Are you planning on enrolling in Medicare this year? You need to know that the enrollment dates have changed. You may want to take a close look at the eligibility requirements, and consider the different parts of the Medicaid program.
Medicare has two different enrollment periods. Both of them are for people who already have Medicare, and who wish to make changes to their Medicare coverage. If you are not currently enrolled in Medicare, then the open enrollment periods are not for you.
Usually, the open enrollment period for people who wanted to make changes to their Medicare Advantage plans, or their Medicare Prescription Drug coverage, starts on November 15, and continues through December 31. This is typically followed by a second, more limited, enrollment period that begins in January and lasts through March.
This year, things have changed. The first open enrollment period for people who want to make changes to their Medicare coverage will start on October 15, 2011, and will last until December 7, 2011. The second enrollment period will run from sometime in January of 2012, through sometime in March of 2012. In other words, the first enrollment period will start sooner this year than it usually would, and it will end sooner than you might expect it would.
If you have never enrolled in Medicare before, then you must wait until you become eligible for it. In general, you must be at least 65 years old (or older). Or, you must be someone (of any age) who has a disability. People who have End Stage Renal Disease are also eligible. (In that case, the age of the person does not matter).
Medicare has four parts. Part A is “hospital insurance”. This part covers things like inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing care, hospice care, and other services. If you are eligible for Medicare, then you can typically get Part A coverage “premium free”. Part B is “medical insurance”. This part covers doctors’ fees, outpatient hospital visits, and the medical services and supplies that are not covered by Part A.
Part C is also called “Medicare Advantage”. This is something that you must purchase from a private insurance company. In order to get Part C, you must already be enrolled in both Part A and Part B. Medicare Advantage could potentially lower your costs of receiving medical services. It may also require you to pay an additional monthly fee for extra benefits. It all depends on which insurer you use.
Part D is “prescription drug coverage”. It has been said that Part D will be less expensive in 2012 than it has been in previous years. In order to get Part D, you must intentionally opt-in to it.
The first enrollment period is for people who want to make specific kinds of changes to their Medicare coverage. You can change from a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) to Original Medicare (Parts A and B ). Or, you can change from Original Medicare to Medicare Advantage. Or, you can switch from your current Medicare Advantage plan to a different Medicare Advantage plan.
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