Saint Augustine, Fl (PRWEB) December 06, 2012

Q1Medicare.com reminds seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries that the 2013 annual Open Enrollment Period ends on Friday, December 7, 2012. During the 2013 Open Enrollment Period (or OEP), seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries can join, change or drop their Medicare Part D prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan. Any 2013 Medicare plan changes made by midnight, December 7th will take effect on January 1, 2013.

Medicare beneficiaries, who still wish to get an overview of their 2013 Medicare plan options, can use the Q1Medicare.com Medicare Advantage plan finder (MA-Finder.com/2013) and Medicare Part D prescription drug plan finder (PDP-Finder.com/2013) tools.

For people who are having difficulties making their 2013 Medicare plan decision, we suggest they telephone Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 and ask a Medicare representative to help them evaluate their 2013 Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plan options, notes Dr. Susan Johnson, Technical Director of the Q1Medicare.com site and co-founder of Q1Group LLC. Medicare representatives are available 24 hours per day, so during this busy time of year, we suggest that people telephone Medicare during off-peak hours to minimize their wait time.

After the December 7th OEP deadline, most people will only have a limited opportunity to change their 2013 Medicare plan coverage before next years 2014 Open Enrollment Period, unless they can take advantage of a 2013 Special Enrollment Period.

For example, some Medicare plans will not be renewing their contracts next year and Medicare beneficiaries who are in a non-renewing plan will no longer have their Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan coverage after December 31, 2012 unless they join a 2013 Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan. To help these Medicare beneficiaries, a Special Enrollment Period is being offered to the current members of non-renewing plans from December 8th through February 28, 2013. However, if a Medicare beneficiary wants Part D prescription drug or Medicare Advantage plan coverage for January 1, 2013, they must enroll in a plan by December 31, 2012.

Also, Medicare beneficiaries who were affected by Hurricane Sandy and unable to make a 2013 Medicare plan decision may be entitled to an extended 2013 annual Open Enrollment Period and can telephone Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 and speak with a Medicare representative for more information.

Finally, Medicare beneficiaries are reminded that making no decision is still a decision. As with previous years, Medicare beneficiaries have the option of making no changes during the 2013 Open Enrollment Period and they will be automatically re-enrolled into their existing 2012 Medicare plan for another year, along with any changes that their current Medicare plan may have made for 2013.

Existing Medicare plan members have already received their Annual Notice of Change (or ANOC) letter detailing any changes to their 2013 Medicare plan coverage, including changes in monthly premiums, deductibles, cost-sharing, and other plan features. Seniors can also use the Q1Medicare online PDP-Compare or MA-Compare tools to provide them with a quick overview of how their Medicare Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plan is changing in 2013.

Like other Q1Medicare.com tools the PDP-Finder, MA-Finder, PDP-Compare, and MA-Compare tools are available to all site visitors at no cost and designed for PC, smartphone and tablet platforms. As a convenience the results of the Q1Medicare plan finder tools can also be emailed or printed for offline use.

About the Q1Medicare.com Website

Q1Medicare.com is one of the largest independent online resources for Medicare Part D prescription drug plan and Medicare Advantage plan information. Q1Medicare offers a large selection of Frequently Asked Questions, online tools, and a free Medicare Part D Newsletter all designed to help Medicare beneficiaries, healthcare professionals, advocates, advisers, caregivers, and insurance agents better understand both the Medicare Part D prescription drug and Medicare Advantage programs. Q1Medicare.com is operated by Q1Group LLC (Saint Augustine, Florida).

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