Unhappy with the Medicare
Advantage plan you chose? The good news is that you're not actually stuck with
it.
Maurie
Backman (TMFBookNerd) Mar 1, 2020 at 7:46AM Author Bio
Maurie Backman is a personal finance writer who's passionate about educating
others. Her goal is to make financial topics interesting (because they often
aren't) and she believes that a healthy dose of sarcasm never hurt anyone. In
her somewhat limited spare time, she enjoys playing in nature, watching hockey,
and curling up with a good book.
Choosing
the right Medicare plan is an important move on the road to keeping your
healthcare costs in retirement manageable. Each year, seniors on Medicare can
elect a new Part D or Medicare Advantage plan during the program's
open enrollment period, which runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.
But what
if you chose an Advantage plan this past fall that you're not happy with? Maybe
your costs under that plan are higher than expected, or you're limited to too
narrow a window of providers. If that's the case, you're in luck. Thanks to
Medicare Advantage's dedicated open enrollment period, you have the option to
switch to a plan that better suits your needs, or even drop your Advantage
coverage altogether. But you need to act quickly, because you only have another
month to make that change.
How
Medicare Advantage's open enrollment period works
If you're
enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you now get the option to switch to a
different one or drop Advantage altogether and revert back to original Medicare
between Jan. 1 and March 31 each year. This open enrollment period is
relatively new, and it offers seniors with Advantage plans a lot more
flexibility than they previously had.
Why
switch Advantage plans?
A large
number of Medicare Advantage plans cost less than original Medicare -- but that
doesn't mean all plans are a bargain. Furthermore, not all Advantage
plans are created equal, so while one plan might offer coverage for gym
memberships or fitness classes, another might not. As such, it pays to assess
your costs under your Advantage plan and weigh them against the benefits your
plan offers. And if you don't like what you see, the option to switch exists --
for another month, at least. Beyond that, you'll need to wait until October to
make changes for the upcoming year.
Another
thing: Medicare Advantage plans can change from year to year. If you stuck with
your former plan because you were happy with it, but changes in coverage have
you rethinking that decision, then you have an opportunity to make a switch.
Furthermore,
you may find that Medicare Advantage isn't the right solution for you at all,
and that you're better off with original Medicare. One downside with Advantage
is that it limits you to what could be a small network of providers. If you
don't like the doctors you're eligible to see, or find them inconvenient to
access, then you may be better off with original Medicare, which basically lets
you see any doctor in the country that accepts it.
Along
these lines, if you tend to do a lot of domestic travel, you may find any
Advantage plan to be too restrictive (though it's worth noting that if you
travel internationally a lot, you may be eligible for healthcare coverage
oversees with Advantage, whereas original Medicare will not cover you outside
the U.S.).
Don't
stick with coverage that isn't working for you
The wrong
Medicare Advantage plan could put a huge strain on your retirement budget and
cause you to neglect your health -- and that's not what you want. If
you're unhappy with your current plan, take advantage of the option to switch.
The
Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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