For folks that have a Medicare Advantage Plan only, the “Annual Disenrollment Period” (ADP) has been eliminated and replaced with an Open Enrollment Period (OEP – January 1 through March 31, 2019).
Many folks think that the Medicare Open Enrollment Period has to do with the once-a-year period October 15th through December 7th which is really called Annual Election Period. (AEP) There’s a big difference in these two periods and what you can do with your changes in your Medicare plan coverages.
What this means for you as a consumer is that you will be allowed a one-time change to the selection you made during the normal AEP.
A practical example would be:
You are on a Medicare Advantage Plan, and you want to keep the plan. The reason you want to keep the plan is that your doctors are on the network of the Advantage plan. During the AEP selection period, you choose to keep the same plan you are already on for the new year. After January 1, you find out that your doctors are no longer on the network for the new year. You are going to lose your doctors!!
The new “Open Enrollment Period” (January 1 through March 31) allows you to terminate the original plan you chose and switch to a different Medicare Advantage Plan that your doctors are on.
For folks that have a Medicare Advantage Plan only, the Annual Dis-enrollment Period (ADP), from January 1st through February 14th, has been eliminated and replaced with an Open Enrollment Period (OEP – January 1 through March 31, 2019). This will allow you a one-time switch from one Medicare Advantage Plan to another, or, back to original Medicare and a prescription drug plan during this one-time change (OEP).
