You can make changes to your Medicare coverage each year during Medicare’s Open Enrollment, which runs October 15 to December 7. Around September, you will start to receive notices with information about any changes to your plan in the coming year. It is important to read and understand these notices, as they can help you decide if you should make changes to your coverage during Open Enrollment.  

First, understand your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) and Evidence of Coverage (EOC).

If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan or a Part D prescription drug plan, you should receive a notice called an Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC for short, and an Evidence of Coverage, or EOC. Your plan should send you these notices by September 30. If you do not receive these notices, contact your plan to request copies.  

These notices list any changes for your plan in 2025. 

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

• First, look for changes to your plan’s costs for the upcoming year. Costs such as deductibles and copayments can change each year. For example, your plan may not have a deductible in 2024 but could have one in 2025.

• Second, look for changes to the plan’s network. Plan networks can change each year, which means your doctor may not be in your plan’s network for 2025. If you see an out-of-network provider, your plan may not cover any of the cost of your care, so you should see if your providers and pharmacies will still be in network in 2025.

• And third, look for changes to the plan’s formulary, which is the list of drugs the plan covers. Formulary changes can happen from year to year, meaning your drug may not be covered in 2025 even if it was covered in 2024. Even if it is still on the plan’s formulary, the cost of your drug may have changed. After reading about the changes to your coverage for 2025, decide whether your plan will still be able to meet your needs in the upcoming year.

 Also look out for any notices explaining problems with your plan.  

In October, plans leaving the Medicare program in the coming year send out a Plan Non-Renewal Notice to people enrolled in the plan. If you receive this notice, you should make sure you are covered in 2025. You can choose to enroll in a new Medicare Advantage Plan or Part D plan during Open Enrollment, which again is October 15 through December 7. You can also enroll in a new plan up until the last day in February of the following year. You will be disenrolled from your previous plan starting January 1, though, so if you do not pick a new plan by then you will likely experience a gap in coverage until you enroll in a new plan.

In late October, Medicare also sends a Consistent Poor Performance Notice to people enrolled in a plan that has received a low rating on quality and performance for three or more years in a row. A low rating is three stars or fewer out of five. Plans are rated on their quality and performance, such as how well they handle appeals. This notice encourages you to look at other plan options in your area. If you want to change your plan, you can do so during Medicare’s Open Enrollment. If you are enrolled in a plan with a low rating, you can also change your plan at any time during the year. 

Finally, identify marketing violations or misleading enrollment tactics.

In October, you will likely start receiving mail from different insurance companies about the plans they offer. You can use this marketing information to compare your options. Although companies can send you mailings, you should know that they must follow certain rules when marketing their plans. These guidelines are in place to protect you from aggressive or misleading sales and enrollment tactics. For example, a plan cannot:

• Use language that suggests their plan is preferred by Medicare
• Call or email you if you have no prior relationship with them and did not ask them to do so
• Leave information like flyers or door hangers on your car or at your home if they came from a company that did not have an appointment with you.

When contacting plans, remember that you should take your time to review choices and make an informed decision.

Still have questions? 

Your SHIP is here for you! You can contact your SHIP for any Medicare-related questions or concerns you have. SHIP counselors are government funded to provide trusted, unbiased Medicare counseling at no cost to you. (Depending on your state, your SHIP may go by another name.) User our online SHIP Locator or call 877-839-2675 (and say “Medicare” when prompted) to find your local SHIP.

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