October 15 – December 7 · Greensboro, NC
Review your Medicare coverage for next year
A yearly review can help you make sure your Medicare coverage still fits. We’ll look at next year’s costs, prescriptions, and doctors together before you decide whether to keep your plan or make a change.
Free consultation. No obligation to enroll.
- Licensed in North Carolina
- Personal review from a local agent
- Meet in person or by phone
- Free consultation. No obligation.
The twenty-minute version
- 1
Start with your Annual Notice of Change
Your plan’s Annual Notice of Change explains changes to coverage and costs for the coming year. Keep it with your current plan information so we can review the details together.
- 2
Check your prescriptions against next year’s list
Check each prescription, including its dosage and your preferred pharmacy. Drug coverage and costs can change even if your medicines stay the same.
- 3
Check your doctors are still in network
Networks change in both directions — a practice can leave a plan, and a plan can drop a health system. Around here that usually means Cone Health, Novant or Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, and it’s worth confirming rather than assuming.
- 4
Compare your options with your current coverage
Once you’ve reviewed your doctors, prescriptions, and costs, you can decide whether to keep your current plan or consider a change. There’s no need to change simply because you received an advertisement.
The dates, all of them
- October 15 – December 7
- Annual enrollment. Join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D drug plan. Whatever you pick starts January 1.
- January 1 – March 31
- Medicare Advantage open enrollment, if you’re already on an Advantage plan. One change: to a different Advantage plan, or back to Original Medicare with a drug plan.
- Any time, if your life changed
- Moving out of your plan’s county, losing employer coverage, or your plan leaving the area each open a special enrollment period of their own. If one of those happened to you, the fall window isn’t your only chance.
Medicare Advantage options can vary by county. We’ll check the plans available at your home address and review the doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies you use. What that means where you live.
Medicare help in your community
Questions I get every October
- When is Medicare annual enrollment?
- October 15 through December 7 every year, and anything you change starts January 1. If you’re already on a Medicare Advantage plan there’s a second window from January 1 to March 31, but it allows one change: to a different Advantage plan, or back to Original Medicare with a drug plan. It is not a second fall shopping season. On Original Medicare, it does not let you join an Advantage plan, pick up a standalone drug plan, or switch the drug plan you have. Your change starts the first of the month after the plan receives it.
- Do I have to do anything?
- Your plan generally renews automatically. A review can confirm whether the costs, prescription coverage, and choice of doctors still fit your needs before you decide whether to make a change.
- How do I know if I should switch?
- Consider whether your doctors, prescription coverage, expected costs, or personal needs have changed. We can compare those details before you decide whether a different plan would suit you.
- Why do I get so much mail and so many calls this time of year?
- Annual enrollment brings a lot of advertising. You don’t have to respond to every letter or call. Start with your current plan and your own needs, and ask for help if something is unclear.
- Can I change my Medigap policy during this window?
- Annual enrollment applies to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. Medigap has different rules. Outside your Medigap open enrollment period or another protected situation, an insurer may review your health when you apply.
- Will you sit down with me and look at the letter?
- Yes. Meet in person or by phone. Bring the Annual Notice of Change and a list of your prescriptions. The review is free, and keeping your current coverage may be the right outcome.
- My premium went up and I didn’t change anything. Why?
- A premium increase can come from a plan change or from an income-related Medicare charge called IRMAA. Bring the notice so we can identify the reason and discuss what you can do next.
Get a personal coverage review
Bring your Annual Notice of Change and prescription list. We will review the details that may affect your care and costs.
Free consultation in person or by phone. Appointments daily at 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, and 5pm, Eastern time.