Generally, there are 5 reasons why you might consider making changes to Medicare coverage:
- You want a less expensive plan. If you find that Medicare is taking a bigger bite out of your retirement budget, it can pay to shop around to save money.
- Your health situation has changed, and you need different coverage. If you experience a significant change to your health, you may find that the plan you signed up for cannot support such a change.
- The cost of your prescription drugs has increased. Sometimes health insurance companies that provide prescription drug coverage raise the price of certain medications. If you happen to take one of those medications, it could end up costing you a lot more money.
- You're not satisfied with the quality of medical services in your current network. You may need the ability to see certain specialists or pursue additional avenues of treatment.
- You want to simplify and consolidate coverage options. This is often the case when people want to shift to an "all-in-one" Medicare Advantage (MA) plan to bring all their coverage together instead of multiple plans handling different types of health care coverage such as Part A, Part B, a Medicare Supplement plan, or a Part D prescription drug plan (PDP).
Tip: Keep in mind, any changes you make take effect on January 1 of the upcoming year.