By Brian Scott-Smith – www.connecticut-east.com
(October 27, 2020) — The annual Medicare Open Enrollment Period is here once again and if you’re a Medicare recipient you have until December 7th this year to review your plan for the upcoming year.
By now you should have received your Annual Notice of Change letter in the mail informing you what changes will be happening to your current Medicare Plan from your provider.
“This is a very important letter to read and understand,” says Laura Crews, Director of Benefits Access at Senior Resources Agency on Aging based in Norwich.
“It’s going to explain the changes your current drug plan will be undertaking. And that could be simple things like the premium increase. It will also explain the changes to your co-pays that you pay towards certain drugs and of course the important formulary. The formulary is a list of drugs that your plan is willing to cover and help pay for.”
Crews points out that people who use insulin need to pay particular attention as Medicare is making significant changes to the cost of insulin in 2021 under a new program, but there are catches.
“The insulin savings program is meant to lower your insulin costs to no more than $35 for a 30-day supply of certain insulin medications that you take. But, in order to sign up for one of these plans you will need to sign up during the Medicare Open Enrollment Period and it’s also important to know that while there are 27 stand alone prescription drug plans available in Connecticut not all of them are participating in the senior citizens saving model; in fact only about 9 of them are participating,” says Crews.
Another important factor when considering changing to a plan that, for example, gives cheaper insulin is that it could raise the costs of any other medications you’re also on, so you need to look closely at ALL your medications to see whether switching to another plan will benefit you or even save you money.
Shopping around for your healthcare insurance isn’t something we’re very good about because it’s so complex, but there are lots of places you can get assistance from apart from the Medicare.gov website and their plan finder, which they have improved and now allows you to add in at least 5 pharmacies in your search so you can find those savings on your prescriptions.
And talking of pharmacies, many of them will do an analysis and review of your current Medicare plan part(D) drug coverage with you, either in person or via a telephone call to help make sure you’re getting the best value for your buck and to make sure you’re not taking extra medications you may not need.
People forget their local pharmacy that fills their prescriptions knows their health needs inside out and who better to talk to about that than say an insurance agent who may know the various policies but won’t really know about your particular health needs.
Laura also points out the State has a FREE service as well called CHOICES that people can call a Statewide number to help them navigate the minefield that is Medicare.
“We provide free unbiased information on all Medicare related information including the Medicare prescription drug plans or Medicare Advantage Plans. We’re going to ask you a lot of questions about the drugs you take and the pharmacy you use as you could potentially save hundreds of dollars just by changing your pharmacy.”
Crews says two of the biggest issues she sees time and again are people not bothering to review their plan and also sticking with the same pharmacy too and it takes just an hour, at the end of the day, to review your Medicare plan with a professional and doing that could make a big difference for people, especially when, once the enrollment period closes, you’re stuck with your choice for another year.
For anyone looking to speak with the State’s CHOICES service the toll-free number is: 1-800-994 9422
And for a full list of changes to Medicare for 2021, visit the official Medicare website at medicare.gov
Brian Scott-Smith is a local broadcast reporter and producer with over 20 years experience in the news, TV and Radio business.
