WOODBURY — Medicare’s annual open enrollment period is from October 15 to December 7 each year. During this time, Medicare members can review their options and make changes to their health plans and prescription drug coverage for the following year.
Changes made during this period take effect on January 1, 2025.
If you are happy with all your plans and want no changes, then do nothing they will automatically renew.
However, if you are on original Medicare (Parts A, B and Rx Plan D) you should recheck your Plan D for prescriptions. The Inflation Reduction Act limited total out-of-pocket cost for Medicare recipients at $2,000 per year, which includes your plan deductible.
It also allows those who have high prescription costs to pay them on a monthly budget plan equal to 1/12 of your annual costs each month rather than single large payments.
But because of these changes, there could be changes to the plans, and you should have your medication rechecked to make sure you’re getting the right plan for yourself.
For those on a private Medicare Advantage plan (also called Plan C) you should be notified if there’s any changes to your plan or network. The private insurer can do this so make sure you check it thoroughly and again also check your medications with your existing plan.
For some medications you also might want to consider Mark Cuban’s cost plus which can save you hundreds on certain medications. Just Google “Mark Cuban cost plus” and you can check your medication costs without signing up. There is no cost to sign up.
Do you need help making sense of Medicare ‘s plans either for open enrollment or if you are a new Medicare recipient?
Then call your Gloucester County SHIP counselor. This is a wonderful, free, federal/state program, and the counselors will run all the various options for you and let you make the decision that is best for you. There’s no charge for this service.
Gloucester County, Senior Corps SHIP, Rowan College at Gloucester County, 115 Budd Boulevard, West Deptford, NJ 08096. Phone: 856-468-1742
