Top 5 Tips for Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period

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Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) for 2025 coverage runs from  October 15 through December 7, 2024. That’s when any Medicare beneficiary can review their coverage and enroll in a new Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the coming year.

Here are our top five tips for this year’s AEP:

1) Read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) letter. If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan you’ll receive this letter in the early fall, explaining how your plan’s benefits or costs may be changing for 2025. It’s essential to understanding how your plan may be changing. You don’t want to get stuck in a plan that no longer meets your needs.

Unfortunately, only 48% of Medicare beneficiaries carefully read mail from their insurance plan.

2) Review your personal finances and health needs. Have your personal health needs or finances changed in the past year? Are you using new prescription drugs? Seeing a new doctor? Have you received a new diagnosis in the past year? If so, your current plan may no longer be the best match. Make sure you understand what kind of coverage you’re likely to need for 2025.

In 2023, 47% of beneficiaries said they began seeing a new doctor in the past year, while 41% began using a new drug.

3) Review your options with a licensed health insurance agent. The most effective way to review your options is to work with a licensed health insurance online marketplace that offers multiple plans from competing insurers in your area. Talk to a licensed insurance agent for personal help and advice. It doesn’t cost anything more to work with an agent and there is no obligation to enroll.

An eHealth survey shows that 70% of those who work with a licensed agent are “very satisfied” with their coverage, vs. 60% for those who did not.

4) Focus on plans that cover your prescriptions and preferred doctors. Make sure that any new plan you’re considering for 2025 covers the prescription drugs you’ll need at a price you can afford. If you have a favorite doctor or hospital, you’ll also want to make sure that they are part of the provider network for your new plan.

5) Don’t put it off until the end of Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period. Thanksgiving falls late this year, with only about a week left until the end of AEP (December 7). If you put off reviewing your 2025 coverage options until after Thanksgiving, you’ll regret it. Save yourself the last-minute stress and review your options early. Acting early can also make it easier for you to get in touch with a licensed agent for personal help.