Annual Notice of Coverage

Your Medicare Advantage Plan or Part D plan sends an Annual Notice of Coverage (ANOC) with information about changes to your coverage in the upcoming year. It’s usually sent out around September, since it can help you decide whether you want to make coverage changes during Medicare’s Fall Open Enrollment period, October 15 to December 7.

There are three kinds of changes to look for in an ANOC:

• Changes to your plan’s costs, such as premiums, deductibles, and copays
• Changes to the plan’s network that might affect coverage for your current providers and pharmacies
• Changes to the plan’s formulary that might affect coverage of your current drugs or their prices

After you’ve read about the changes to your coverage coming up in the new year, you can decide if your plan will still meet your needs or if you’ll want to change it during Fall Open Enrollment.

If you haven’t received your notice by September 30th, contact your plan to request a copy.

If you need to make changes to your Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, please call and make an appointment with your SHIP (state health insurance assistance program) coordinator, Lynn Hixon, at the DeKalb County Council on Aging at 256-845-8590.