Patient Education: Medicare Open Enrollment (October 15, 2013 - December 7, 2013): Help Your Patient's Stay Informed!

This one time of year enrollment period is your chance to review your health care coverage and see if you need to make any changes, or if you're staying with the plan you already have.
This year, you may hear a lot about the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Marketplace Open Enrollment period (October 1, 2013–March 31, 2014) overlaps with the Medicare Open Enrollment period. The Marketplace is designed to help people who don't have any health coverage. If you have health coverage through Medicare, the Marketplace won't have any effect on your Medicare coverage
Throughout the next few months, information about your Medicare benefits will be available in many places:

1. In the mail

• Look through your mail
• Look through the Medicare & You handbook

2. On your computer
   • Compare your plan choices. The 2014 cost information is now available, go to the Medicare Plan Finder at http://www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan.
3. In newspapers, magazines, TV and radio

Enjoy the choice and take control over your health care coverage. Protect your personal information and your identity. Plans aren't allowed to call or come to your home without an invitation from you. And, it's against the law for someone who knows that you have Medicare to sell you a Marketplace plan.
Medicare Open Enrollment only comes once a year.
Source: The Medicare Blog, published 10/01/13 by CMS at http://blog.medicare.gov/2013/10/01/oe-comes-once-a-year/

Last Updated Oct 14, 2013