Special Election Period For Weather Related Disaesters

Hey Medicare Nation!

It's Medicare Annual Enrollment Time! The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15th through December 7th, each year.

Many of you are looking at different Medicare Advantage Plans and Prescription Drug Plans for 2018.

Some of you are staying with the Medicare Advantage Plan you're already on.

What many of you don't know.......is that the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has added a Special Election Period for individuals affected by weather related disaster's since September.

Anyone that resides in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, South Carolina or the U.S. Virgin Islands, may qualify for this special election period, due to hurricane Irma.

Anyone residing in Louisiana and Mississippi may qualify for the Special Election Period, due to Tropical Storm Nate.

Residents of Texas may qualify due to Hurricane Harvey.

To determine if you qualify for this special election period, CMS has deferred the locations affected by Weather Disaster's to FEMA.

Go to the FEMA website - www.fema.gov/disasters

and click on the weather related emergency, to see if your location was declared an emergency by FEMA.

If your county or State has been declared an emergency due to the unique weather event, you will be granted an SEP by CMS, to change your Medicare Advantage Plan or stand alone Prescription Drug Plan. 

In addition, the weather related special election period is available to..... those individuals who don't live in the affected areas but rely on help making healthcare decisions from friends or family members who live in the affected areas.

Go to www.fema.gov and click on the link for the weather related disaster in your State, to see if you qualify for this special election period.

You can call Medicare if you have questions regarding the "weather event" special election period.

Call 800-633-4227.

The "weather event" special election period runs till December 31, 2017.