Medicare open enrollment is about to shut. Here’s what to know.

Seniors have another day to make modifications to their Medicare plans, together with selecting a brand new Medicare Advantage plan, with open enrollment for this system closing on the finish of December 7.

Medicare Advantage plans are more and more common with seniors, with practically half of Medicare-eligible Americans choosing one among these non-public applications this yr, in response to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The typical enrollee has 39 completely different plans to select from, which suggests choosing the proper plan might be practically overwhelming.

During open enrollment, seniors can even return to the unique Medicare plans, often known as Medicare Part A and Part B, and decide a brand new Medicare prescription drug plan, or Part D. By comparability, Medicare Advantage plans sometimes bundle Part A, Part B and Part D right into a single plan, and sometimes dangle different protection, reminiscent of dental or imaginative and prescient, to persuade seniors to enroll.

Here are pitfalls to be careful for, in response to consultants, when selecting a Medicare Advantage plan that works for you.

Check your Medicare Advantage plan’s suppliers 

One factor seniors ought to do yearly is examine that their docs — and prescriptions — are inside the protection community of their Medicare Advantage plan. Unlike conventional Medicare, Medicare Advantage features like a personal insurance coverage plan, with in-network and out-of-network protection. 

Even should you’re in a Medicare Advantage plan that you just intend to maintain, ensure that to double-check your current plan’s suppliers since plans typically change year-to-year, mentioned Mary Johnson, Medicare and social safety coverage analyst for the Senior Citizens League.

“These are private insurers. They renegotiate their contracts every year with their providers, so providers can change — that includes pharmacies and prescription drug coverage,” she mentioned. “It would be very unrealistic to think that you can just sign up and sit on autopilot, but that’s what the majority of the public does.”

Often the quickest solution to examine is to name your supplier’s workplace, since on-line directories generally aren’t updated — and brokers making an attempt to promote you insurance policies may give mistaken data. “The best thing I would advise is to call the doctor’s office and just confirm with them,” Evan Tunis, president of Florida Healthcare Insurance, advised NerdWallet. 

Check your plan’s drug protection

Drug protection is one other necessary issue that might change year-to-year inside Medicare Advantage plans, so seniors ought to confirm what they’re going to pay for his or her prescriptions by going to medicare.gov, Johnson mentioned.

Seniors on insulin ought to double-check that the model of treatment they take is roofed underneath their Advantage plan. Starting subsequent yr, the worth of insulin will probably be capped at $35 a month — however that worth restrict solely applies to manufacturers that fall underneath a plan’s protection. 

“If the brand you take is Lantus, and they cover some other insulin, it could possibly be that you get into a mismatch,” Johnson mentioned.

Seniors can examine protection by inputting their drug data at medicare.gov.

Look at your out-of-network prices

One error Johnson sees typically is seniors selecting an Advantage plan based mostly on low premiums or freebies, reminiscent of a grocery allowance. 

“Nothing in life is free,” Johnson mentioned. “There are many Medicare Advantage plans that have a very low or even no premium; however, for virtually every service that people use, there is a copay.”

Johnson advises projecting the worst-case situation: If you get very sick and wish an intensive medical process and lots of follow-up visits, what is the most you might anticipate to pay out of pocket? For 2023, that may very well be as excessive as $8,300 — or extra should you exit of community.

On the opposite hand, many Medicare Advantage plans embrace imaginative and prescient and dental advantages, which conventional Medicare does not cowl, so seniors might want to weigh which components are most necessary to them. 

While a plan and not using a premium may get monetary savings for somebody who’s wholesome, you may’t all the time predict should you’ll get sick and wish plenty of care. 

“Older people tend to get sick and use services, so it’s a gamble,” Tricia Neuman, director of this system on Medicare coverage on the Kaiser Family Foundation, advised NerdWallet.

Take your time and be skeptical

During the present open enrollment interval, which opened October 15 and ends December 7, seniors can swap from conventional Medicare to Medicare Advantage, or change the Medicare Advantage plan they’re on. They can even swap again to Original Medicare.

It’s not the one likelihood to make modifications for seniors who’re already enrolled in Medicare Advantage. People already in these plans can even swap their Advantage plan between January 1 and March 31, though they’ll solely swap plans as soon as throughout that time period.

But consultants warning seniors in opposition to dashing right into a Medicare Advantage plan with the hopes of saving cash or getting freebies like gymnasium memberships. First, misleading advertising abounds — from insurance coverage brokers wrongly describing protection and celebrity-filled TV adverts touting advantages to advertising mailers disguised as “official” authorities mail.

Seniors “are being inundated with aggressive marketing tactics as well as false and misleading information,” Sen. Ron Wyden’s workplace concluded in a report final month.

Consider Medigap protection

It’s attainable to modify from Medicare Advantage again to conventional Medicare throughout open enrollment, however seniors also needs to take into account their Medigap protection — formally generally known as Medicare Supplement Insurance. Seniors are first eligible for Medigap protection once they flip 65 and enroll in Medicare Part B, which covers physician’s visits and outpatient care. 

During a six-month open enrollment interval once they first join a Medigap plan, seniors should buy any coverage they need, no matter their well being — however that occurs solely as soon as. Seniors who join an Advantage plan, then swap again to conventional Medicare, may discover themselves paying rather more for a Medigap plan — in the event that they’re provided one in any respect.

“In most states, insurers are not required to offer you a Medicare and Medigap supplement out of your initial coverage period, which is when you first enroll in Medicare,” Johnson mentioned.

The course of might be complicated and overwhelming. “It’s a real pain for the average person. You probably feel as frustrated going through this process as doing your taxes,” Johnson mentioned. 

People who want help can flip to one among two sources:

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or SHIP, can match seniors with a navigator educated in Medicare who can go over the affected person’s wants and advocate plans. Seniors also needs to go to Benefits Checkup, run by the National Council on Aging, to see in the event that they qualify for applications to assist pay for medication, meals and different wants.