The 2016 Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plan annual Open Enrollment Period (AEP) begins today and continues through December 7th.  During the next seven weeks, you will have the opportunity to add, change, or drop your Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

If you are satisfied with your current 2015 Medicare Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plan coverage – and you understand how your Medicare plan is changing in 2016 - you do not need to do anything and you will be automatically re-enrolled into your Medicare plan along with any changes your plan may have made for 2016.  

Caution:  If your current 2015 Medicare plan is being discontinued or not offered in 2016, you may not have 2016 Medicare plan coverage – unless you enroll in a new plan.  On the other hand, some 2015 Medicare plans will be consolidated and 2015 plan members are being automatically “cross-walked” or merged into a different 2016 Medicare plan – with potentially different plan coverage.  Be sure to review your plan’s Annual Notice of Change letter to learn more about your 2016 Medicare plan coverage.  You can click here to see our article for examples of 2016 Medicare plan reassignments and mergers.

Compare 2016 Medicare plans by drug coverage and costs.

We have three different tools available to check coverage of your prescription drugs:

• We offer our 2016 Formulary Browser that allows you to browse through all 2016 Medicare prescription drug plan formularies or drug lists.  You can click on the cost-sharing values of any medication to see the costs difference between using a preferred network pharmacy or a non-preferred network pharmacy.
  
  
• We also have our 2016 Drug Finder online (Q1Rx.com) allowing you to quickly see how all Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plans in your area are covering a particular prescription drug.  Our Drug Finder details include average negotiated retail drug prices and usage management restrictions (such as Quantity Limits or Prior Authorization).
  
  
• Our 2016 Long-Term Care (LTC) Drug Finder (Q1Rx.com/LTC) is also online and provides a simple way to compare drug usage management restrictions for the top LTC medications for all Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) $0 premium Medicare Part D plans along with Institutional Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans (SNPs).  You can click here to see an example of our LTC Drug Finder in Pennsylvania.

Review all Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in your area.
If you wish to see details of all stand-alone 2016 Medicare Part D prescription drug plans offered in your State, then you can use our PDP-Finder.  We provide a unique collection of prescription drug plan details including information on: drug tier co-payments, initial deductibles, monthly premiums, Part D plan IDs, Donut Hole or gap coverage, formulary size, and Medicare plan quality star ratings.  Click on “Benefits & Contact Info” for more information about the Medicare plan.  To start, you can click here for an example of our PDP-Finder showing all 2016 Florida Medicare Part D plans with a $0 initial deductible.

Review all 2016 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.  You can use our 2016 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.  Click on the “Benefits & Contact Info” button for more information about a specific Medicare Advantage plan.  You can 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.

See how your 2015 Medicare Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plan is changing in 2016.
Changes to your existing 2015 Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare Part D prescription drug plan coverage were explained in your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) letter that you should have received from your current Medicare plan.  However, if you would like to quickly review how any current Medicare plan is changing in 2016, please use our 2015/2016 Medicare Part D plan comparison tool, PDP-Compare or use our 2015/2016 Medicare Advantage plan comparison tool, MA-Compare.  You will also see the Medicare Part D plans or Medicare Advantage plans merged, discontinued, or introduced in 2016.  If you are unsure where to begin, you can click here for an example of a 2015/2016 Texas Medicare Part D plan comparison.

Review Medicare Part D plans qualifying for the Low-Income Subsidy $0 Premium.
Our PDP-Finder also offers information for Medicare beneficiaries qualifying for financial Extra-Help 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.  Click the link for an example of all 2016 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.

If you are ready to enroll in a new 2016 Medicare plan . . .
If you have already reviewed your 2016 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 existing 2015 plan when joining your new 2016 Medicare plan -- your newly chosen 2016 plan will automatically contact your 2015 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 2016 Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan.  If you need assistance, please contact a local advocate or call a Medicare representative at 1-800-Medicare (1-800-633-4227) for assistance.