08/26/2026
She opened the Annual Notice of Change letter every year. All 30 pages of it. And every year, she called me and said the same thing: 'Jan, I don't know what I'm looking at.' π
Helen does everything right. She opens the letter the day it arrives. She reads it carefully. But 30 pages of insurance fine print is designed for compliance, not clarity.
Here's what I told her: you don't need to read every page. You need to know exactly where to look.
The 4 things that matter most in your Annual Notice of Change:
1οΈβ£ Your monthly premium β did it change?
2οΈβ£ Your drug formulary β are your medications still covered at the same tier?
3οΈβ£ Your provider network β are your doctors and hospital still in network?
4οΈβ£ Your supplemental benefits β dental, vision, OTC card still included?
When Helen and I went through her letter together, we found her premium had gone up $28 a month β and one of her medications had jumped from tier 2 to tier 4, nearly tripling her copay.
We switched her plan during AEP. She saved $340 over the following year.
Your Annual Notice of Change arrives by September 30. When it comes, open it β and look for those four things. If anything has changed, call me before December 7.
October 15 β December 7 is your window. Don't let it close without taking a look.
π Book a no-cost Medicare review call β link in bio.
π New to Medicare? Join me Tuesday at 11am for Medicare 101 β link in bio.