Medicare Open Enrollment: Scams, Plans, And Dates

Medicare’s open enrollment program can be quite confusing. It is filled with multiple pricing tiers, hefty bills, complicated forms, and expensive drugs. One mistake can lead to huge spikes in health care costs.

Medicare has also been in the news recently. According to an earlier report from the Inquisitr, if you are covered by Medicare through its open enrollment program, transgender sex change surgeries can be covered.

“We did focus groups asking seniors how they choose and change their health insurance plans, and overall, seniors found it to be a very confusing process and an overwhelming process,” Gretchen Jacobson, associate director of Medicare policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation health policy research organization, told CNBC. “Seniors said they don’t like to revisit their plan choices and go through that process again, because they found it frustrating to begin with.”

Medicare’s open enrollment began October 15 for 2014. However, there is no need to rush. Experts tell people to wait and take their time to decide the appropriate plans to make the best personal decision. If you recently turned 65 and are new to Medicare’s open enrollment program, the best time to sign up is within a seven-month window before and after your birthday.

Medicare’s cheapest option, which is widely chosen, depends on your needs. Under Part A, the hospital deductible will be $1,260 for each benefit period. Under Part B, the standard monthly premium fee is $104.90 for those with taxable incomes of $85,000 or less, and the deductible is $147 a year. Part C deals with Medicare Advantage plans, or private insurance companies that contract with Medicare. They are about 16 million beneficiaries that can choose them. Part D involves Medicare drug plans, with more than 38 millions people enrolled last year. The annual maximum deductible for drug plans in 2015 will be $320.

While you may soon be enrolling in Medicare’s open enrollment program, you have to careful of Medicare scammers. They work by pretending to be an employee from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and ask for Social Security Numbers, bank account details, and other personal information. To prevent this identity theft, never talk to strangers who ask for such personal information over the phone. “It’s illegal for someone to call and ask for your Medicare number, Social Security number, or bank or credit card information,” according to CMS. “A Medicare representative or a private insurance plan working with Medicare will never call and ask for this information, and we will never call you or come to your home uninvited to sell Medicare products.”

[Image via Reuters]