Information Pages

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

7th in a Series of 8 Articles

Finding and Comparing Medicare Plans
(Part 7 of a Series of 8 Articles)


You may decide that your current coverage still meets your needs for 2014. If that’s the case, you’re done! You don’t have to do anything more during Medicare Open Enrollment. Your coverage will continue automatically in 2014.

Be sure you understand any coverage or cost changes your plan may have made for 2014 before making your final decision. You can review these in the Annual Notice of Changes (ANOC) you received from your plan.

 If you’re not sure yet, whether you want to change your coverage, then you may want to learn about the Medicare plans offered where you live.
You may be looking for a Medicare Advantage or a Medicare prescription drug plan, depending on your needs. These plans are offered through private insurance companies.

Each plan has a geographic service area where it operates. You must live in a plan’s service area in order to enroll in the plan.

 How to Find Medicare Plan Information

You may have many plan choices, depending on where you live. You can use the Plan Finder tool at Medicare.gov to look for plans offered in your area.
There is a link to the tool in the resource list at the end of this article. This may be a good first step, since you can get a whole list of plans offered by many companies.

How to Compare Medicare Plans

Carefully review the terms of any plan you are considering. Plans may change coverage terms and costs from year to year, so you want to make sure you have the most current information.

Here are a few questions you will probably want to answer “yes” to for any plan you may want to enroll in:

Is your provider in the plan network, if there is one?

Can you use your preferred pharmacy, if you have one?

Are your drugs on the plan formulary?

 Are you comfortable with the expected out-of-pocket costs?

 It may take some time to understand plan costs. You may want to estimate what your costs would be with each plan or combination of plans you’re considering. Create a scenario or take a situation from your own health care experience and compare what you would pay with each coverage choice.
Here are some costs to consider:

Monthly plan premiums
Annual deductibles
Copays/coinsurance
Annual out-of-pocket maximum
Emergency care fees
Annual pharmacy deductible
Prescription drug costs

Medicare Open Enrollment ends December 7. You have just a couple more weeks to make your decisions and change your Medicare coverage choices, if you choose.

For a comprehensive Medicare review and audit, please contact:

                                                Gavin Walker

PH: 702-325-9585

Located inside Vons in Anthem Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 9:30am-2:00pm  

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