How do you stay up to date with changes in Medicare policies and plan options each year?
Answered by 22 licensed agents
I listen to a weekly podcast that does a deep dive on the news and notes of the industry. I just got back from an insurance conference in Las Vegas to keep me up to date and make connections. Because of the way the industry is constantly changing you have to keep up to date of you will be left behind.
The plan you are enrolled with should send you an email”annual notice of change” document in the month of October which is when open enrollment begins with Medicare advantage or prescription drug cards. This document tells you the changes made for the upcoming year. October 15- Dec 7 is the time to look at other companies offerings or to meet with a local agent to compare plans.
Each July, I take the annual AHIP Testing required to keep up with the current changes, along with regularly going onto SSA.GOV and MEDICARE.GOV. By actively reviewing plan information, utilizing Medicare.gov resources, to staying informed about Medicare policies and plan options each year, and making informed decisions about the healthcare coverage.
Having a local broker is one of the best ways to stay on top of changes. They can research for you and normally receive the updates and changes from the insurance companies. They often hold seminars to communicate these changes annually and would be just a phone call away or a visit to their office to discuss your specific plan.
Things mainly change each calendar year: from the Part B premium, to the Part B one-time per year deductible, to the daily rate in a hospital or nursing home, etc. This all has to do with the global economy which used to only include the US inflation rate but as we all know, it has permanently been altered.
ALWAYS(and rarely do I use that word) consult UNBIASED data sources such as the official government medicare website: www.medicare.gov or Kaiser Family Foundation: kff.org or Medicare Rights Center: https://www.medicarerights.org/
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I'm required to stay current Medicare publishes changes that they're going to make every year so we just review the bulletins and applied the changes. Most of the changes are pretty nominal. There might be an introduction or something here or there. Last year there was big changes to drugs plans which was very good. Dropped the max out of pocket down to $2,000 which it previously was $8,000 .
If you'd like to discuss this in more detail, contact me.
Well, hopefully you have an Independent Medicare Broker that does that for you...at no charge by the way. It's not easy to stay up with all of the nuances of Medicare and all of the plan options...that's why I HIGHLY recommend finding a broker that ONLY does Medicare.
Your Medicare agent should be informing you of these changes to Advantage plans. He is permitted to do son on or after Oct 1st of each year. As for Medicare supplement policies, depending on which plan you are on, the only changes could be the Part B deductible and the High deductible amount for those on the HDF or HDG plans. Congress controls those numbers, not the plan. Supplement premium increases can happen anytime during the year.
Visit MEDICARE.gov, which is the official federal government website, scroll down to the last tab titled "Get important news & updates," and subscribe to their newsletter email. Also, keep your agent's contact handy and do not hesitate to call him/her every time you need answers.
First, every August I must recertify with every Carrier in my area...so...as an Independent Broker after becoming able to enroll people in the Carriers they need...in September all Plans will be released for my chance to review them...and then in October I can meet with all clients to make sure they get the right Plan for their needs.
Since I am in the business, I read all the articles on Medicare, which you too can do, but I get much of my information directly from the Insurance Carriers and some information directly from Medicare. I find that 98% of Medicare Supplement clients never change their policies. As for Medicare Advantage Plans, they seem to change each year to some degree and that means clients/policyholders need to really talk to their agent or a new agent about comparing their current Medicare Advantage Plan to a new plan during the Annual Enrollment Period between October 15th and December 7th each year. There are usually some changes in the Medical Benefits and many times there could be changes to their Drug Formulary and that means you need to check to see if your current prescriptions are still covered on their formulary list. You also wish to make sure your doctors/providers are still on your plan as well as they are permitted to leave the plan any month of the year with 30 days notice to the carrier, but you cannot do that. -- Gary Haft
I get the privilege of having an amazing FMO that brings out every major carrier throughout the calendar year to keep us up to date. We get training every single Tuesday and Friday every week of the year. I like to take pride in being completely up to date with Medicare legislation changes and carrier plan/network changes.
As a licensed agent, we are required to go through multiple certifications every year to stay on top of these annual changes. We have to take a course the government provides that goes over national changes and then we have to go through certifications with every company we work with. It will take anywhere from 1-3 weeks a year to get all of those certifications done before we can legally represent those Medicare plans and companies.
I believe it's important for a senior to have a trusted resource to guide them through the yearly changes in Medicare and Medicare plan changes, such as an independent licensed agent. An independent agent, such as myself, would know about these changes in Medicare policies and plan options and having yearly reviews would help you, the Medicare beneficiary, stay up to date with the latest changes. I hope this helps.
I stay up to date by subscribing to many of my carriers' newsletters, attend lots of ongoing training sessions training webinars and am in several online groups and forums that discuss the latest in the medicare industry.
I am have software that will notify me of any changes to specific plans when the yearly changes come out around September and October so I prepared to let my current clients know and review these changes and options with them.
I track Medicare news the way sports fans track scores... daily and with plenty of coffee! All year I sift through CMS updates, insurer trainings, and enough fine print to wallpaper the house. Then I run it through it again and translate it into plain English you can actually use.
Starting in October, I call each client to discuss what’s changing for the upcoming year. During Annual Enrollment (October 15th through December 7th), we huddle up, compare the new line‑up of plans, and pick the one that makes the most sense for you and your family. No acronyms, no guesswork, just clear choices. I stay on top of the rules so you can stay on top of life.
Every year I have to re-certify with Medicare. This is a multi-hour process of study and then a final exam which must have a 90% score to remain certified by Medicare to be an agent that can sell Medicare products. Additionally, each carrier I represent (about 12-15 each year) has their own compliance study and tests to certify knowledge to sell their plans each year. These also have to be completed with a 85-90% score. I complete all this over a 1-2 week period each year to be compliant for Medicare Annual Enrollment which runs from Oct 1-Dec 7.
