Medicare Open Enrollment

By Jennifer Fullerton It's almost time once again for open enrollment in the Medicare prescription drug plan. Even those already enrolled have some new information to think about. Prices for the various prescription drug plans are going up. If you're changing your drug plan or enrolling for the first time you need to do so between November 15th and December 31st. The longer an eligible person waits to enroll the more expensive every plan becomes. "It's one percent per month for every month that you didn't enroll when you were first eligible." says Lisa Hietala from Senior Insurance Assistance. The new prices for various plans is taking place on January first and for some plans will be quite significant. "We've see the lower plan in our area which was Humana offered the least expensive plan go from $8.62 to $16.60 a month." says Hietala. The drugs covered under various plans may change as well. Reading the information sent to you from your specific plan will tell you what changes will kick in. While the plans and process may seem a bit confusing, they are helping most. "People that have high ticket drugs or that have a lot of drug expenses each month they're seeing a huge difference in their costs." says Hietalt. So remember if you don't enroll or change your plan between November 15th and December 31st you'll have to wait an entire year before there's another chance. To find information on which plan is best for you and how plans are changing visit the Medicare web site or call 1-800-medicare which has people there to help you 24 hours a day... seven days a week. Source: KRDO