Medicare AEP Starts Oct 15: Your Last-Minute Enrollment Checklist

Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period starts October 15 and runs through December 7. If the season arrived faster than you expected, take heart: a thorough plan review does not have to stretch across weeks. With a good Medicare AEP enrollment checklist, you can gather everything you need and compare your options over a single weekend. This article is that checklist, laid out step by step, in the order that makes each step easier than the last. If you would rather spread the work across October and November on a week-by-week timeline, that works too; this version is for people who want to sit down once and get it done.

This article is educational only. Medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE are the official sources for complete information on all of your Medicare options.

Your Medicare AEP Enrollment Checklist at a Glance

• Gather your Medicare card and current plan information
• Write out your full prescription list, with dosages
• List the doctors and facilities you want to keep
• Review your Annual Notice of Change
• Set your budget: premiums versus out-of-pocket costs
• Compare a shortlist of plans against your lists
• Enroll and confirm your enrollment

Everything below expands on those seven items. Saturday morning covers the gathering; Sunday covers the comparing and deciding.

Step 1: Gather Your Medicare Card and Current Plan Information

Start with a folder, paper or digital, and put these in it:

• Your red, white, and blue Medicare card, which carries your Medicare number
• Your current plan’s member ID card, if you have a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan
• Your plan’s Evidence of Coverage or benefit summary, if you can find it
• A note of what you currently pay each month in premiums

Having these in one place means you will not stall mid-comparison hunting for a member number.

Step 2: Write Out Your Prescription List, With Dosages

This list does more work than any other item on the checklist, so make it complete:

• Every medication you take regularly, by exact name
• The dosage and form of each one, since costs can differ by strength and form
• How often you fill it: monthly, quarterly, or as needed
• The pharmacy you use, because plans treat pharmacies differently
• Occasional medications too, such as an inhaler or seasonal prescription

Plans organize drugs into formulary tiers, and two plans can cover the same medication at very different costs. Exact names and dosages let you compare what you would actually pay, not a rough guess.

Step 3: List the Doctors You Want to Keep

Networks change from year to year, so write down:

• Your primary care physician
• Every specialist you see, from cardiology to dermatology
• Your preferred hospital or health system, whether that is a Broward County facility or one closer to family elsewhere
• Any upcoming procedures and where you plan to have them

When you compare plans, look each of these up in the plan’s directory for the coming year rather than assuming a familiar name is in network.

Step 4: Review Your Annual Notice of Change

Your ANOC arrived in September if you are on a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Read it with your two lists beside you and mark:

• Premium, deductible, or copay changes for the new year
• Any of your medications moving tiers or leaving the formulary
• Network changes that touch your must-keep doctors
• Changes to extra benefits you actually use

If nothing meaningful changed and the plan served you well, your review may end early, since plans generally renew automatically. If something did change, you now know precisely what to shop against.

Step 5: Set Your Budget: Premiums Versus Out-of-Pocket Costs

Before comparing, decide how you prefer to pay for care, because plans balance these differently:

• The monthly premium you are comfortable paying all year
• The deductible you would need to meet before certain coverage starts
• Copays for the visits and refills you know are coming
• The out-of-pocket maximum, your ceiling in a heavier health year

Think in terms of a realistic full-year total rather than the premium alone. And if you are weighing Medicare Advantage against Original Medicare with a Medigap policy, remember both are valid paths; which fits better depends on your doctors, your medications, and how you like to budget.

Step 6: Compare Plans and Confirm Your Enrollment

With your folder built, the comparison itself moves quickly:

• Shortlist two or three plans available in your county
• Check every medication on your list against each plan’s formulary
• Look up every must-keep doctor in each plan’s directory
• Total the realistic yearly cost of each option using your budget notes
• Enroll in your choice, then save the confirmation number
• Watch the mail for your new member card before January 1

You do not have to run the comparison alone. The Medicare team at Maher Insurance Group can take the lists from this Medicare AEP enrollment checklist and run them against plans from multiple A-rated carriers in one sitting, at no cost to you. As an independent brokerage, we are paid by the carriers, not by our clients. And if you enroll and later find a better fit, you can submit a new enrollment any time before December 7; the last enrollment submitted before the deadline is the one that counts.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Medicare AEP start and end?

The Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 through December 7 each year. It is for people who already have Medicare and want to change their coverage for the coming year. Changes made during the window take effect on January 1.

What documents do I need to compare Medicare plans?

Your red, white, and blue Medicare card, your current plan’s member ID card, your Annual Notice of Change, a complete prescription list with dosages, and a list of the doctors and facilities you want to keep. With those five items, a comparison goes quickly.

Why do I need drug dosages and not just drug names?

Plans place drugs on formulary tiers, and the tier or cost can differ by dosage and form. A comparison built on exact dosages shows what you would actually pay at the pharmacy, while a list of drug names alone can miss real differences between plans.

Can I really complete a Medicare plan review in a weekend?

Yes, if the gathering is done first. Collecting your card, plan documents, prescription list, and doctor list takes an hour or two, and with those in hand, comparing a shortlist of plans is very doable across a weekend, especially with a licensed agent assisting at no cost.

What happens after I submit my enrollment?

You receive a confirmation, your new plan mails a member card and welcome materials, and coverage begins on January 1. If you change your mind before December 7, you can submit a new enrollment, and the last one submitted before the deadline is the one that counts.

Check the Last Box With Help at No Cost

A weekend and a Medicare AEP enrollment checklist are genuinely enough to make an informed choice for the coming year. If you would like a licensed agent to work through the checklist with you, call Maher Insurance Group at (866) 220-2834, or start with our short online questionnaire and we will follow up at a time that works for you.

Maher Insurance Group is a licensed independent insurance brokerage and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to the plans we do offer. Contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE for information on all of your options.