Is your 2021 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan still being offered in 2022?
Over
4.6 million people are currently enrolled in a 2021 Medicare Advantage plan (
MA and MAPD)
or Medicare Part D plan (
PDP) that will no longer be offered in 2022 - and although most people
will be automatically moved to a different 2022 Medicare plan, almost 190,000 people
will lose their 2022 Medicare plan coverage - unless they enroll into
another Medicare plan.
What are non-renewing Medicare plans?
Each year, Medicare plans have the option of
not renewing
the plan's contract with Medicare. When this happens, the Medicare plan can
be discontinued across the country
or in a specific service area (such as a single state or ZIP code area).
If a Medicare beneficiary is enrolled in a non-renewing 2021 Medicare plan that is
not automatically moving (or "crosswalking") their members to a different 2022 Medicare plan,
members of the 2021 plan will be without Medicare plan coverage starting January 1, 2022 - unless they enroll in a different Medicare plan during the annual
Open Enrollment Period (the
AEP
runs from October 15th through December 7th) or have access to a
Special Enrollment Period allowing them to join a Medicare plan outside of the AEP.
Important: Remember, there is a Service Area Reduction
Special Enrollment Period (
SAR SEP)
starting on December 8th and continuing through the end of February
allowing people enrolled in a terminated Medicare plan the possibility of enrolling in a new 2022 Medicare plan
after the December 7th close of the AEP.
How many 2021 plan members will lose coverage in 2022 due to non-renewing Medicare plans?
- Almost 190,000 people are losing their Medicare plan coverage if they do not select a new Medicare plan.
Approximately 142,000 people are currently enrolled in
2021 Medicare Advantage plans that will be terminated in 2022 and an additional
43,000 people are enrolled in 18 non-renewing stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans
(PDPs).
These plan members will NOT be crosswalked
into another plan and will be without 2022 coverage if they do not
actively enroll in a new Medicare Advantage or Medicare Part D plan.
How will you know that your Medicare plan is being discontinued?
When a plan is no longer being offered in 2022, existing Medicare plan members
will be notified in their Annual Notice of Change
(
ANOC) letter about the plan termination or consolidation - and be given the option to
join another plan during the annual Open Enrollment Period.
Again, if current plan members
do not join another Medicare plan, they may find themselves
without 2022 Medicare plan coverage.
Need a fast way to see how existing Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plans are changing next year?
Our
PDP-Compare
and
MA-Compare
tools allow you to compare annual 2021/2022 changes in
all
stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (PDPs) or Medicare
Advantage plans (MAs or MAPDs) across the country showing changes in
monthly premiums and plan design changes, as well as changes in
co-payments or co-insurance rates for different drug tiers along with
the most recent Medicare quality star ratings.
Both the
PDP-Compare
and
MA-Compare also show the Medicare Part D plans or Medicare Advantage plans that will be
merged,
discontinued, or
added in 2022.