Medicare open enrollment begins October 15

What You Need to Know for 2025

||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER |||

Starting October 15, Medicare beneficiaries can select new Medicare Advantage or Part D prescription drug plans for 2025. Notices have already been sent by some insurance companies, informing recipients if their plans will not be available next year, requiring them to make a change. Additionally, new plans will be available for consideration.

For most Medicare beneficiaries, the seven-week annual open enrollment period is the only time to choose a new plan. Changes made during this time will go into effect on January 1, 2025.

Key Medicare Open Enrollment Actions:

• Join, drop, or switch a Part D prescription drug plan.
• Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan.
• Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan, or vice versa.

Reasons to Review Your Medicare Coverage:

• Your health or prescriptions have changed.
• New plans are available.
• Premiums and coverage for your current plan have changed.
• Some plans are leaving the market.
• Medications covered by your plan have changed.
• Your pharmacy or medical provider may no longer be in your plan’s network for 2025.

If you’re a Medicare beneficiary, you can:

• Join, drop or switch a Part D prescription drug plan.
• Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan.
• Switch to a Medicare Advantage plan from Original Medicare or vice versa.

Changes to plan costs and coverage happen annually, so it’s important to review your options. To learn more, attend a SHIBA Open Enrollment presentation on Tuesday, October 15 at 10:30 am at the Orcas Senior Center, or join via Zoom by emailing shibasjco@yahoo.com to register.

Reviewing your coverage may save you money. Most people who switch plans save several hundred dollars, and some save over $1,000.

Tips Before You Make a Decision:

• Review the 2025 Medicare & You handbook for updates, arriving by mid-October.
• Check your Annual Notice of Change and/or Evidence of Coverage for any 2025 changes in your plan’s costs, benefits, and rules.
• List all your current prescriptions, including doses and frequency.
• Use the Plan Finder at www.medicare.gov to compare plans based on your prescriptions and preferred pharmacy.
• Contact your plan to confirm details before enrolling.

Get Help with Medicare Decisions: The Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA), part of the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner’s Consumer Protection program, offers free, unbiased, and confidential information to help navigate Medicare coverage options. Contact Orcas Island SHIBA, sponsored by Orcas Senior Center, at 360-376-5892 or shibasjco@yahoo.com to schedule a counseling session.