Medicare Advantage dis-enrollment period 2018
You are only eligible to enroll and dis-enroll in Medicare Advantage Plans at specific times of the year. Therefore, some of you may want to know when the Medicare Advantage dis-enrollment period 2018 is. The (MAPD) Medicare Advantage Dis-enrollment Period starts on January 1 and lasts until February 14 every year. During this time, you can leave your MA plan and go back to Original Medicare. You also have a chance to enroll in a Part D drug Plan, if you haven’t already done this.
During the Medicare Advantage Dis-enrollment Period 2018:
You can decide to leave a Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare. The length of your enrollment does not matter. Even If you have just joined the Medicare Advantage plan during the AEP (Annual Election Period). You are able to change your mind and go back to original Medicare (Part A & Part B). If you do decide to dis-enroll from your MA Plan, that goes into effect on the first day of the following month after you make your request.
Example: if you dis-enroll from your plan on January 1, it won’t be in effect until February 1.
Be aware of the date your Medicare Advantage dis-enrollment goes into effect. Some kinds of Medicare Advantage plans require you to use in-network providers in order to be covered. If you’re in a SNP (Special Needs Plan) or an (HMO) Health Maintenance Organization, you must only use doctors that are in the plan’s provider network until you are dis-enrolled. If you use out of network providers, your plan may not pay for the services you receive.
If you decide to dis-enroll during this period, you will be eligible to join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan(PDP). This is true whether or not the Medicare Advantage plan you leave included drug coverage. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan, you can just join a stand- alone Medicare prescription drug plan. If you do this, you will be automatically dis-enrolled from your Medicare Advantage plan. You could also just submit a dis-enrollment request to your plan. As we stated earlier, when you join a Medicare prescription drug plan, your coverage starts the first day of the following month.
It would be wise to enroll in a PDP very close to the time you decide to dis-enroll from a MA plan. This way you can avoid any lapse in drug coverage. Original Medicare doesn’t come with prescription drug benefits. Additionally, Medicare Part D has a penalty if you go without creditable prescription drug coverage for over 63 days in a row. If you have other prescription drug coverage, it must be the equivalent of standard Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage.
You CANNOT use The Medicare Advantage Dis-enrollment Period 2018 to either join or to change plans.
The only thing you can do during the MADP is to dis-enroll from Medicare Advantage to go back to Original Medicare. The Medicare Advantage Dis-enrollment Period is not the same thing as the Open Enrollment Period also known as the AEP. The Open Enrollment Period is only to enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan or a prescription Drug Plan, make plan changes or dis-enroll from a Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare plans.
There is also a difference between the MADP and the Initial coverage election period. The Initial coverage election period is the time that you are first eligible to enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan. There is no other time that you can change your Medicare Advantage plan unless you qualify for a special election period. In certain circumstances you can dis-enroll from your Medicare Advantage plan and switch to a different plan. For example; if you move out of the plan’s service area or if someone used deceptive marketing practices on you when you signed up for your plan.
Please contact us with any questions about this information. You can reach us either at (203)796-5403 or at edward@croweandassociates.com.