The Medicare annual enrollment period started on October 15 and runs through December 7 this year. That makes now the perfect time for retirees to review and, if warranted, change your policy coverage. Taking the time to examine your Medicare options each year is a wise move for both your health and your wealth. Evaluating your coverage can highlight policy and premium changes that may otherwise prove costly in relation to your current health needs, helping you to minimize your healthcare costs during retirement. (For more, see: Healthcare Documents You Need In Place Right Now.) Review Your Coverage Annually Most individuals sign up for Medicare during their initial enrollment period and then retain the same policy, year in and year out. The reality is that Medicare policies change each year and so does your health. Reviewing your elections on an annual basis allows you to select more accurate and, therefore, more economical coverage based upon your current medical needs. It’s especially important if you’ve recently received a major health diagnosis, if your medications have changed substantially or if you’ve moved interstate. Year-End Best Time Frame for Review A number of open enrollment periods (short time frames during which you can change your health care coverage elections) occur towards year end. Common open enrollment periods begin as follows for the current year: October 15, 2016: Medicare Open Enrollment November 1, 2016: Healthcare Marketplace November 14, 2016: Federal Employee Health Benefit Program How to Evaluate Your Options While you may not find a plan that exactly matches all your requirements, defining your specific needs can help keep out-of-pocket expenses to a minimum as you evaluate different plans. (For more, see: Health Savings Accounts: What You Need to Know.) Premiums and deductibles are only one aspect of selecting cost-effective coverage. They should be reasonable and appropriate for your age and vitality. Younger individuals may be willing to risk a higher deductible in order to lower monthly premiums. However, if you’re older and more likely to meet or exceed deductible levels, high deductible plans are probably inadvisable. Participating practitioners in your plan change yearly. Make a list of all your medical professionals including specialists like audiologists, physiotherapists, etc. Make sure you can still access your selected providers and check which are classed as in-network. Prescription coverage changes annually too. A drug that was covered this year may be in a higher priced drug tier or not included at all in next year’s plan. Use the labels on your prescription containers to prepare a list of your medications and dosages. Individual healthcare needs are primary, even if you’re part of a couple. The plan that suits your partner’s healthcare needs may not be most appropriate for you, so make sure your plan addresses your needs. (For more, see: The Bad News About Long-Term Care.) Medicare star ratings reflect how well a particular plan did across a number of different categories, including quality of care and customer service. These Medicare-assigned ratings can be very helpful when comparing specific plans side by side. Help is Available Research shows that most retirees rarely or never re-evaluate their Medicare coverage once they’ve enrolled and made initial selections. One reason for this is the complexity of the Medicare system, which can seem confusing. However, help is available. The main Medicare website includes vast amounts of helpful information and links to other resources. It can also help you contact representatives familiar with the options in your state, in order to review plan available in your region. The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) also provides state-by-state Medicare assistance. 1-800-MEDICARE is toll-free. Representatives can help you find the lowest-cost plans based upon the medications you take, your medical providers and more. They can even enroll you in a new plan and automatically dis-enroll you from your current plan. Note that changes always take effect at year end. (For more help, see: Medicare 101: Do You Need All 4 Parts? Employer-Sponsored Retiree Health Plans If you have access to one, an employer-sponsored retirement plan likely remains the best option for healthcare coverage during retirement. Your former employer may contribute a portion of the premium and will likely undertake due diligence to ensure broad, reasonably-priced coverage. A Note of Caution Before You Switch Plans As an important note, if you’re on Medicare, one thing to be aware of is that some plans require medical underwriting when you change. Unless you live in one of the states where your right to change is protected by legislation (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, California, Maine, Missouri, Oregon and Washington), then be careful about skirting annual expenses at the risk of losing access to a better plan in the long run. Ultimately, it may not be worth switching insurance for small savings but even if you don’t make policy changes, evaluating your coverage annually is still important. At the very least, it’ll give you a firm idea of your plan coverage and costs for the coming year. And if you’re in good health, a plan evaluation and change in policy may yield substantial savings.