The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans is earlier and shorter this year, and a poll shows that while 91% of respondents know about the AEP in general, 65% of people currently enrolled in Medicare Part D are unaware of the time shift. This puts a large number of people who depend on Medicare at risk for missing out on their enrollment for coverage beginning January 1, 2012. Open enrollment begins October 1 and runs through December 7, 2011.
“This is a change from past years when the open enrollment was November 15 through December 31,” said Kris Gross, of the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) in Iowa. “We’re asking everyone to remind family, friends and neighbors that the dates for changing have moved up a month. We don’t want anyone to miss the opportunity to make their choice of plans for 2012.” During the AEP, subscribers can look at the options available with each type of Medicare plan and change their coverage if they desire. Common reasons for changing plans include affordability and better features for individual health needs.
Of the 711 adults (ages 65 and older) contacted in the phone survey, 475 said they had Medicare prescription drug coverage. The CEO of PlanPrescriber, which conducted the survey, expressed concern about the volume of calls his company receives at the end of December each year from people who want to request changes to their Medicare coverage. Since the AEP ends in the first week of December this year, he fears many will be left helpless to change plans that don’t meet their health or financial needs.
Also among the findings of the poll: about 63% of those surveyed said they didn’t expect the features of their healthcare plans to change in 2012. Medicare Part D prescription costs are in fact changing, although it’s for the better. The “doughnut hole,” or “coverage gap,” will continue to reduce the costs of generic drugs. They will run subscribers just 86% of the cost in 2012, a 7% decrease from 2011. That number will continue to drop until the gap is resolved.
However, for those in nursing homes, drug costs will change. Only those Part D subscribers covered under the Medicaid Elderly Waiver Program will receive no-cost medication, whereas previously all Medicare and Medicaid Part D subscribers in nursing facilities were eligible for the free prescriptions. This change could be incredibly costly for people who are unaware of it or of the new AEP dates.
