DO YOU NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE?
AEP IS HERE!
Annual Election Period (AEP) Oct. 15–Dec. 7 is here once again. AEP is the time of the year when you may make changes to your Medicare plan. You can change your Part D prescription drug plan or your Medicare Part C Medicare Advantage plan. You can change Medicare Supplements policies year-round. AEP is vital because your needs change. Your doctor may have added new medications to your list of prescriptions. The plans also change. Drugs drop off formularies or move from one tier to another. Other Part D plans may be a better deal for you because of the reduced price.
competitive or even that the overall annual cost appears lower. However, I can tell you from experience that if you cannot get your medications or get them promptly, it doesn’t matter if the Part D plan is free! When we determine the optimum Medicare Part D prescription drug plan for you and your current medication needs, we will send you the quote. The quote will have the specific insurance company, the total price for the year, the monthly breakdown, and the individual cost for each medication. Let us know if you see any errors. We’re not perfect — yet.
I find those on costly medications especially must be attuned to the season. Clients often tell me their medications have not changed, but the plans and the pricing do change!
You will also see the price of medications when you move into the gap (doughnut hole) and catastrophic phase if those are applicable.
You must complete the application by signing it if everything makes sense and looks good. A receipt will be emailed to you and us. The application will go to the insurance
Over the years, I have had clients call me in January, when it is too late to change
their Part D, complaining
that a particular medication has gone through the roof! AEP exists to address that issue.
company, which will confer with Medicare (CMS) for final approval. In two weeks, you will have your medical card and welcome package.
Please, email or mail us a current list of medications with the dosages. Prescription drugs come in many forms, so the dosage is critical. If it is a
The whole process is simple, easy-peasy.
You are good for 2023.
solution or cream, a flex pen or vial, tablet or capsule, all of those details can drastically affect the price in some cases.
Give us time when you send in your medications. Angie, my assistant; Bev, my lovely wife; and I are the whole team, and there are hundreds of you. Also, I have found over the years that the pharmaceutical companies, the insurance companies, and ultimately Medicare do not have all the correct prices uploaded to the systems on Oct. 15. I like to wait a couple of weeks before I run the medications because I have seen the numbers change during the AEP season. I would not want to put you in one Medicare Part D plan to find out there is a better plan in February.
Once we have your medications and preferred pharmacies, we run them through computer software that reviews all the Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in your area with your unique list of medications. The software is like a giant calculator. It tells us if the medicines are covered, the preferred pharmacies, and your total cost for the year. Medicare uses a five-star rating system to evaluate the quality of the Part D plan. I only use plans that have at least a 3.5-star rating. Sometimes, a client will tell me another plan is more
2 • OmahaInsuranceSolutions.com
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator