Annual Enrollment Period Guide for 2025 Medicare Plans
From October 15 to December 7, you have the opportunity to make changes to your Part D prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan. This window of opportunity is called the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP).
AEP is an excellent time to re-evaluate your Medicare plan. Why?
Reviewing your healthcare plans can:
- Save you money on your health and drug coverage
- Make sure your favorite doctors will be in your network next year
- Help you compare next year’s benefits to other plan options
- Remind you to make important changes, like address changes or beneficiary adjustments
Here’s a very simple guide to the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) for 2025 Medicare plan enrollments.
Disclaimer: We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 0-8 organizations which offer 0-41 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1‑800‑MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Program to get information on all of your options.
This Year Is Different
Before we get into our tips to help you make the best decisions for 2025 health and drug coverage, you should know that this year is unique.
There are quite a few changes coming to the AEP this fall due to newly passed legislation, so it’s more important than ever to take a look at your current Medicare plan.
For 2025, you might see higher premiums for Medicare Supplement and Advantage plans, and some benefits may be reduced.
If you notice a price increase in your current plan, there's no need to worry. What you want to do is review your plan with your agent during this AEP to ensure it is still the best fit for your healthcare needs.
Also, the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022 and it will lead to continued changes to Medicare all the way through 2029. Many of those changes will becoming in 2025.
Some notable changes coming to Part D and Medicare drug prices as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act are:
- $35 Insulin Cap: Insulin will be available at $35 per month for covered prescriptions
- $2000 Annual Cap: Out-of-pocket prescription drug costs will be capped at $2000 per year starting in 202
- End of the Donut Hole: The "donut hole," a coverage gap that previously required beneficiaries to pay a higher percentage of their drug costs after they met a specific threshold for the initial coverage but hadn’t yet met the total out-of-pocket spending threshold, will be eliminated.
Make sure to keep an eye out for your Annual Notice of Change letter and call your agent to schedule an appointment. We’ll go over your plan changes with you to make sure it continues to meet your needs.
Step 1: Take a look at your Medicare Advantage plan
If you’ve opted to have a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan instead of Original Medicare, it’s very important that you review it every single year during the AEP.
I can’t stress this enough! Even if you love your MA plan, that doesn’t mean you’ll love it next year. MA benefits aren’t required to stay the same, so those benefits may change for next year. If you don’t take a minute to review those changes, you could end up stuck in a plan you don’t like.
During the AEP, you can make these changes to your MA plan:
- Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan
- Switch from a Medicare Advantage plan back to Original Medicare
- Switch from a Medicare Advantage plan to a different Medicare Advantage plan
- Switch from a Medicare Advantage plan that doesn’t include prescription drug coverage to one that does, and vice versa
Working with a licensed agent like one of our agents here at Medicare Allies will help you shop the options to see what plan might be the best for you and your budget.
Step 2: Take a look at your Part D drug plan
If you’re on Original Medicare or your MA plan does not include drug coverage, odds are you have a Part D prescription drug plan.
Like MA plans, your drug coverage is not required to stay the same each year. Benefits and prices can and do change every year.
During the AEP, you can:
- Enroll in a stand-alone Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan
- Switch from one stand-alone Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan to another one
- Drop your prescription drug coverage
Please contact us, and we’ll run a comparison for you!
Step 3: Meet with your insurance agent for an annual review
If you have an insurance agent, odds are you’ll be seeing them during the AEP to make changes to your health and drug plans.
That makes it a great time to also do your annual review. If you have any annuities, life insurance policies, or other insurance policies, it’s important to review them annually.
This gives you the change to make any important changes. For example, if you moved this year, you can tell your agent now to change your addresses on file. If you had a granddaughter and need to add her as a beneficiary on a plan, you can do that now, too.
It’s always a good idea to see your agent yearly to make updates like these.
At Senior Allies, we also do no-cost policy reviews for every kind of senior insurance, so if you want an extra set of eyes, please contact us!
Additional Tips for the AEP
If you have an agent, they will make sure you cover all your bases. However, you’ll want to make sure you do a few extra things as you review your health and drug plans.
Double-check your provider networks.
If you have a network (particularly if you’re on a Medicare Advantage plan), you want to make sure your preferred doctors are in that network. If not, you can shop around to see if another plan has a better network without sacrificing the benefits or cost of your current plan.
Make sure your drug plan covers your prescriptions.
While this is something your agent should go over in your annual review, it’s important to take a look at any new medications you might be on. Some Medicare Part D drug plans charge more for certain medications, so if there have been any changes, you’ll want to verify what your costs will be.
Double-check your plan’s rating.
All Part D Drug Plans and Medicare Advantage plans are rated on a scale of 1-5. The rating is based on overall quality and customer satisfaction, with 5 stars being the best. You can always double check the rating of your plan to make sure you’re choosing the company that’s right for you.
Don’t fall for the lowest premium.
Premiums are only one part of your healthcare expenses. You also have deductibles, coinsurance, and copays. Don’t make the mistake of choosing a plan because it has the lowest monthly premium only to find out later that your deductible is absurdly high. Instead, you want to find the plan that will have the lowest out-of-pocket costs for the year.
Again, your agent will guide you through these things, but if you want to take charge of your health plans, make sure you’re covering your bases.
Conclusion
Do you want personalized help this AEP?
Our licensed agents are more than willing to help you evaluate your plans. Just give us a call to get started!
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