Medicare Open Enrollment is here. What do you need to do? (Oct. 2022)

Read time: 4 minutes

Open Enrollment runs from October 15-December 7

How can you tell fall’s in the air? For one, pumpkin-spice-everything. For two, mailers and commercials about Medicare Open Enrollment.

This is when people on Medicare can make changes to their health and drug plans for the next year. If you’re a Medicare beneficiary wondering if there’s anything you should be doing, here’s the short answer.

If you’re happy with your Medicare Supplement plan, you don’t need to do anything.

Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

But if you’re thinking about switching your health plan, here’s what to know.

Sometimes, people want to explore other Medicare Supplement options. Here are some of the things people may look for in new coverage:

  • Lower premiums
  • New company
  • Different benefits

If this sounds like it could be you, be sure to talk with a licensed insurance professional who can walk you through companies, plans and the process.

The importance of the Part D annual review

If you have Medicare Part D (the prescription drug plan), you’ll want to review that coverage.

“A lot can change during the year,” said Sarah Speicher, assistant product specialist. “This includes your prescriptions, their cost, co-pays, and what’s included in the plan.

“An annual Part D review lets you know you’re getting the most out of your plan, even if you’re keeping your current one.”

When you review your Part D options, consider these topics:

  • Costs, such as premiums and deductibles
  • All your prescriptions, including new ones
  • Local, preferred pharmacies
  • Extra benefits not covered by Medicare, such as vision or hearing
  • Quality and customer service ratings from current plan members

A licensed insurance professional can help you with your Part D review. Physicians Mutual® provides this free service to help Medicare beneficiaries save money.

A Physicians Mutual family customer described their experience:

“Dear Physicians Mutual family,

Thank you for making the Medicare Part D coverage review such an easy, no-stress process!* I provided a list of our medications to our agent. She took it from there. Ten minutes later, we had saved $6,000** for 2020! Wow! We were so pleased … we thought we were locked into the first Part D plan we selected. We weren’t.”

Chuck and Ardie W.

Members of our family since 2015

Whatever you do, make sure you’re happy with your coverage. And … enjoy the pumpkin spice while it’s around.

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