Your Chance for Change: Understanding Special Enrollment Periods
Discover how you can qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) which includes national emergenices and the Coronavirus COVID-19.
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Life can be full of twists and turns, whether it’s moving to a new city, changing jobs (if you’re still working), or, sadly, dealing with a new and potentially disabling medical condition. Fortunately, you don’t need to worry about the prospects of changing your insurance coverage thanks to Special Enrollment Periods.
Special Enrollment Periods – or SEPs – are special circumstances or life events during which you can make changes to your Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare prescription drug coverage plan. Please note that these periods are separate from Medicare’s Annual Election Period (AEP), which typically takes place between October 15 and December 7 of each year, and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, which only applies to beneficiaries of MA plans and takes place between January 1 and March 31 of each year.
Your Special Enrollment Period
Special Enrollment Periods generally include the following:
Changing where you live
Losing your current coverage
You gain access to other types of coverage (such as one offered by an employer or union)
Plan changes its contract with Medicare
You develop a special, medical or financial-related need
Choosing the wrong plan choice due to inaccurate or misleading information
New SEP for 2023:
Natural disasters or emergency
Incarceration
Loss of Medicaid coverage
You can find a complete, detailed list of these and other Special Enrollment Periods at Medicare.gov . Your licensed Senior Healthcare Direct agent can help you navigate these Special Enrollment Periods, as the rules about when and what type of changes you can make may be different for each circumstance.
Don’t Let “Circumstances” Get You Down
While beneficiaries are typically limited in when and how often they can join, change or leave an MA or prescription drug plan, knowing if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period can help alleviate the stress of life’s twists and turns. Call Senior Healthcare Direct today at 1-833-463-3262, TTY 711 for answers to all your questions about Medicare and Special Enrollment Periods.
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LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The above is meant to be strictly educational and not intended to provide medical advice or solicit the sales of an insurance product or service of any kind.