Medicare open enrollment brings change
Medicare’s open enrollment period runs from October 15 to December 7.
The open enrollment is for Medicare Part D, prescription drug coverage, and for private Medicare Advantage plans. You can enroll in Medicare at age 65. The open enrollment period is when you tweak your coverage.
“It’s a little bit like eating your spinach,” says Tricia Neuman, director of Medicare policy research at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Nobody likes to do it.”
Neuman says most seniors are reluctant to change their Part D prescription plans, but should consider it.
“Just to be sure that there are no surprises,” she says. “That might mean having greater difficulty seeing a doctor or difficulty getting a prescription you want to fill.”
Medicare is getting a few surprises from baby boomers. Almost two million more are expected to enroll this year.
They smoked less than their parents—Their problem is obesity.
“They’re likely to cost more than their parents did but not just because of living longer lives,” says Kate Baicker, a health economist at Harvard. “But also because of having more complicated health conditions.”
Conditions like diabetes and heart disease, for instance.
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