2011 marks the beginning of big changes for Medicare recipients according to the article “Medicare Changes Set for 2011″ by The Times-Standard. There are four major changes affecting beneficiaries which include:
- Annual wellness visits
- Paying less into the “donut hole”
- New annual open enrollment period for Medicare Advantage
- Medicare prescription drug plan updates
The National Council on Aging says these are just some of the changes Medicare will face in 2011 and each beneficiary may be affected differently. It’s so important for beneficiaries to understand how their plans will be affected. They may be surprised when they visit the doctor that their Medicare supplement plan doesn’t cover what they thought. For the most part, health care reform is designed to make things better for seniors, but there will inevitably be some scenarios where a recipient is negatively affected and they should tweak their plans to better suit their needs. For more information about Medicare and the new health care bill contact the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
