Medicare
Plans can change every year. Each fall, during Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period, your HBS advisor checks yours and helps you decide whether to keep it or switch.
One review a year keeps your Medicare plan working for you.
Your Medicare plan may look familiar from one year to the next, but the details can change. That’s why an annual Medicare plan review matters.
Each fall, during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period, HBS reviews your coverage with you. We check your prescriptions, doctors, pharmacies, and total costs so you can compare your options and decide what fits your needs and budget.
- We review your Medicare plan with you every fall.
- You work with the same advisor who enrolled you.
- Meet at your home, at our Moon Township office, or by phone.
Learn more about working with a local Medicare broker who can review your coverage with you.
When is Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period?
Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) runs from October 15 through December 7 every year. Changes made during this period take effect January 1 of the following year.
This year’s dates
- October 15, 2026: Annual Enrollment Period opens
- December 7, 2026: Last day to make a change
- January 1, 2027: New coverage starts
- January 1–March 31, 2027: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period for people already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan
If your current plan still meets your needs, you don’t have to make a change. Your coverage renews.
For official details about enrollment and plan changes, visit Medicare.gov’s Joining a plan page.
What can change in your plan each year?
Your Medicare plan can change from one year to the next. Changes may affect your costs, prescription coverage, and access to doctors. Review these five areas each fall:
- Premiums: The amount you pay for your plan.
- Deductibles: The amount you pay for covered care or prescriptions before your plan begins paying, as defined by your coverage.
- Copays: The fixed amount you pay for a covered service or prescription.
- Prescription drug list: Which medications your plan covers.
- Provider networks: Which doctors and pharmacies participate in your plan.
Your plan sends an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) each fall. It explains changes that take effect in January. Medicare.gov says to expect this notice in September. If you don’t receive it, contact your plan.
Bring your ANOC to your HBS annual Medicare plan review. We’ll go through the changes with you so you can decide whether your current coverage still meets your needs.
Learn more about working with a local Medicare broker.
How to prepare for AEP: our 5-step review
Preparing for Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) starts with reviewing your current coverage. Your HBS advisor helps you check five key areas so you can decide whether to keep your plan or make a change.
1. Read your Annual Notice of Change
Your plan sends an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) each fall. It explains changes to your plan’s costs and coverage that take effect in January. Bring it to your review. If you haven’t received it, contact your plan. You can also read Medicare’s guide to upcoming plan changes.
2. List your prescriptions and pharmacies
Bring a current list of your prescriptions, including dosages, and the pharmacies you use. We check your actual prescription list against each plan’s formulary, or list of covered drugs. This helps you compare prescription coverage across your options.
3. Confirm your doctors and hospitals
Check whether your doctors, specialists, and hospitals are still in network with the plans you’re reviewing. Network participation can affect where you receive care under your plan. Ask your providers about their network status before making a decision.
4. Compare total yearly costs
Look beyond the monthly premium. Review each plan’s premiums, deductibles, copays, and estimated yearly costs. Comparing these expenses gives you a clearer picture of what you may pay over the year.
5. Decide whether to keep your plan or switch
After reviewing your options with your HBS advisor, you decide whether to keep your current plan or make a change before December 7. If you choose to switch, HBS handles the paperwork.
The decision is yours. When you’re ready, book your annual Medicare plan review with HBS.
Your options after the review
After your annual Medicare plan review, you can keep your current plan or compare other coverage options with your HBS advisor.
You can:
- Keep your current plan. If you’re satisfied with your coverage, you don’t need to do anything. Your plan renews.
- Switch Medicare Advantage plans. Compare how each plan covers your prescriptions and doctors.
- Move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
- Join, switch, or drop a Medicare drug plan.
Before moving from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare, ask your advisor about Medicare Supplement (Medigap) coverage. If your Medigap open enrollment period has ended, you may be subject to medical underwriting when you apply for a policy. This means the insurer may review your health history.
Your HBS advisor can explain this before you decide. Learn more about Medicare Supplement (Medigap) and Medicare Advantage or Medigap in Pennsylvania.
Changing plans outside the fall window
You may have options to change your Medicare coverage outside the Annual Enrollment Period.
The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs from January 1 through March 31. It applies only if you’re already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. During this period, you can make one change. You can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and join a drug plan.
A Medicare Special Enrollment Period (SEP) may apply after certain life events, including when:
- You move.
- You lose your current coverage.
- You have a chance to get other coverage.
- Your plan changes its contract with Medicare.
- Another special situation applies.
Review Medicare.gov’s full list of Special Enrollment Periods. Call your HBS advisor when something changes in your life or coverage.
What to have ready
Bring these six items to your annual Medicare plan review:
- Your Medicare card
- Your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)
- Your current plan name and member ID
- Your prescription list, including doses
- The pharmacies you use
- The names of your doctors and specialists
Who you’ll be working with
The advisor who enrolls you is the one who reviews your plan with you every year.
At HBS, you continue working with the same advisor for your annual review. Your review can take place at your kitchen table, at the HBS office in Moon Township, or by phone.
Common questions
When is Medicare open enrollment?
Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 through December 7 each year. Changes made during this period take effect January 1 of the following year. For a plan change, your plan must receive your request by December 7. You can review the official dates in Medicare.gov’s guide to joining a plan.
Do I have to re-enroll in Medicare every year?
No. If your current plan is still offered and you want to keep it, you don’t need to do anything. Your plan renews. An annual Medicare plan review is still useful because your plan’s costs, prescription coverage, and provider networks can change. Your HBS advisor can review those details with you each fall.
What’s the difference between AEP and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period?
The Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 through December 7. Anyone with Medicare can use this period to make eligible plan changes. The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs from January 1 through March 31. It applies only if you’re already enrolled in Medicare Advantage, and you can make one change during this period.
What is an Annual Notice of Change?
An Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) is a letter from your Medicare plan that lists changes to costs and coverage for the coming year. Medicare.gov says to expect it in September. Review the notice before deciding whether to keep your plan. Bring it to your annual review so your HBS advisor can help explain the changes.
What if I miss the December 7 deadline?
You may still have options. If you’re already enrolled in Medicare Advantage, you may be able to make one change during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, from January 1 through March 31. A Medicare Special Enrollment Period may also apply after certain life events. If neither applies, you may need to wait until the next Annual Enrollment Period. Call your HBS advisor when your circumstances change.
Does the annual review cost anything?
There is never a fee for our service. Carriers compensate us directly, so your premium is the same whether you work with us or enroll on your own. Your HBS advisor reviews your plan with you each year and helps you compare your options. You decide whether to keep your current plan or make a change.
Ready for your annual Medicare plan review?
Your HBS advisor can review your current Medicare coverage with you, check your prescriptions, and compare your options. You’ll work with the same advisor who enrolled you, whether you meet at home, visit the HBS office in Moon Township, or talk by phone.
Or call 412-865-3200 to talk to a licensed advisor.
No pressure. No obligation. Just a clear look at your Medicare options.
