Medicare Open Enrollment Period
Purse Strings Approved Professional
Blog Series
What do I need to know about the Medicare Open Enrollment Period?
1. Medicare recipients can make changes to their coverage for the following year.
2. If I’m already on Medicare, why would I want to change my coverage? Because health and drug plans can and do make changes every year and you’ll want to know if things like cost, coverage and the doctors and pharmacies in your network have changed.
3. I thought Medicare benefits were the same for everybody. If you have Original Medicare, your benefits are the same. If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, however, you may have additional benefits like dental and vision care, access to hearing aids, fitness club membership, free meals and transportation to and from your doctor. And Medicare Supplements fill in “gaps” in Original Medicare and pick up things like copays, deductibles and extra hospital days.
4. This sounds confusing. How do I know which option is best for me? You can contact a private health insurance company directly, research plan options online or work with an agent. Medicare can be complex, so you may choose to work with an agent who’s trained and certified to offer Medicare plans, who may represent several different companies and who can help you find the coverage that best meets your needs.
Sandra Keir, CFP
Financial Advisor
Sandy has dedicated her career to helping women business owners, professionals and corporate executives prepare for a financially secure retirement. Retirement doesn’t happen suddenly, it occurs in stages, and I find that women start to anticipate retirement in their early to mid 50’s and wonder, “Have I saved enough money to retire?” “How much income will I need to do the things that are important to me?” That’s when they decide to seek the advice of a retirement planning professional.
