October 15 to December 7
Medicare Annual Enrollment In Douglas County, Kansas
For a few weeks each autumn the whole drug and Advantage market reopens, and Douglas County plans are rewritten for January. Here is what that window really covers.
Every autumn the mail brings a thick envelope from your plan, and the deadline that closes this enrollment window lands in the first week of December. For most people none of it is urgent. It turns expensive only when a drug list or a network moves underneath a plan that has been fine for years. Asking for Medicare help in Lawrence costs you nothing, and whether the right answer is a change or no change at all is the subject of a yearly plan review.
Why the enrollment periods have such similar names
Several windows carry similar names, and only one belongs to autumn. Every Medicare enrollment window, including the ones that have nothing to do with autumn, is laid out on the Medicare enrollment help page. This page covers the autumn one.
Annual Enrollment, which is what most people mean by Open Enrollment, runs October 15 to December 7 and is open to everyone on Medicare. Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment is a different window: January 1 to March 31, and only for people already holding an Advantage plan. Those are the two that get mixed up.
What You Can Do During AEP
Inside the window all of this is open to you, with no health questions asked.
- Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan
- A Medicare Advantage plan back to Original Medicare
- One Advantage plan to another
- One Part D plan to another
- Part D for the first time, with a possible late enrollment penalty
- Dropping drug coverage altogether
What You Cannot Do During AEP
- Change Medigap plans without medical underwriting, in most cases
- Count on being accepted for a Medigap policy without a guaranteed issue right
- Start any coverage before January 1
Medigap is not governed by AEP. Once your one-time Medigap window has closed, a Kansas carrier may ask about your health before accepting you, and it can say no.
Key Dates
Five dates run the Douglas County calendar.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sept 30 | The Annual Notice of Change has arrived from your plan |
| Oct 15 | Annual Enrollment opens |
| Dec 7 | Annual Enrollment closes |
| Jan 1 | Whatever you chose in the autumn takes effect |
| Mar 31 | Advantage Open Enrollment closes, the last change of the year |
The Douglas County AEP Checklist
Work down it in order. The first three happen at your own table.
- Read the Annual Notice of Change and mark every line that moved
- Write out each prescription with dose and frequency. Drug lists move more often than premiums do, so read what a formulary change would mean for a drug you take.
- List the doctors you mean to keep, including any specialist added this year
- Compare plans on the Medicare.gov Plan Finder, with a SHICK counselor, or with a licensed agent
- Make the change before December 7
- In January, check the new coverage at your first appointment and first pharmacy fill
Bring the notice and your prescription list to the phone, and Adam will work down that list with you.
Call Adam (785) 247-1314 Request a callWhere Douglas County Residents Can Get Help
- SHICK counseling, booked through the Douglas County Senior Resource Center. Free, unbiased counseling from trained volunteers who sell nothing. Call (785) 842-0543; the office at 745 Vermont St books the appointments, including those during Annual Enrollment. The statewide line is 1-800-860-5260. Source: dgcoks.gov, Senior Resource Center; kdads.ks.gov, SHICK
- Medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE. The government's own site for plan data and the Plan Finder. The hotline, 1-800-633-4227, is answered around the clock. Source: medicare.gov contact
The rest of what an older person in Douglas County might need, from rides to elder law, is listed on the Lawrence senior resources page. Readers in Eudora, Baldwin City or Lecompton, and those across the county line, have a Medicare page for the rest of the county that says what changes with an address.
Prefer a callback? Request one here and Adam will call within one business day.
Annual Enrollment questions people ask
What is the difference between AEP and Open Enrollment?
Most people use both names for the same autumn window. The trouble is the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period in the new year, which only current Advantage members can use.
Do I have to do anything during AEP?
No. A plan you are content with renews on its own. Read the notice first so you know what you are renewing into.
When does new coverage start?
January 1. Nothing signed in October or November starts earlier, and the plan you hold now pays claims to the end of December.
Can I cancel Medicare Advantage during AEP?
Yes, by returning to Original Medicare. Line up a stand-alone drug plan in the same conversation, and ask first whether a Kansas carrier will still sell you a Supplement.
Is there a penalty for switching plans during AEP?
No. A change made inside the window carries no charge of any kind. The Part D late enrollment penalty is a separate matter: a break of 63 days or more in creditable drug coverage is what sets it off, and the surcharge then counts every full month you were uncovered from the close of your Initial Enrollment Period onward.
Want help with your AEP review?
Bring the ANOC letter and your prescription list. Adam does the comparison at no cost.
Call (785) 247-1314 Or request a callback