If you are a Medicare recipient, you may know that October is the time to switch up your coverage during the Open Enrollment Period. With so much information available, we put together a checklist of three ways to be prepared for open enrollment. Important Dates for Open Enrollment This year, Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7. Any changes you make will take effect starting January 1, 2023. If, however, no changes are made, your plan will remain as-is throughout the year. In addition to Medicare Open Enrollment, there is also a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment period, which is from January 1 to March 31, 2023. This is for those individuals who already have a Medicare Advantage

This coming year, if you are a Social Security recipient you can expect to receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 8.7%. This increase will boost the retiree’s monthly payment by $146 in 2023, the biggest adjustment seen since the ’80s. This increase aims to help Social Security recipients combat the high inflation that has been plaguing the US since last year.  While it is still too early to tell if this adjustment will be enough to keep up with inflation, it is certainly a good starting point. In addition to this increase in cost-of-living payments, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced last month that Medicare recipients will also benefit by seeing their Medicare Part B premiums decrease