Include Medicare Advantage Plan Enrollment in Thanksgiving Week To-Do List
Date: 11/20/2023
AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 20, 2023 – Once the calendar turns to November, to-do lists only seem to get longer until the New Year arrives. Amidst the scramble to keep up with Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday this week, don’t lose sight of one of the year’s biggest to-dos—selecting health care coverage for 2024.
From the time the turkey comes out of the oven on Thursday, there are only 14 days remaining to choose a Medicare Advantage plan for the 2024 plan year. SummaCare offers the following advice to help make the best plan decision before the December 7 enrollment deadline.
What if you’re new to Medicare?
Try not to focus on the mountains of information and options that are available. Instead, take a personal approach and make a list of topics that are important to you and your health. Important, common questions include:
- What monthly premium can you afford?
- Do you need both medical and pharmacy benefits?
- Are my doctors, dentists and preferred hospitals in network?
- What extra benefits and services like fitness memberships and wellness programs are available?
- Is the plan of high quality? How is it rated on Medicare’s “Plan Finder” tool at medicare.gov?
What benefits are important to you?
Take a similar approach with benefits—focus on the plan aspects that are personal to you. Several of the most common questions we hear are:
- Do you have comprehensive and affordable pharmacy coverage?
- What is the inpatient hospital copay and is there a cap or limit?
- What is your primary care provider copay?
- Do you have deductibles on medical or pharmacy coverage?
- What value-added benefits are included for vision services, vaccinations, fitness or wellness programs and online tracking tools?
Help is available.
If you’re unable to easily find the information you need, contact the health plans directly. Speak with a knowledgeable, licensed sales representative about the choices available to you. Also, look for helpful charts that allow side-by-side comparisons of different plans.
Go online.
Look up plans in your area by visiting
medicare.gov. If you have a specific plan you’re considering, visit the plan’s website directly for additional information. In many instances, applications can be submitted online – saving paperwork and time.
About SummaCare
SummaCare is a provider-owned, regional health insurance company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. It offers Medicare Advantage plans, individual and family plans, employer group plans and health management services throughout Northern Ohio. SummaCare is consistently recognized for excellence in its industry. U.S. News & World Report named SummaCare a “Best Insurance Company for 2023 Medicare Advantage Plans.” SummaCare Commercial PPO plans as well as its Individual & Family Marketplace plans earned the accreditation status of “Accredited” by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for 2019–2022. For additional information, visit summacare.com, facebook.com/summacare, instagram.com/summacareinsurance, linkedin.com/company/summacare.
SummaCare is an HMO and HMO-POS plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in SummaCare depends on contract renewal. H3660_SC704_C 11072023
Media Contact: Maureen Nagg
Phone: 234.475.0193
