During the next seven weeks, you will have the opportunity to add, change, or drop your 2021 Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.
Staying with your current 2020 plan into 2021?
If you are satisfied with your current 2020 Medicare Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plan coverage – and you understand how your Medicare plan is changing in 2021 – you do not need to do anything – and you will be automatically re-enrolled into your Medicare plan along with any changes your plan is making for 2021.
Be sure to review your plan’s Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) letter to learn more about your 2021 Medicare plan coverage.
As a reminder, if your current 2020 Medicare plan is being discontinued or not offered in 2021, you may not have 2021 Medicare plan coverage – unless you enroll in a new plan. On the other hand, some 2020 Medicare plans will be consolidated and 2020 plan members are being automatically “crosswalked” or merged into a different 2021 Medicare plan – with potentially different plan coverage.
You can use our 2020/2021 Medicare plan comparison tools (PDP-Compare or MA-Compare) to see:
- Plan benefit changes from 2020 to 2021
- Which 2020 plans are being discontinued in 2021
- Which plan members will be “crosswalked” in 2021, and
- New plans being introduced in 2021
Reviewing all 2021 Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in your area.
If you wish to see an overview of all stand-alone 2021 Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (PDPs) offered in your state, then you can use our PDP-Finder. We provide a unique collection of prescription drug plan details including: drug tier co-payments, initial deductibles, monthly premiums, Part D plan IDs, additional Donut Hole or Gap coverage, formulary size, and Medicare plan quality star ratings.
You can click on the plan name or “Benefits & Contact Info” for more information about the specific Medicare PDP. To start, you can click here for an example of PDP-Finder showing all 2021 California Medicare Part D plans with a $0 initial deductible.
Reviewing all 2021 Medicare Advantage plans in your area.
Medicare Advantage plans combine your Medicare hospitalization coverage (Medicare Part A), out-patient coverage (Medicare Part B) - and may provide your Medicare prescription drug coverage (Medicare Part D), dental, vision, and fitness center coverage. In some areas, Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage are offered with a $0 monthly premium and a $0 initial deductible – and a low out-of-pocket spending limit (MOOP).
You can use the 2021 MA-Finder for searching and comparing all Medicare Advantage plans across the country by plan features. Since Medicare Advantage plans are offered on a county-by-county basis, begin by entering your ZIP code and search. You can click on the “Benefits & Contact Info” button for more information about a specific Medicare Advantage plan. Click here for an example of $0 premium Medicare Advantage plans that include prescription drug coverage (MAPDs) in New York, NY – just change the ZIP code to see the plans in your area.
Reviewing Medicare Part D plans qualifying for the Low-Income Subsidy $0 Premium.
PDP-Finder also offers information for Medicare beneficiaries qualifying for financial Extra-Help (Low-Income Subsidy) and may be particularly helpful to advocates and nursing homes.
If you are just seeking Medicare Part D plans that have monthly premiums completely covered by your state’s Low-Income Subsidy, you can narrow your plan search by choosing “Yes, show only plans that qualify for the $0 Premium” option on PDP-Finder. Click the link for an example of all 2021 Part D plans in California qualifying for the LIS $0 premium.
In both our Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage Plan Finders, you can also choose the “LIS Subsidy Amount” and the monthly Medicare plan premiums will be adjusted based on your selected level of Extra Help.
Review 2021 Medicare plans by drug coverage and costs.
We have three different tools available to check coverage of your prescription drugs:
- The 2021 Formulary Browser
allows you to browse through all 2021 Medicare prescription drug plan
formularies or drug lists. You can click on the cost-sharing values of
any medication to see the cost difference between using a preferred
network pharmacy or a standard network pharmacy.
- The 2021 Drug Finder ( on this site)
provides a quick way to see how all Medicare Part D or Medicare
Advantage plans in your area are covering a particular prescription
drug. Drug Finder details include drug tier, cost-sharing, average
negotiated retail drug prices, and usage management restrictions (such
as Quantity Limits or Prior Authorization requirements).
- The 2021 Long-Term Care (LTC) Drug Finder ( on this site)
is also online and provides a simple way to compare drug usage
management restrictions for the top LTC medications found on Low-Income
Subsidy (LIS) $0 premium Medicare Part D plans along with Institutional
Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs). You can click here to see an example for Pennsylvania.
If you have already reviewed your 2021 Medicare plan options and are ready to enroll in a new Medicare plan, you can call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and enroll directly through a Medicare representative. The Medicare representative can process your enrollment into any Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan directly over the telephone and the process only takes a few minutes. Be sure to record and keep your enrollment confirmation code in a safe place.
If you decide to change Medicare plans, you do not need to disenroll from your current 2020 plan when joining your new 2021 Medicare plan -- your newly chosen 2021 plan will automatically contact your 2020 plan and handle the enrollment change.
Finally, remember there is no need to rush into a decision.
You have plenty of time to choose a 2021 Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan. If you need assistance, please contact a local insurance agent, advocate, SHIP volunteer, or call a Medicare representative at 1-800-Medicare (1-800-633-4227).
Questions?
If you have any general questions about Medicare Part D plans or Medicare Advantage plans, please let us know. You can click here for our online Help Desk to submit a question.