With Medicare season almost upon us, it’s important to know what to look for when assessing your Medicare options during the annual enrollment period. Start here:

Doctors and Drugs

Doctors and Drugs

Doctors and Drugs

Almost every plan out there has at least one benefit that’s better than its competitors, but I’ll let you in on a secret.  The plans are all about the same. Some have lower copays, better dental coverage, better travel coverage, fitness benefits than other plans. Unless you can predict how you will use the plan each year there is (in other words, how you’re going to get sick) there’s no way of predicting which plan will cost you less money. So, don’t get lured into the bells and whistles companies are offering, make sure you look first at:

Doctors and Drugs

Doctors and Drugs

Doctors and Drugs

Doctors can change networks any time they want. Network affiliations with hospitals, clinics and physician groups can change from year to year, sometimes, even in the middle of the year.  So, it’s extremely important to make sure your know of these changes. In addition, pharmacies can offer lower cost by being covered as a preferred provider one year but a standard pharmacy the next.  That change could cost you hundreds of dollars if you’re not prepared. Finally, the cost for medications can be drastically different from one plan to another. In short, unless you review your plan each year, you could be overpaying or worse yet, unable to visit your doctor because they are not longer in network.