Medicare’s 2012 Open Enrollment Period will run from October 15 through December 7.  During this period, people with Medicare can change their Medicare health and prescription drug plan coverage options.  Changes that are made on or before December 7 will take effect on January 1, 2012.

If you are happy with your Medicare plan, there is no need to take action. The official Medicare site has done a great job explaining the basics in a user-friendly way.

However, we encourage patients to pay attention and to understand their coverage, particularly in light of changes that may be coming as a result of Federal budget negotiations.  This is also a good time to review your Part D Prescription Drug Plan coverage.  If your medications have changed, it may be worth your while to do some research. 

The official Medicare site has a new design that makes it faster and easier to answer Medicare questions. You can set up your own account to track claims, providers, and manage your health and medications. The site offers tools to compare nursing homes and Medicare plans
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Another useful resource is The Medicare Rights Center website which has useful interactive tools and can help you with Part D questions and Medicare FAQs. The Center offers several useful newsletters that can help you stay informed. 

A word of caution:  Private Medicare Advantage Plans (Part C) can start marketing to you as of October 1. These are private HMO insurance plans that contract to Medicare to provide your services; they are not traditional Medicare. Before you make any decisions or changes to your Medicare, do your research. Don’t let a fancy marketing brochure fool you.