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Does Anthem Have Open Enrollment?

What is the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period?

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period is an additional time every year when you can make one (yes, just one) change to your existing Medicare Advantage plan. These changes comprise of:

Changing to a Different Medicare Advantage Health Insurance

Dropping your Medicare Advantage plan and staying with the initial Medicare. If you do this and require drug coverage, you have until March 31 to add a Medicare Part D (prescription drug) plan

When is the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period?

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment timeline is from January 1 to March 31. During the Anthem open enrollment period, you cannot add a Medicare Advantage plan if you do not have one already. You also cannot make changes to a pre-existing prescription drug plan. The window where you can add Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plans is the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period or Yearly Election Period, beginning October 15 to December 7 every year.

Remember, you require to be enrolled in Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) before you’re qualified to sign up for any Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plan. If you don’t yet have Original Medicare, check out your Medicare Enrollment choices, so you know when and how to sign up. If you are turning 65 soon, it’s smart to start looking at your coverage options now.

Understanding Medicare Advantage plans

If you are new to Medicare, you might be wondering what a Medicare Advantage plan is and how you obtain one. These plans are a great choice if you require some coverage beyond what Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) offers.

For instance, you might want dental, vision, and hearing insurance. Or maybe you have regular medications and want prescription drug coverage, which you can’t get through Original Medicare. Knowing how the two choices compare helps you get the most out of your coverage, so take a moment to see how Original Medicare varies from Medicare Advantage.

Once you sign up for Original Medicare, you have a few windows of time where you can add, change, or drop a Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plan. These only apply if you need to make changes to your coverage. If you have a plan you are happy with; you can just keep it without re-enrolling.

If you are moving or your plan’s service area changes, a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) accounts for these kinds of exceptions (and others). Our Medicare Advantage enrollment page provides more details about all sign-up periods, as well as the SEP.

Medicare can seem complex, but it does not have to be. Explore our Medicare Information section for details on enrollment, costs, choices, and coverage comparisons.

Resources and References:

• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period
• Special Medicare Enrolment Period