Your Annual Enrollment Checklist

It’s time to choose a Medicare coverage plan. The pages of this Open Enrollment guide are full of options from health providers in Southern California who can meet your needs and offer assistance. But it’s also important to approach any big health decision armed with knowledge: knowing yourself, having a snapshot of your health, and prioritizing what you’ll need – and want – out of health coverage for 2024.

It can be as easy as asking yourself these simple questions prior to delving into the details of a health plan:

Has your health changed significantly since last year?
In a lifetime of use, our bodies go through many transitions. Part of this is as simple as aging itself, certain things don’t work as deftly as they may once have. But beyond these permanancies of getting older, it’s good to check in with yourself and your medical professionals and consider if anything significant has changed. Have you been diagnosed with a long-term condition? Have you had an accident in 2023? Have large life events affected your physical or mental health? Even things that seem like they are unrelated (a move, a change in family structure, or a different habit) can have an outsize impact, so take stock and take notes!

Have you (or are you in the process of) using new treatments or medications?
The world of specialized care is growing and morphing constantly in health coverage, and this includes prescription drugs. With so many new and different medications coming on the market, price disparities and coverage models can vary widely. It’s deeply important to have a working list of all medications you take, or have taken, in the course of your year so Medicare experts can help you get the best costs for your medications, especially those you rely on. The same is true for treatments – if you’re getting specialized care, it’s important to know not only how it will be covered, but where the specialist is – for those with mobility issues, a nearby doctor can mean the difference between receiving needed help or not.

What do you want from your health coverage?
This can be a more fun question – what kind of perks and benefits do you want from a health plan? For many Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, the sky can be the limit when it comes to valuable perks. Many plans offer things like eye exams, hearing, dental, exercise benefits (including gym memberships and fitness equipment like wearable trackers), rideshare stipends and even healthy meal options. Coming into an Annual Election period with a wishlist of benefits in addition to your needs can help an expert tailor your coverage for you so you really get the most out of your Medicare.

Regardless of what you need or want from your coverage, it’s always best to consult with an expert – the world of Medicare benefits is multifaceted and often confusing, so having a partner in your planning can allow you to focus on what matters most – on your health and wellness rather than be mired in the details.

-Alan LaGuardia