3 things to know about the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)

 

Avoid surprises – Review your Annual Notice of Change each fall!

If you have a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) you will receive an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) from your health insurance company at the end of September. If you are new to Medicare, then you may not know what this is.

Who gets one and what should you do with it?

The ANOC is an important notice sent each year to people who have a Medicare Advantage (MA) Plan or a Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan.

The health insurance companies that administer these plans are required to send notices to you each year to notify you of cost and/or benefit changes that will take effect starting January 1, 2018.

When should you expect it?

You should receive this notice by September 30th of this year. If you haven’t received it by then, you should contact your plan to ask for it or call your agent to learn about what is changing. Your agent will know everything that is changing and can explain how it will effect you.

If there are changes to your costs and benefits that could raise your costs or get in the way of getting the health care you need, you may want to think about making changes to your Medicare coverage during Medicare’s Fall Open Enrollment Period.

When can you make changes?

Fall Open Enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7 every year. If you make changes to your Medicare coverage during Fall Open Enrollment this year, they will go into effect on January 1, 2018.

Even if you review these notices and decide that there won’t be any major changes to your Medicare coverage in 2018, it still might be helpful to look at other Medicare options and compare them to your current plan.

Another plan in your area might offer health and/or drug coverage at a better price than what you currently pay. To learn more about different Medicare coverage options, call 1-800-MEDICARE or use the Plan Finder tool at medicare.gov or click this link.