Medicare Part D Election Periods

Added: (Mon May 29 2006)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Now that the deadline has passed for the initial enrollment period, many
medicare recipients want to know when changes can be made to their Part D
program. While they are all good programs, medicare recipients might not have all their drugs covered under the program they initially signed up for.
Medicare allows specific times in which changes can be made.

There are three major periods in which changes can be made. These periods are called "election periods". The first one is the Initial Election Period, the second is the Annual Election Period, and the third one is the Special Election Period.

Individuals who become eligible for Medicare on or after February 1, 2006 will have an Initial Enrollment Period for Part D that is the 7 month period
surrounding Medicare eligibility (same as the IEP for Part B). This is the
7-month period that begins the 3 months before the month an individual meets the eligibility requirements for Medicare Part B and ends 3 months after the month of eligibility.

Example: Mrs. Jones' 65th birthday is April 20, 2006. She is eligible for
Medicare Part A and her Medicare Part B initial enrollment period begins on
January 1, 2006. Therefore, her IEP for Medicare Part D begins on January 1, 2006 and ends on July 31, 2006.

The next election period is the Annual Election Period (AEP) for Medicare Part D changes. Regardless of when you became eligible for medicare benefits, all medicare beneficiaries will have the opportunity to make a new Medicare part D selection between November 15 and December 31 of each year.

There are many types of Special Election Periods (SEP) for medicare, each has a slight variance on the election period. One of the most commonly encountered situations is a change in permanent residence to North Carolina. In this situation, the medicare SEP begins the month prior to the month of the individual's permanent move and continues during the month of the move and up to two months after the move. If the beneficiary notifies the medicare Part D sponsor more than two months after the permanent move, the individual is no longer eligible for a medicare SEP.

If you have any questions about medicare or medicare related topics, contact
your local agent or research online at sites like http://www.thackeragency.com.