Medicare Open Enrollment arrives every fall with advertisements, mailers, phone calls, and warnings that can make it seem as though every beneficiary has to choose a new plan before December 7. In reality, doing nothing during Medicare Open Enrollment generally means your existing Medicare health and drug coverage continues automatically into the new year, provided the plan is still being offered. Medicare specifically says beneficiaries who choose to keep their current Medicare health and drug coverage don’t need to take action. The catch is that keeping the same plan doesn’t necessarily mean keeping the same costs, benefits, prescriptions, doctors, or other coverage details. That’s why “I like my plan” and “I don’t need to review my plan” aren’t quite the same thing.
