Enrolling in a Medicare Advantage Plan
2013 Medicare Advantage Plan Enrollment
You may be eligible to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan during your Initial Coverage Election
Period (ICEP), when you become eligible for Parts A and B of Medicare. This is usually during the three months prior,
the month of, and the three months after your 65th birthday month or your 25th month of disability.
Medicare's Special Election Period allows you to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan if
you meet other conditions.
This site contains useful information on all of our available plans. To view the 2013 plans, please click
here.
If you have questions about your enrollment eligibility, please call us at
1-866-249-8668
(TTY users call 711).
How to enroll:
We offer several ways to enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan:
Before you enroll:
- Read the Medicare Advantage enrollment disclaimer information.
- Have the following information available when you are ready to enroll:
- Your Medicare card, if applicable.
- Your Social Security information.
- Additional medical or prescription insurance plan information, if applicable.
- Your checking account and routing number –if you want to have your premium automatically
deducted from your bank account.
- If you plan on enrolling in a Medicare Advantage Health
Maintenance Organization (HMO) plan you will need to choose your
Primary Care Physician (PCP).
Want more information?
- Compare Medicare Advantage plans using our
Plan Finder.
- You can review the Summary of Benefits, Evidence of Coverage, and other plan documents
here.
- Feel free to call us at 1-866-249-8668
(TTY users call 711).
Medicare beneficiaries may also enroll in our plans through the CMS Medicare Online Enrollment Center,
located at www.Medicare.gov
(by clicking on this link you will be leaving our website)
Annual Election Period (AEP):
Medicare sets aside this period for enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDP). From October 15th to December 7th you have the opportunity to enroll in an MA or PDP plan, switch from your current plan or return to Original Medicare for coverage effective on January 1 of the following year.
Medicare Advantage:
Medicare Advantage plans are health plan options offered by private insurance companies that are approved by Medicare. If you join one of these plans, you generally get all of your Medicare-covered healthcare through that plan. Medicare Advantage plans (called MA plans) combine Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance) together in one plan, and they can also be combined with Part D prescription drug coverage (called MA-PD plans).
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO):
Sometimes called "managed care organizations," HMOs contract with doctors and hospitals who agree to accept their payments. In an HMO, you receive your care from the doctors, hospitals, and other providers who contract with the HMO.
(Universal American's Medicare Advantage HMO plans operate under the names TexanPlus® HMO in Texas, Generations Healthcare HMO in Oklahoma, and Today's Options® HMO in Indiana.)
Primary Care Physician (PCP):
A doctor that a member chooses who coordinates their healthcare with specialists and other providers. A PCP acts as the manager of your healthcare and can assist you in finding the right specialists when necessary. He or she is available to patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through regularly scheduled appointments or by other doctors providing "on-call" back up coverage. Most Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans require you to see your PCP before you see any other healthcare provider.
Special Election Period (SEP):
Special Election Periods allow you to enroll into or change plans outside of Medicare's standard enrollment periods. For example, if you move out of your Medicare Advantage plan's service area, you have a Special Election Period to enroll in a plan that is available in your new location. If you move into, reside in, or move out of a nursing home you may also have a Special Election Period. If you have Medicare and Medicaid, you have a Special Election Period that allows you to change Part D drug plans at any time.
Initial Coverage Election Period (ICEP)
The Initial Coverage Election Period (ICEP) is the period during which an individual newly eligible for a Medicare Advantage (MA) may make an initial enrollment request to enroll in an MA plan. This period begins three months immediately before the individual's first entitlement to both Medicare Part A and Part B and ends on the later of:
1. The last day of the month preceding entitlement to both Part A and Part B, or;
2. The last day of the individual’s Part B initial enrollment period.
The initial enrollment period for Part B is the seven (7) month period that begins 3 months before the month an individual meets the eligibility requirements for Part B, and ends 3 months after the month of eligibility.
Once an ICEP enrollment request is made and enrollment takes effect, the ICEP election has been used.