Medicare enrollment specialists help guide people through enrollment process

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - There are some changes with this year’s Medicare enrolment that people need to think about.

Annual enrollment for seniors is the opportunity for them to make a plan to change if need be, according to Medicare Enrollment Specialist Chris Connell.

“And a lot of folks opt to do so for a couple of different reasons. Number one is their prices go up on their co-pays for different drugs, they want to see if there’s a a plan that has come into the market and to come in the. In the last year that. Might be better for their copay. This sometimes they. Have doctors that are no longer in-network for their current plan. They need to get a new plan.  That is a better cover in the doctors that they’re seeing. So it’s an important time for seniors. A mistake that’s common is seniors just get scared to make a change. And so they’ll sit in the same plan. That’s no longer the one that’s most beneficial for them, and so it’s an important time to take action, to see if they’re actually still in the best plan or if they need to, too. If they could make an improvement in their life by changing,” he said.

Right now, there are different enrollment categories for a lot of different categories. For seniors, annual enrollment started on Oct. 15 and ends on Dec. 7.

“So, we still got some time for those folks to make a plan, change or evaluate their options.  And for people under 65, their annual enrollment starts November 1.  So all our contractors out there, all our self-employed folks who don’t get health insurance through an employer, it’s their opportunity to either obtain insurance or upgrade what they have and make their changes as well,” Connell said.

Medicare can be very confusing for people. There are several factors to it and there are specialists out there that can help people find the best plan.

“You know a person like myself, who’s independent, my services are free,” Connell said. “I’m a broker. And so I do a free evaluation to let you know if you’re currently still in the best option or if there’s something better for you, someone like myself, I encourage you to get with who’s an objective third party who can help you make your evaluations. And that’s the easiest way to do it in my opinion, rather than try to do it online and get confused. Get a professional. The help is free.”

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