Question: I changed my plan during the Annual Open Enrollment Period and I still haven’t heard from my new plan, what do I do?

Answer; This year I feel like everyone changed their coverage. But I realize that some of you do not. For those that didn’t change your coverage, you are all set. You don’t have to do anything but celebrate the holidays and enjoy winter in WNY. For those of you that did change your coverage for 2025 you are now waiting for your new plan information.

The first item that will arrive will be a confirmation letter of your enrollment. This confirmation has your Prescription Drug Coverage ID information on the top of the letter. This letter can be used as an insurance card, while you wait for the real one to arrive.

It is also important to remember your new coverage does not begin until January 1, 2025. The plan has more than two more weeks to get you that confirmation letter. In those couple households where both individuals changed their coverage, I often hear that one of them got their material and the other didn’t. Be patient, it is coming.

Later you will receive the new bill and this likely will be after January 1. Your coverage will still work even though you haven’t paid the premium. You have the whole month of January to get that paid.

If you haven’t heard from them by January 1st, I would suggest reviewing the documents that you have from that enrollment process to find the contact information for the new company. Call them to explain that you enrolled in one of their products and have not heard from them yet. Your enrollment documents included a confirmation number. That confirmation number is what they use to track down the enrollment. The delay may be a typo or misinformation on the application which can be corrected later.

You may need your Medicare card so that they can search their system for your records. Hopefully this phone call will solve your dilemma. If they have you in the system they can give you the ID #’s over the phone, and you can give those numbers to your pharmacy/doctor’s office.

In the situation where the company does not find you in the records, or you can’t get through to them, I would recommend contacting 1-800-medicare or www.medicare.gov. If you did your enrollment through one of these sources (on-line or with Medicare customer service) they will be able to trace the enrollment and give you the information you are looking for. But I do want to caution you about calling so soon, please give them time to get you the information first.

If you went to an individual, the insurance company’s website or their offices, my recommendation would be to track down the enrollment using that same source. It is helpful if you know the date and time you were helped and what your interpretation of what happened. Sometimes people ‘think’ they enrolled in a plan when they really just got information about it.

If you don’t have enrollment records then you can still use the 1-800-medicare or www.medicare.gov tools. The website allows you to create a login and password that will track your coverage history and new plan enrollment. This login and password on this website will give you the information you need to track down your enrollment information.

It may be that your chosen product is pretty overwhelmed and having a hard time responding to the demand for their product. Every year some plans have higher than expected enrollment. That means this company or companies are swamped with enrollments and have to get out millions of packets to millions of enrollees. Overall this Medicare Open Enrollment process flows pretty smoothly. The 67 million individuals with Medicare evaluate, and then may choose to switch their insurance coverage to an alternate plan. MOST of these individuals navigate this process smoothly. If you are one of the individuals who are having a hard time, you did the correct thing in reaching out for help.

Once you get your new information and new insurance cards, be sure to inform your providers and your pharmacy, but not until after 1-1-25. That is when your new coverage begins.

Janell Sluga is a Geriatric Care Manager helping seniors in our community access services and insurance. To reach her, please email editorial@post-journal.com.