Unless someone turning 65 has lifetime health benefits from their or their spouse’s employment, they usually have two choices on how to receive their Medicare coverage. They can enroll in a Medicare Supplement and a separate prescription drug plan or in a Medicare Advantage Plan with drug coverage. If they have drug coverage from previous employment or military service, they also have the option to enroll in only a Medicare Supplement or a Medicare Advantage with no drug coverage.
Typically the premiums for a Medicare Advantage Plan are much lower than a Medicare Supplement. In the Research Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill) there are numerous Medicare Advantage Plans that have a zero premium. My experience is that the majority of seniors who sign up for these plans are very satisfied with the benefits and coverage. However, as we all know, life is unpredictable. When your health suddenly takes a turn for the worse having a plan that requires you stay in a network of medical providers or allows you to go out of network, but at a substantially higher cost, can create anxiety. This is why understanding the rules for change are important.
When you first turn 65 you have what is called a “trial right”. This term means you can try Medicare Advantage for one year. At any point during this 12 month period you can drop your Medicare Advantage Plan and return to Original Medicare. Once you drop your Medicare Advantage plan, you have 63 days to enroll in a Medicare Supplement without going through medical underwriting (answering health questions). If you wait longer the insurance companies that market Medicare Supplements will require medical underwriting and can decline you for coverage. You also have 63 days to enroll in a drug plan. If you don’t enroll during the 63 day period you will be required to wait until Annual Enrollment (October 15 through December 7th). The plan you enroll in during this period will not begin until January 1st of the following year. Unless you have a very low income, this will cause you to pay a penalty for going without creditable drug coverage for several months. This penalty will continue as long as you are enrolled in a prescription drug plan.
For folks that are already on a Medicare Supplement there is also a “trial right”. This allows them to drop their Medicare Supplement and try a Medicare Advantage for one year. However, their “trial right” is more restrictive. They can enroll in Medicare Supplement Plans A,B,C,F,K or L without medical underwriting, but the not the popular Plan G.
In 2019 during the Open Enrollment Period, which is from January 1 through March 31, one can change from a Medicare Advantage to a Medicare Supplement and a drug plan. However, unless they are in their first year of Medicare or are enrolled in a plan which is ending, they will be required to go through medical underwriting to obtain a Medicare Supplement.
Sometimes an insurance company will decide to terminate one of their Medicare Advantage plans. This is called a SAR (Service Area Reduction). When this happens they are required to send a letter to each person on this plan. In addition to explaining when the plan will end, the insurance company must provide details on the time period for obtaining new coverage and one’s options during this period. Instead of choosing another Medicare Advantage plan, the policy holders of the terminated plan can choose a Medicare Supplement. This letter is their proof that they are in a “guaranteed issue period”, which allows them to enroll in Medicare Supplement Plans A, B, C, F,K or L without going through medical underwriting.
There are also situations where CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) forces a Medicare Advantage Plan to terminate for not adhering to government rules. This type of termination gives the policy holders the same “guaranteed issue rights” described above.