Quiz: What Do You Know About Medicare Open Enrollment?

The idea behind the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is to spread medication costs evenly throughout the year if you expect to meet your out-of-pocket drug cost maximum early in the year. That helps avoid a shock to your budget or potentially paying interest on the credit card debt you might have to take on to purchase expensive medicine.

If you want to stay in original Medicare, or the Part D prescription drug or Medicare Advantage plan you already have, you don’t need to do anything. You will be automatically reenrolled.

You can use any of these methods to enroll in a new plan. If you enroll online, print out your completed application as proof.

You should receive an acknowledgment from the plan soon afterward. If you haven’t heard from the plan within two weeks, call Medicare to confirm that you are enrolled.

If you sign up for a different plan at any time during open enrollment, your coverage will begin Jan. 1. You don’t need to notify your current plan. Enrollment in a different plan automatically cancels your current coverage at midnight Dec. 31.

If you change from a Part D drug plan to a Medicare Advantage plan, this automatically cancels your coverage under original Medicare, and you will receive your Medicare benefits through the Medicare Advantage plan, also starting Jan. 1.

Medigap plans, which you buy through private insurers and not the federal government, have no annual open enrollment period. Most people age 65 or older buy these supplemental plans within six months of enrolling in Medicare Part B.

During this initial six-month period, federal law prohibits insurers from denying individuals coverage or charging them higher premiums because of current or past health problems. It’s possible to switch to a different Medigap policy or a different insurer later, but in most states the plans are allowed to refuse to enroll you or charge you higher premiums.