You may be seeing lots of Medicare-related mail coming to the person in your care starting in early fall. Medicare’s annual Open Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15-Dec. 7, and is a time when people can join, switch, or disenroll from Medicare health (Medicare Advantage) and/or prescription drug (Part D) plans. It's also a time rife with misleading marketing that can cause confusion.

Here we answer some common questions caregivers may have about what happens during the annual Open Enrollment period, and how to help your loved one navigate their coverage.

My parents have been on Medicare for five years. Do they have to do anything during Open Enrollment? 

There is no requirement to do anything during Medicare Open Enrollment. But because Medicare health and drug plans can change from year to year in terms of cost, coverage, and provider networks, you may want to check on whether their current plan will still meet their needs and their budget.  Open enrollment is a great time to reevaluate a parent's or other care recipient's current plan(s) and compare other plans.

To help you better navigate Open Enrollment, we have posed some common scenarios and answered some common questions caregivers have when helping their care recipients consider and compare their coverage options for the year ahead.

For example, Medicare Part D drug plans often change which medications are on their formularies (approved drug lists) and how much those drugs cost. It’s worthwhile to see whether switching plans can save money for the person in your care.

Learn how to choose a Medicare plan during Open Enrollment.

Someone came to my dad’s door and tried to get him to sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan from a specific company. Is that legal?

Medicare Open Enrollment is often ripe for fraudulent behavior by people representing, or claiming to represent, plans. Medicare sets very strict rules for what brokers/agents are allowed to do and not do when marketing health and drug plans. 

A Medicare broker or agent cannot:

• Come to your home uninvited to sell or endorse anything
• Offer you cash (or gifts worth more than $15) to join their plan
• Sell you a non-Medicare product, like life insurance, during a sales pitch for a Medicare plan
• Pressure you to enroll in a specific plan
• Ask for payment, as there is no broker’s fee and the plan will bill the person enrolled
• Ask for names and numbers of friends/family to sell plans to them

If you think this person came to your father’s door without prior communication or an appointment, you can report this behavior to Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

What’s the deal with $0 premium Medicare Advantage plans? Are they really free?

Many Medicare Advantage plans have a premium of $0. But that doesn’t mean your health care is free. Unless someone qualifies for a Medicare Savings Program, they will still be responsible for paying the monthly Part B premium.

And there are other costs associated with plans, such as an annual deductible (amount you pay before the plan’s coverage kicks in), copayments for services, and co-insurance (a percentage of costs). When comparing plans for the person in your care, it’s important to look at the overall estimate of how much they will pay out of pocket during the year. 

Can my mom switch her Medigap plan during the Medicare Open Enrollment Period? 

Medigap is supplemental insurance that helps offset the costs of Medicare Parts A and B. Like Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, Medigap policies are sold by private insurance companies.

Switching Medigap plans is more difficult than switching a Medicare health or drug plan. Medigap policies are intended to provide wraparound cost coverage for the rest of your life. Depending on your state’s insurance rules, companies can refuse to sell you a new policy if you’re outside of your initial Medigap enrollment period (the six-month window when you first enroll in Part B). 

Your mother can use the Medicare Open Enrollment Period to leave Medigap and select a Medicare Advantage plan. But know that if she is not happy with this decision, she may have limited opportunities to reenroll in Medigap. If she is able to buy or switch a Medigap policy later, it may cost more.

Discover other scenarios during which you can switch Medigap plans.

My husband always has buyer’s regret. What if he chooses a Medicare Advantage plan and doesn’t like it? Does he have to wait an entire year to get a new plan? 

Fortunately for your husband, there is a way out that doesn’t require waiting a full year.

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs from Jan. 1 through March 31. During this time, someone who is enrolled in a Medicare Advantage health plan as of the first day of the year can switch a different Medicare Advantage plan with or without drug coverage or leave Medicare Advantage and return to original Medicare with the ability to also join a separate Part D drug plan.

In both instances, the new plan coverage will begin the first day of the month after your new plan gets your request to enroll. 

How true are those Medicare advertisements claiming to provide coverage for dental, vision, and hearing benefits?  

Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. Keep in mind that the ads are designed to prompt people with Medicare to call a phone number, enter an email address, or perform some other action to learn more about an advertised plan.

Yet it's important to know that responding to such ads in any of these ways makes the person in your care more likely to be the target of even more direct marketing and possibly high-pressure sales tactics. 

I feel overwhelmed by the information. Where can I get trusted support to help make decisions for the person in my care?

There are many considerations when choosing a Medicare plan, and it is normal to need guidance as you help make Medicare decisions with your care recipient. Here are three resources where you and the person in your care can talk to trained, trusted Medicare counselors free of charge:

• For help understanding their Medicare options and how they can save money on costs, you can contact the local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) by calling 877-839-2675 or visiting shiphelp.org. SHIP uses trained volunteers to offer trusted, unbiased Medicare counseling.
• You and your care recipient can also compare 2025 coverage options and shop for plans using Medicare Plan Finder or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE to talk with a customer support representative. TTY users should call 877-486-2048. The Medicare Support Hotline is available 24/7, except for some federal holidays.
• To get Medicare support from a trusted expert who can explain information in clear, easy-to-understand terms, you can also reach out to one of NCOA’s partners who meet our stringent Medicare Standards of Excellence