Quick Facts about this Medicare Annual Enrollment Period

The Medicare Open Enrollment Period has just begun (Oct 15th-Dec 7th) and rumors are abounding that the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) will wreck Medicare.

While it is true that federal funding for Medicare Advantage plans is being reduced by 2% for 2014, upon current previews of area plans, the effect of this reduction is minimal.

Here are some quick facts about how the Affordable Care Act will affect your Medicare plan:

• Some plans will increase co-pays, Out-of-Pocket limits could increase, and a couple of plans could have a minor premium increase; however, overall, continued increasing costs for medical services are a major factor in these plan adjustments.
• “Obama Care” has had a POSITIVE effect on Prescription Drug costs for Medicare recipients. As a direct result of “Obama Care”, you will now pay less if you reach the “doughnut hole”. For 2014, you will pay 47.5% of brand costs while in the “hole”. Before 2012, you would have paid 100% on most plans.
• If you have a Medicare Supplement (F or G plan, for example), your plan coverage will not change but throughout the year the supplement plans will each most likely have a single premium increase as in previous years.

Angie Serrano