Make the most of your current plan benefits

The Annual Enrollment Period is just around the corner (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7). Before we get there, let’s make the most of your current plan benefits.

If you are currently on a Medicare Advantage Plan, you have some benefits that you may not be using or may still have a balance available. One of the benefits is a Dental benefit. Your plan might include Preventive Dental only. In that case, you can get two cleanings and exams and one bitewing x-ray in the calendar year. If your plan includes comprehensive dental coverage, then you could have coverage for a service you have put off but no longer need to.

You might also have a Vision benefit. This benefit will generally cover one routine eye exam per year. This exam might even include refraction. The plan also usually gives an allowance to put toward frames or contacts.

The Hearing benefits vary from plan to plan. All will include an annual routine hearing exam. Some will give you an allowance toward hearing aids and others will give lower copay amounts for hearing aids. Some give an annual allowance, and others restrict the allowance to something like “every 2 years” or “every 3 years”.

You also likely have a quarterly, or monthly, benefit for Over-the-Counter (OTC) items. This is a benefit that allows you to get things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, bandaids, vitamins, supplements, shower stools, adult diapers, and more with your allowance. Unless your plan specifies otherwise, you usually need to use the OTC amount in the period, or it will be gone. If it is a quarterly benefit, it will only be available for the quarter.

Remember all benefits end at the end of the calendar year and reset January 1 to the new plan offerings. If you have questions about how your plan works, you can call the Member Support/Customer Service number on the back of your plan’s card or call me and I can help you.

If you have Medicare plus a Medicare Supplement, your plan might have some added benefits but few plans do. You might have a Vision Discount, Hearing Discount, or a gym membership built into your plan. Be sure to ask your plan, agent, or feel free to call me to find out if you have anything available to you.