Your Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (
PDP) or Medicare Advantage plan (
MA, MAPD, or
SNP) coverage can be cancelled because of changes to the Medicare plan or because of something that you have done (or not done).
Here are a few reasons why you may find that your Medicare plan was cancelled (or you were disenrolled from the Medicare plan):
1. The insurance company chooses to discontinue the Medicare plan and will not offer the plan next year.
Each year a Medicare plan has the option to cancel their Medicare contract and discontinue their Medicare plan (sometimes known as a Service Area Reduction or SAR). Members of the discontinued plan may be "
crosswalked" to another plan
offered by the same company, or if no other Medicare plan is available from the same provider,
the plan Members will simply be without coverage the next year unless
they actively enroll into another Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage
plan.
The good news is that your Medicare plan will notify you in late-September or early-October that your Medicare plan is being discontinued and you can use the annual Open Enrollment Period (OEP October 15 through December 7) to select a new Medicare plan that is offered in your area.
What to do: Select a new Medicare plan during the annual OEP. If you miss the December 7 deadline, Members of a discontinued plan will also have access to a Service Area Reduction
(SAR) Special Enrollment Period that allow you to join any available Medicare plan. The SAR Special Enrollment Period begins on December 8th and continues through the last day of February.
2. Medicare has cancelled the plan's contract - and you did not join another plan.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS or Medicare) has the
right to terminate a Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan's contract - and you will need to join another Medicare plan.
Again, the good news is that Medicare and/or your Medicare plan will notify you that your Medicare plan is being terminated and you can use the annual Open Enrollment Period (OEP
October 15 through December 7) to select a new Medicare plan that is
offered in your area.
What to do: In addition to the annual OEP ending December 7, you will be
granted a Special Enrollment Period to join a Medicare outside of the annual Open Enrollment Period.
3. You have not paid your plan premiums and being involuntarily disenrolled from your plan.
If you have not paid your monthly Medicare plan premiums, your plan will
make several attempts to notify you of the non-payment and, if
necessary, your plan can disenroll you from the plan.
What to do: If you have not paid your monthly premiums,
call your Medicare plan's Member Services department (using the toll-free number on your plan's Member ID card) and
make arrangements with the plan to pay your back premiums. If you pay your back premiums within the "
grace period", you should be reinstated in your plan. If the grace period has passed, you will need to show "
good cause"
as to why your premiums were not paid in order to be reinstated in your
Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan. Again, the toll-free
number for your plan’s Member Services
department is on your Member ID card.
4. You are a higher-earning Medicare beneficiary and are subject to IRMAA and have been involuntarily disenrolled from your plan for not paying your monthly IRMAA payments.
If you are a higher-earning Medicare beneficiary, you may be subject to the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment
Amount (IRMAA) - an additional monthly amount that you will pay for your Medicare Part D (and Part B) coverage. As with the situation of non-paid premiums, if you have not paid your monthly IRMAA, your plan will
make several attempts to notify you of the non-payment and can disenroll you from the plan.
What to do: If you have not paid your IRMAA,
call your Medicare plan's Member Services department (using the toll-free number on your plan's Member ID card) and
make arrangements with the plan to pay your back IRMAA payments. If you pay your back premiums within the "
grace period", you should be reinstated in your plan, otherwise, you will need to show "
good cause"
as to why your IRMAA was not paid in order to be reinstated in your
Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan.
5. You have moved out of your plan's Service Area and were disenrolled when the plan learned of your relocation.
As a requirement to joining a Medicare plan, you must live in the plan's
Service Area. A
Service Area for Medicare Part D plans is a state or
multi-state region. A Service Area for a Medicare Advantage plan is one
or more ZIP codes, counties, or partial county. If you move
permanently out of your plan's Service Area, the plan can cancel your
plan enrollment since you no longer meet the plan's residency
requirements.
What to do: If you have moved out of your plan’s Service Area, you will be provided a
Special Enrollment Period
to join a Medicare plan in the area where you now live. To use this
Special Enrollment Period and join another Medicare plan, please call a
Medicare representative at 1-800-633-4227 (24 hours a day / 7 days a
week).
6. You were enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan (SNP) and no longer have the plan's "Special Need".
A Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan (
SNP)
is designed for people who suffer a specific chronic condition (such as
diabetes) or have specific requirements such as financial need (Dual
Eligible for Medicare/Medicaid) or they live in a Long-Term Care (LTC)
facility. If you no longer meet the plan's "Special Need", you can be
disenrolled from the SNP. For example, if you are enrolled in a SNP
specifically designed for Long-Term Care (LTC) facility members, and you
move out of the LTC facility, your SNP can disenroll you from the plan
since you no longer meet the specific plan requirements.
What to do: If you no longer meet the SNP's requirements and are disenrolled from the SNP, you will be provided a
Special Enrollment Period
to join any Medicare plan that is available in your area. To use this
Special Enrollment Period and join another Medicare plan, please call a
Medicare representative at 1-800-633-4227 (24 hours a day / 7 days a
week).
7. Because of your disruptive behavior, your Medicare plan has involuntarily disenrolled you from the plan.
In such a situation, you will
not be automatically granted a
Special Enrollment Period to join another Medicare plan - and you will
need to join a Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan again during
the
annual Open Enrollment Period (OEP) that starts October 7 and
continues through December 7.