Q & A
I would like to change to a different Medicare Advantage plan. Do I have to wait until open enrollment?
Answer: If you switch to a plan with a five-star quality rating, you don’t have to wait until Medicare open enrollment (which runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 for 2015 coverage). Seniors who participate in Medicare Advantage can sign up for a five-star plan anytime during the year. But there’s a catch: Only 14 Medicare Advantage plans scattered across 14 states and the District of Columbia met the five-star criteria in 2014. Besides Texas and Washington, D.C., they are California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, Washington state and Wisconsin. You can search for plans in your area by using the Medicare Plan Finder (medicare.gov/find-a-plan). The five-star plans are designated with a special icon. Read more…
Source: Kimberly Lankford, Kiplinger’s (via http://www.dallasnews.com) - 9/11/2014
This posting is presented for informational purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. Any opinions or interpretations presented are either those of the original author or, in the case of articles authored by the AMAC Foundation, are the opinions of AMAC Foundation staff, originally trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA) and certified via the AMAC Foundation. Any links included in the article are valid on the posted date; socialsecurityreport.org cannot guarantee the duration of the links’ validity. NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (https://amacfoundation.org/services/) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org. Because we are a non-profit organization, there is no charge for these services.