Change In Medicare Open Enrollment Causing Confusion
Posted Oct 14 2011 10:36pm
Stuart Millard, a Certified Financial Planner, who heads Senior Insurance Solutions in Massachusetts says most people are confused by Medicare and very few are aware of the changes in open enrollment. According to the article “Key Change Could Screw Up Your 2012 Medicare” by Susan Ladika on FoxBusiness.com, many seniors are very accustomed to waiting until the end of the year to make changes to their Medicare plans. People who drag their feet could miss out on the opportunity to enroll in the Medicare they want and this will make finding health insurance even harder.
A recent study completed by UnitedHealthcare and the National Council on Aging found that less than 10% of the 1500 seniors surveyed were aware when enrollment began and only about 3% knew the plan enrollment ended on December 7th. This is very concerning since many seniors wait until the last minute to make their Medicare enrollment changes. David Mulligan, vice president of sales at SCAN Health Plan, says many customers wait until the very last minute to enroll. He says a very large portion of sales is in the last two weeks of December. If someone tries to wait until the end of December this year, they will be out of luck.
The article goes on to discuss four of the major questions out there about Medicare’s open enrollment. They point out that even if you want to keep your current Medicare Advantage Plan or Part D prescription drug plan, you still should review them every year for any changes that might not appeal to you. If you do happen to miss the deadline for open enrollment, you will be stuck with the plan you already have or will go back to traditional Medicare which isn’t too bad. In addition, those who decide their new plan does not meet their needs have an opportunity to switch back to original Medicare between January 1st and February 14th of 2012. Even with this safety net, you should make every effort possible to get educated on the variety of plans and do your best to make the best choice based on your individual needs.
Stuart Millard, a Certified Financial Planner, who heads Senior Insurance Solutions in Massachusetts says most people are confused by Medicare and very few are aware of the changes in open enrollment. According to the article “Key Change Could Screw Up Your 2012 Medicare” by Susan Ladika on FoxBusiness.com, many seniors are very accustomed to waiting until the end of the year to make changes to their Medicare plans. People who drag their feet could miss out on the opportunity to enroll in the Medicare they want and this will make finding health insurance even harder.
A recent study completed by UnitedHealthcare and the National Council on Aging found that less than 10% of the 1500 seniors surveyed were aware when enrollment began and only about 3% knew the plan enrollment ended on December 7th. This is very concerning since many seniors wait until the last minute to make their Medicare enrollment changes. David Mulligan, vice president of sales at SCAN Health Plan, says many customers wait until the very last minute to enroll. He says a very large portion of sales is in the last two weeks of December. If someone tries to wait until the end of December this year, they will be out of luck.
The article goes on to discuss four of the major questions out there about Medicare’s open enrollment. They point out that even if you want to keep your current Medicare Advantage Plan or Part D prescription drug plan, you still should review them every year for any changes that might not appeal to you. If you do happen to miss the deadline for open enrollment, you will be stuck with the plan you already have or will go back to traditional Medicare which isn’t too bad. In addition, those who decide their new plan does not meet their needs have an opportunity to switch back to original Medicare between January 1st and February 14th of 2012. Even with this safety net, you should make every effort possible to get educated on the variety of plans and do your best to make the best choice based on your individual needs.
Written by Sam Tabes
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