Part D of Medicare covers your prescription drugs. If you have or need Part D, you probably also have a Medicare Supplement plan, also known as a Medigap plan. These policies do not have an Annual Open Enrollment Period. Medicare Supplement plans change in price usually once or twice per year. Without a Medicare Supplement plan, you are left with high out of pocket expenses which increase every year. Because of this, it is important to have a Medicare Supplement plan to help pay for the expenses not covered by Part A and Part B of Medicare.
Enrolling in a Part D plan is quick and easy! The federal Medicare website helps people shop, compare and enroll in Part D drug plans. Your drug plan information is saved securely on your medicare.gov account from year to year, making the renewal process even easier. Best of all, these plans never ask health questions! By following these steps, the Part D drug plan enrollment process should take you 10 minutes or less:
1. Visit the website www.medicare.gov
• On the top right corner of the screen, click on MyMedicare.gov Login.
2. If you do not have an existing account, click on Create Account, and follow the prompts.
• If you already created an account, enter your username and password and click on Login.
3. Once you login to your account, click on Enter My Drugs & Pharmacies.
• Here it will ask for the prescription name, frequency, and dosage.
• Also, enter in the pharmacy you prefer to use. This information will help calculate which Part D Drug plan will cover all your needs.
4. Finally, select Find and Compare Plans and then select Drug Plan (Part D).
• In the top right area of the page, you will see a box that says Sort plans by: We recommend selecting Lowest Drug Plan + Premium Cost. Under each plan, it will outline the Mail Order Pharmacy Estimated Drug Cost + The monthly cost to enroll. We recommend choosing the first plan on the page since it will have the lowest annual cost for you.
• Once you select the plan that works best for you, please click on Enroll and follow the steps on the application to start your Part D drug plan coverage.
Did you know that the government will penalize people who do not have creditable drug coverage? That’s right – the government penalizes people for not having drug coverage, even if they aren’t taking prescriptions! Because of this, we recommend getting at least a low costing Part D prescription drug plan to avoid lifetime penalties. The easiest time to do this is during the Nevada Part D Annual Enrollment period. Low costing Part D drug plans are usually less than $20 per month. To learn more about the Part D Late Enrollment penalty, click here.
Part D drug plans never ask health questions. There are certain times of the year when you can purchase a Part D drug plan. Most people enroll in drug plans during the Annual Enrollment Period. To learn more about when you can enroll in a drug plan, click here.
Yes, but timing is everything! There are certain times of year when you can disenroll from a Medicare Advantage Plan. For most people, they terminate Medicare Advantage coverage during the Annual Enrollment Period or during the Open Enrollment Period. The Annual Enrollment Period starts on October 15th and ends on December 7th. The Open Enrollment Period starts on January 1st and ends on March 31st. Fortunately, you can apply for a Medicare Supplement plan at any time of year! Most people need to answer health questions and may be denied coverage based on preexisting conditions. Because of this, we recommend confirming your acceptance into a Medicare Supplement plan first before terminating your Medicare Advantage plan. To learn more about the Medicare Supplement plans, click here.
There are no costs or fees to use a broker! Our trained Medicare Advisors help you shop plans, understand your options, and review claims. The insurance company you enroll in pays for our fees, not you. To learn more about our brokers, click here.
Medicare Supplement plans do not include dental coverage. Dental coverage can be purchased separately at an additional premium. To shop dental plans, click here.
To learn more about Special Enrollment Periods and how to get coverage starting next month, click here.
All Medicare Supplement insurance companies are required to cover the same medical benefits and doctors. The major differences between Medicare Supplement insurance companies are rate increases and customer service. There are dozens of Medicare Supplement insurance companies in Nevada. Many of them will give you low rates at 65 but dramatically increases your rate as the years go on. The companies we work with are household names you will recognize and have a history of very low increases from year to year. To learn more about finding the right plan at the lowest cost, click here.
Our office recommends enrolling in the Plan G with one of our well known, nationwide insurance carriers. Plan G is the highest benefit Medicare Supplement policy today. Some people still have policies like the Plan F, which are no longer available to newly eligible people. If you are healthy with no preexisting conditions and currently have the Plan F, we recommend converting to the Plan G. To learn more about the differences between Plan F and Plan G, click here.
Yes, you can change plans but timing is everything! You can switch during the Annual Enrollment Period or if you experienced a Special Enrollment Period. These time frames do not last forever, so it is important to shop your options and apply before time runs out. To learn more about the Annual Enrollment Period, click here. To learn more about Special Enrollment Periods, click here.
Rates increase based on a few different factors. Every year you get older, the rates increase by roughly 3 – 7%. On top of that, the insurance company may need to increase rates for everyone enrolled based on overall medical claims. In addition, each year Original Medicare covers a little bit less. Since the government is paying less, the supplement plan needs to cover more to leave you with no cost. This increases the price slightly. Insurance companies cannot single you out and increase your rate because you use the plan more than others. It is important to enroll in a Medicare Supplement insurance company with a healthy and large population of enrolled members. If your Medicare Supplement plan is too expensive, there are plenty of options to reduce your monthly premium. To learn more, click here.
Medicare Supplement plans are neither HMO or PPO. They are their own classification of coverage. You also do not need a referral to see a Specialist on a Medicare Supplement plan! Unlike Medicare Supplement plans, Medicare Advantage plans are usually offered as HMO or PPO.
If your doctor accepts Medicare, then they accept your Medicare Supplement plan. It’s as simple as that! To search doctors who accept Medicare, click here.
Yes, if you have an existing Health Savings Account you can still use your pretax funds to pay for approved expenses in Medicare. Unfortunately, people enrolled in Medicare cannot contribute more money into their Health Savings Accounts. To learn more about HSA’s, click here.
No, Medicare plans do not cover long term care coverage. To get long term care coverage, you need to enroll in a separate long term care policy. To learn more about long term care, click here.
Part D drug plans usually do not require you to do anything to renew! Your insurance company will send you a letter discussing next year’s benefits and pricing. In the letter, they will discuss what you need to do to renew. Most insurance companies renew you automatically without requiring additional paperwork!
Medicare Supplement plans automatically renew. Once you are enrolled, your coverage continues year to year. Your rates increase usually once or twice per year based on a few different factors. If you want to switch from one Medicare Supplement plan into a new one, you can switch at any time! Most people are required to answer health questions when switching plans. To learn more, click here.
Why You Should Enroll in a Medicare Supplement Plan People who qualify for Medicare at 65 have multiple options. One of the options is called Part C Medicare Advantage. These plans for the most part include Part D drug coverage… Read More
If you are reading this, you are probably eligible for Medicare or getting close to qualifying! When researching private Medicare plans, you have two main options: Part C Medicare Advantage Plans (with or without Part D drug coverage) Medicare Supplement… Read More
Health insurance is FULL of acronyms which can make things confusing! Two of the most important acronyms are HMO and PPO. Don’t worry! This article will discuss the differences between HMO and PPO in simple terms. First, let’s start with… Read More
