If you have a Medicare Advantage or Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, an important document arrives each fall: your Annual Notice of Change, commonly called the ANOC.
It can be tempting to set it aside, especially if you’re happy with your current Medicare coverage. But your plan can change from one year to the next — even when you do nothing.
Your ANOC explains those changes and can help you decide whether your current plan will still meet your needs in the coming year.
What Is the Medicare Annual Notice of Change?
The Annual Notice of Change is a document your Medicare Advantage or Medicare Part D plan sends you each year.
It explains changes to your plan that will take effect on January 1 of the following year.
Plans generally must provide the ANOC by September 30, giving you time to review the changes before Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period begins on October 15.
The ANOC allows you to compare your current coverage with what that same plan will offer next year.
And that’s important because your Medicare plan doesn’t necessarily stay the same just because you stay enrolled in it.
What Can Change From Year to Year?
Depending on your plan, the ANOC may identify changes involving:
Monthly premiums
Your plan’s monthly premium could increase or decrease.
Remember that a $0-premium Medicare Advantage plan can also have important changes to deductibles, copayments, coinsurance and other out-of-pocket costs.
Deductibles
Your medical or prescription drug deductible may change for the coming year.
Copayments and coinsurance
What you pay when you see a doctor, specialist, receive hospital care or use other healthcare services may change.
A plan that worked well financially this year could potentially cost you more next year.
Maximum out-of-pocket limit
Medicare Advantage plans have an annual limit on what you pay out of pocket for covered Part A and Part B services.
That limit can change from year to year.
Don’t look only at the monthly premium. Your potential out-of-pocket exposure matters too.
Prescription drug coverage
This is one of the most important areas to review.
Your plan’s formulary — its list of covered prescription drugs — can change.
A medication you currently take could:
- Move to a different drug tier
- Have different cost-sharing
- Become subject to additional coverage requirements
- No longer be covered by the plan
If you take prescription medications regularly, reviewing your drug coverage every year is especially important.
Benefits
Medicare Advantage plans may change benefits from year to year.
Depending on the plan, changes could affect benefits involving dental, vision, hearing, fitness programs, transportation or other supplemental services.
Don’t assume that a benefit you have this year will be identical next year.
What About My Doctors and Hospitals?
Provider access deserves special attention when reviewing Medicare Advantage coverage.
Networks can change.
A physician, clinic or hospital you use today may not necessarily participate with the same plan next year.
Your ANOC is an important starting point, but you should also verify that your important healthcare providers will participate in the plan for the coming year.
Don’t rely solely on what was true this year.
Why Should I Read the ANOC If I Like My Medicare Plan?
This may be the most important question.
You may have had a great experience with your plan this year. Your doctors participate. Your prescriptions are covered. Your costs are manageable.
So why bother reviewing it?
Because you’re not really deciding whether you liked this year’s plan.
You’re deciding whether next year’s version of the plan is still right for you.
Those can be two different things.
Your health may also have changed. You may have:
- Started taking a new medication
- Changed doctors
- Developed a need for additional medical care
- Started seeing a specialist
- Changed where you live during part of the year
- Experienced changes in your finances
Your plan can change, and your needs can change too.
That’s why an annual Medicare review can be valuable.
Five Things to Look for in Your ANOC
When your Annual Notice of Change arrives, don’t feel that you need to memorize the entire document.
Start by looking for five things:
1. Has my premium changed?
Compare this year’s premium with next year’s premium.
2. Have my deductibles, copays or coinsurance changed?
Pay particular attention to services you use frequently.
3. Are my prescriptions still covered appropriately?
Check your medications, their tiers and your expected costs.
4. Are my doctors and preferred healthcare facilities still available to me?
Verify provider participation for the upcoming year.
5. Have benefits that are important to me changed?
Review the benefits you actually use rather than focusing on benefits that sound attractive but aren’t important to your healthcare needs.
Does Receiving an ANOC Mean I Need to Change Plans?
No.
This is an important distinction.
Reviewing your Medicare coverage doesn’t mean you need to change it.
If your current plan continues to cover your medications, includes the providers you want, provides the benefits you value and remains financially appropriate, staying with it may be a perfectly reasonable decision.
The purpose of an annual review isn’t to find a reason to switch.
It’s to make sure you understand what you’re keeping.
When Can I Make Changes?
Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) runs from:
October 15 through December 7 each year.
During this period, eligible Medicare beneficiaries can make certain changes to their Medicare coverage for the following year.
Changes made during AEP generally take effect January 1.
Your ANOC arrives before AEP for a reason: it gives you an opportunity to understand what’s changing before deciding whether you want to make a change.
Don’t Throw Away That Medicare Envelope
Medicare beneficiaries receive a lot of mail, particularly as Annual Enrollment Period approaches.
Some of it is advertising.
Your Annual Notice of Change is different.
It comes from your current Medicare plan and contains information specifically about changes to your coverage.
When it arrives, keep it.
Then spend some time reviewing the changes that matter most to you.
A few minutes reviewing your ANOC could help prevent an unpleasant surprise at the pharmacy, doctor’s office or hospital after January 1.
Medicare Guidance for Minnesotans
Medicare doesn’t need to be confusing.
At YourMedicareMN, our focus is education first. We help Minnesota Medicare beneficiaries understand their coverage, compare their options and make informed decisions based on their individual healthcare needs.
If you’ve received your Annual Notice of Change and aren’t sure what the changes mean for you, we can help you review your options.
Visit Contact Us to schedule a personalized Medicare review and get answers tailored to your situation.
For official Medicare information, visit the Medicare.gov website.
YourMedicareMN is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program.