With Medicare enrollment fast approaching, you’ll want to take the time to read about these mistakes to avoid when choosing your coverage.
When you turn 65, you can finally enroll in Medicare. It is an essential service that most older individuals need to cover medical and hospital expenses. However, Medicare enrollment is complicated and can quickly frustrate a newbie enrollee.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services lists over 62.4 million Medicare beneficiaries. If you plan on joining the masses and signing up for Medicare, then you’ll want to learn about possible mistakes and how to avoid them. Remember, mistakes can quickly become costly and complicate the entire process.
Yes, time can get away from you, but it is imperative that you not ignore open enrollment when you turn 65 years old. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with when each Medicare open enrollment period starts. Each year, Medicare open enrollment kicks off on October 15 and runs until December 7.
During the open enrollment period, you can finally make changes to the coverage or enroll in your Medicare plan. You review your plan at this time and look at all the options. Remember, coverage and pricing often change from year to year, so you’ll want to compare the different plans to decide if there is a better option for your specific needs.
Medicare is not completely free. Also, Medicare only covers a portion of your healthcare costs. These are key factors that many new enrollees do not realize. Ultimately, you will be responsible for all charges not covered by the plans.
You might start out shopping for Medicare coverage by comparing the premiums, but you will have a considerable out-of-pocket expense. A more expensive premium might save you more over the course of a year due to all these variables.
The factors that impact Medicare charges include:
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