Medicare's Open Enrollment Starts Oct 15th ~ Check Your Coverage Options & Your Mail
Medicare’s annual fall Open Enrollment is almost here! Running from October 15 – December 7, this is an important time to review your coverage and make any necessary changes for your coverage going forward as of January 1, 2019. During the open enrollment, you can join or switch Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and Part D prescription drug plans (PDPs), or return to Original Medicare with all changes effective January 1. Because MA and Part D plans can change their benefits, increase costs, change provider networks or alter their drug formularies, etc each year, reviewing the upcoming changes and your other options are critical for making sure you have the health coverage that best suits your needs in the new year.
How do you find out about Medicare plan changes for 2019? This is where it’s important to check your mail. :-) Read more.
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Time-Limited Equitable Relief for Part B Penalties Extended 1 More Year
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services extended their time-limited equitable relief from Medicare Part B penalties for one more year. It is now set to expire September 30, 2019.
Eligible beneficiaries include people who are in Marketplace plans and missed signing up for Medicare Part B during their Special Enrollment Period following the loss of their or their spouse’s employer covered health insurance, and people who had Medicare Part A and a Marketplace plan and delayed enrolling in Part B. In both cases, these eligible beneficiaries most likely missed or delayed their Part B enrollment without knowing the costly consequences of later enrolling in Part B and incurring a lifetime late enrollment penalty. Read more.
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Learn Tips to Prevent Medicare Open Enrollment Scams
 Medicare’s annual open enrollment is from Oct 15 – Dec 7. During this time, sifting through your current plan’s coverage changes can be overwhelming to digest, let alone understanding all the other options available to you. This information overload and potential confusion creates a ripe situation for scams and fraud. Here are some tips on knowing what to watch for, knowing what health plans and agents can and can’t do and how to protect yourself and loved ones to prevent enrollment fraud this fall. Read more.
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Do You Have Your New Medicare Card? Beware of New Scams
In California, the new Medicare cards mailing is complete. These new cards help prevent identity theft by no longer using people’s Social Security number as their Medicare number. Now people have a new 11 digit Medicare number that combines numbers and letters and excludes gender identity and signatures. Does this mean the end of scams regarding your new Medicare cards? Unfortunately, no. Read more.
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CHA & Advocates Nationwide Push for Extended Equitable Relief
While equitable relief for Part B penalties was just extended 1 year, this letter from California Health Advocates and other advocacy organizations nationwide that was submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) before they made their extension, explains why this extension is so important and the kind of issues that CMS must remedy in its outreach and education to prevent serious enrollment errors. Read more.
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California Health Advocates is excited to participate in this year's GivingTuesday event on November 27, 2018, a global day of giving back! We invite you to join us!
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Thank You in advance! :-) Your help ensures the continuation of our advocacy and education work on behalf of California’s over 5 million Medicare beneficiaries. Make your tax deductible donation today!
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Desire to be "up to snuff" on Medicare? Got tough Medicare questions? Let our fact sheets be your guide! Our 30+ comprehensive, California-specific fact sheets cover 9 major Medicare and other health insurance related topic areas. Subscribe today!
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