HAP began intensive advocacy efforts with Congress last year to move and extend the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) for Part D prescription drug plans in order to help beneficiaries make informed decisions about their health care choices.
SHIPs identified the issue early on as a priority systemic issue that needed to be addressed in order to help Medicare consumers make truly informed plan choices. Medicare is a large and increasingly complex program. With the introduction of the Part D prescription drug benefit in 2006 and the proliferation of Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare beneficiaries are being asked to make economically rational decisions about a large and diverse array of Medicare Part C and Part D products. There are presently dozens of Part D products available to consumers in every state but the complexity of the choices, and the enormous variation between plans, makes it difficult for Medicare consumers to contrast and compare plans.
The timing of the current Annual Enrollment Period for Part D plans, November 15 - December 31, is compressed into 45 days and it includes the two busiest national holidays of the year. It does not allow enough time for Medicare consumers to make fully informed decisions about their plan choices because many plans in the Part D market change the scope of their formularies and their utilization management rules from year to year.
SHIPs and HAP both felt that moving and extending the AEP allows Medicare beneficiaries the time they need to in order to assess, and choose from, the large number of Part D plans available, and ultimately choose a plan that best meets their health and financial needs.
As a result of successful advocacy, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) contains a provision that moves the AEP to start on October 15 and end on December 7, effective 2012.
Policy
Implementation Tools for SHIPs
- Tool: Getting Started: Things to Consider about the New AEP Schedule
- Tool: Getting Started: Resources for the AEP
- Tool: SHIP Program Operations
[Back to Troubleshooting Medicare | HAP Home]
