If you currently have a Medicare Advantage or Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, your plan can make changes to benefits each year. The carrier is required to send the 2025 Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) to review before the Annual Enrollment Period. The ANOC will notifying you of any changes to your plan for the new year. The timing of the ANOC is to give beneficiaries a chance to make a plan change if their current plan no longer meets their needs.
- What is on the Medicare ANOC?
- How do I review my Medicare ANOC?
- Plan name changes and plan exits?
- Plan cost and benefit changes?
- Plan prescription, formulary and provider changes?
What is on the 2025 Medicare Annual Notice of Change and how can changes affect me?
The Medicare ANOC provides valuable details about any changes to your plan’s coverage that will take effect January 1st of the upcoming year. Plans can change their benefits, formularies, copays, deductibles, and/or provider networks each year. Some of these changes could have a negative impact on your costs or ability to seek care. For instance, if your doctor leaves the network then you may have to choose a new doctor or pay higher costs to get care from them. The ANOC will also list if your plan is changing names or exiting the market (discontinuing the plan).
Due to the new 2025 Medicare reforms on prescription drugs, it is extremely important that you review the 2025 Medicare Annual Notice of Change for any plan changes!
How do I review the Medicare Annual Notice of Change for plan changes?
The carrier mails the ANOC before September 30th each year, so watch for it in your mail and review it as soon as it arrives. The document will include several sections of potential changes for different coverage areas of the plan. Below are the sections you need to review:
Review Plan Name or Plan Exit Changes:
The first section of the ANOC will list if your plan will change its name or exit the market. If your plan does exit, it will also tell you if you will be automatically enrolled in a different plan or not. If they don’t enroll you in something new, then they will drop you starting January 1st. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to plan exits so you can find a new plan during the Annual Enrollment Period. Aside from the Annual Enrollment Period, you will qualify for a Special Enrollment Period that gives you extra time to enroll in a new plan. Learn more in our previous blog, Exploring the Medicare Plan Non-Renewal SEP
Review Changes to Benefits and Costs:
This section will list all cost or benefit changes in a side-by-side table. This makes it easy to see any changes between the current year and the upcoming year. You should review each section to check for changes to premium, maximum out-of-pocket, provider visits, copay or coinsurance, and changes to extra benefits. These may include all of the following:
- Premiums
- Maximum Out-of-pocket Amounts (both in and out of network)
- Inpatient hospital costs
- Outpatient care costs
- Co-pays, Coinsurance, Deductibles
- Emergency/ Urgent care costs
- Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) costs
- Extra benefits changes (dental, vision, hearing, Over-the-Counter)
- Referral and prior authorization changes.
Review Part D drug coverage changes:
Next, you will want to review any changes to your prescription drug coverage. The Annual Notice of Change lists changes to drug tier copays, deductibles and drug stages. In addition, drug plans can also change their formulary list each year. Sometimes this means dropping a drug from the plan or moving a drug to a different tier.
Unfortunately, the ANOC will not list changes to your specific prescriptions! So even if the tiers don’t show a copay change, your costs may change if the formulary adjusts your drugs. You have to research the formulary to see how your prescriptions are affected. The ANOC will list a link to their formulary for the new year. This can be time consuming and confusing to search on your own. We suggest seeking the help of a licensed agent to help you.
Review Provider Network Changes:
Similar to prescription formualries, provider networks can change every year. The carrier can add or remove doctors, clinics, and even hospitals. The ANOC will not list if your specific providers are still in network or not, but they will provide a link to their provider directory where you can search yourself. We highly recommend you seek the assistance of an agent who can look these up for you. Our agents can help you at no cost to you!
Many benefit changes can occur to both Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. You should always review your Annual Notice of Change to make sure you will still have the coverage you need. It is always recommended that you take advantage of the Annual Enrollment Period to compare new plans in your area. This can help you ensure you have the coverage you need!
Do you have questions about the 2025 Medicare Annual Notice of Change or comparing plan options? Reach out to one of our friendly, licensed agents HERE
See the Medicare site for information on the ANOC.
