Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Alert

On January 1 Open Enrollment for Medicare Advantage marked its three-month enlistment period, running through March 31, 2010. Although it’s an opportunity for individuals, who are eligible for Medicare Advantage or Part C to subscribe to a comprehensive medical plan, which often includes prescriptions, Ohioans are also warned about predatory sales tactics.

Mary Jo Hudson, Director of the Ohio Department of Insurance recommends that beneficiaries can reduce the risk of unethical sales pitches related to fraud by seeking advice from a trusted associate. The problem is that Medicare is confounding for most laymen, leading to selecting an inappropriate policy.

Consumers should be aware of the following authorized circumstances during Medicare Advantage open enrollment.Individuals who are currently covered under Medicare Advantage plan which includes prescribed medication coverage, may use Open enrollment to opt for a different:

• Medicare care Plan with Prescription drug coverage
• The original Medicare plan along with a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan
• Private-Fee-For-Service plan and a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan

Open enrollment is also an opportunity for Ohioans on the Medicare Advantage plan –that do not have Part D prescription drug coverage to select another plan with or with without prescription drug coverage.

With Medicare Advantage plans confusing options and certain predatory sales tactics, President of Ohio Life and Health.com, Mike Novelli advises Medicare recipients to:

“Seek professional advice from a licensed agent, who represents numerous plans.For obvious reasons, Ohio health insurance agents who represent a single plan tend to be bias to the plan they are selling.”

Ohio Life and Health.com warns residents, who are eligible for Medicare Advantage to beware of any insurance broker,  agent or representative that

• Employs coercive sales tactics
• Does not thoroughly explain Medicare Advantage information
• Tries to gloss over Ohio health insurance information
• Is not licensed in Ohio

For hassle-free advice and ethical Medicare supplemental quotes, contact Mike Novelli, of Ohio Life and Health.com, by clicking on Ohio Medicare Open Enrollment or dial 1-866-522-5953.

Tags: Medicare Advantage, open enrollment

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 6:21 pm and is filed under Medicare. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.