Medicare Annual Enrollment: a plain-English checklist

Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) runs October 15 through December 7 every year. During those weeks you can switch Medicare Advantage plans, join or leave a Part D prescription plan, or drop Advantage and go back to Original Medicare with a Supplement.

You do not have to change anything. If your doctors, drugs, and budget still line up, staying put is a real option. The mistake we see is assuming last year’s plan still works — formularies, networks, and premiums move every fall.

What to review before December 7

Pull last year’s Explanation of Benefits or a recent claim and check four things:

• Your primary doctors and specialists are still in-network for 2027.
• Your prescriptions are still on the plan’s formulary, at a tier you can afford.
• The premium, deductible, and out-of-pocket maximum still fit your budget.
• You actually used the extras you paid for — dental, vision, gym, OTC cards.

If any of those shifted, it is worth comparing. A lower premium that drops your oncologist is not a savings.

Advantage vs Supplement, in one paragraph

Medicare Advantage (Part C) bundles hospital, medical, and usually drugs through a private carrier, with networks and extra benefits. A Medicare Supplement (Medigap) sits on top of Original Medicare and pays more of the 20% coinsurance — you keep seeing any doctor who takes Medicare, and you add Part D separately. Neither is “better.” The right one depends on how you use care and whether you travel.

South Carolina has a wide Advantage market in the Midlands. If you are in Columbia, Lexington, Irmo, or Chapin, we can run the same census against the carriers actually available in your ZIP.

How we help

Bring your Medicare card, a medication list, and the doctors you refuse to leave. We will compare the options that are actually available to you — not a national average — and walk through the tradeoffs in plain English. Consultations are free. We are paid by the carriers, not by you.