By Fred Goldenberg
Local columnist
November 08, 2009 08:27 am My mother-in-law recently received her 2010 Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage renewal information. In the packet were three documents: -- Annual Notice of Changes for 2010 -- a brief 12-page summary of the benefits and changes to her plan. -- Evidence of Coverage -- a mere 148 pages of legalese prepared by those who are paid to CYA at the company. -- A 2010 Abridged Formulary -- only a partial list of covered drugs with instructions to go to a certain Web site if she couldn't find her current drugs listed. My mother-in-law is in her late 70s and sharp as a tack. Like millions of her compatriots, sitting down and reading 148 pages of mind-numbing details about her Medicare prescription plan is the last thing she wants to do. But between November 15th and December 31st, that's exactly what's expected of millions of Medicare participants. This 45-day window is called the Annual Coordinated Enrollment Period (ACEP). It's the only time of the year when a Medicare beneficiary may make substantial changes to his or her Medicare prescription or medical plan coverage. There are several other enrollment periods, but this one is the big kahuna of enrollment periods. During this period everything is up for grabs and all current plans can be changed, exchanged and rearranged to fit the needs of the individual. Do a lot of people make changes? Not as many as you think. Most people feel that if it isn't broke don't fix it. But unbeknownst to them their current plan may very well have had major changes, including new deductibles, co-pays and drugs added or removed from the formulary. Drugs can move from one tier to another, making their cost different to the beneficiary. Next year will bring changes according to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). For those with original Medicare coupled with a Medicare supplement plan, you need to review your coverage carefully as there have been changes and several plans are being eliminated. Currently there are twelve "Med Supps" available -- plans A through L. Due to overlapping of coverage, low sales of certain plans and need to consolidate effective June 1, plans E, H, I and J are gone. So if you have one of these four plans, you need to review things now. I'm not sure what will happen in June when the plans disappear. I suspect you'll still be covered to the end of the plan year, but who knows? Plans A, B, C, D, F, G, K, and L will remain with certain benefits deleted and others added. Plus in June there will be two new plans added -- M and N. Why the new plans can't be added during this enrollment period is beyond me. What this boils down to is that, as painful as it is, each and every Medicare beneficiary owes it to themselves to sit down with a reputable licensed Medicare insurance representative and review their plan. If the review shows that everything looks good, then you're OK until next year. If changes need to be made, this is the best time to make them. A word of caution -- know the person you're dealing with is reputable. Due to unsavory sales practices a couple of years ago, CMS was forced to let people recant their changes when they realized that plans they were pressured into didn't fit their needs or weren't what they were promised. Get all the facts then make a choice. Fred L. Goldenberg is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and the owner of Senior Benefit Solutions, LLC, a consumer and financial services organization in Traverse City. Questions or comments about this column or other senior issues can be direct to (231) 922-1010 or www.srbenefitsolutions.com
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Fred Goldenberg