read and provides detailed information about Medicare in general and about the Open Enrollment period. For those who need more help with Medicare, the NCOA points you toward resources where you can go for counseling and assistance. This site is a good resource not only for those on Medicare now but for those approaching age 65.

AARP: It stands to reason that the largest organization in the U.S. targeting senior adults would provide plenty of information about Medicare, and they do. The American Association of Retired Persons, or AARP, has not only a feature story about Open Enrollment but an entire section of their website is called the Medicare Resource Center, with numerous articles to read. You could spend a day becoming an expert on Medicare just from reading the various articles on this site and following their links.

One caveat about AARP is to know they also offer Medicare insurance plans, including orginal Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, and Plan D drug plans. Despite this potential for bias, we found their website to be educational and objective. They keep their editorial and advertising sides separate.

More Resources

The websites above will likely provide all the information you need or want about Medicare and their annual Open Enrollment. If you still have questions or just want to read more views and opinions, try some of these news services:

Kiplinger.com: Over the years, we’ve found Kiplinger.com to be a reliable source of information on many financial-related topics, including Medicare. Their most recent article, How to Pick the Best Medicare Plans for You, is really more of a primer on Medicare and how the plans fit together, but it’s nevertheless helpful. Like many online news services, we’re annoyed by the ads that clutter Kiplinger.com’s pages while trying to follow a story. That’s something we’ve chosen not to do with This Retirement Life, not that we’re opposed to an ad here and there.

CNBC: This financial news service is better known for coverage of the stock and bond markets, but CNBC also offers feature articles on a variety of financial planning topics including Medicare. They have multiple articles published already about this season’s Open Enrollment including this one. To discover more stories, use the search bar in the top right corner.

Money.com: Money Magazine’s website has a good feature article on this year’s Medicare Open Enrollment, as well as primers on what you need to know about Medicare in general. It’s a trusted source of financial information.

Don’t Ignore Open Enrollment

The most important advice of all is to simply not ignore Medicare’s notices about Open Enrollment. If you do, you could be forced to change doctors next year in order to keep in-network coverage or you might find yourself paying much higher premiums for one or more prescription drugs.  Use the resources in this article, especially Medicare.gov’s tools, and the analysis won’t take as long as you think. More often than not, you will find your current coverage is still fine, but it pays to check and avoid a potentially big surprise come Jan. 1.