NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – Medicare’s Open Enrollment is right around the corner, and there is a lot we need to know. Connecticut’s Morning Buzz Host Natasha Lubczenko was joined in the studio by Traci O’Brien, a licensed insurance broker, and the owner of Senior Insurance Consultants, to talk about some of the important details people need to be aware of.

The dates to mark on your calendar are Sunday, October 15^th through Thursday, December 7^th. That’s when people have the opportunity to change their plan for 2024, and the choices they make go into effect on January 1^st. This is the same time period for first-time enrollees to sign up.

Traci says that this time period goes by very quickly, and she encourages people to make appointments with their brokers and review their coverage, sooner rather than later, even if they already had coverage in the previous year.

She cautions us that there will be some changes for next year, especially with prescription coverage. She says, “It’s really important that people are reviewing what they have, because they may be very surprised in January to find out that their premiums have increased, or that their medication is covered differently, or not covered at all.”

Traci encourages people to consider working with a broker like Senior Insurance Consultants. What many people don’t realize is that they don’t pay anything extra to do so. She says, “So we do this at no cost. The insurance company pays us to help, but when they’re linked to a broker, we confirm that their applications are in the system, their “i’s” are dotted, their T’s are crossed, their doctors, their network, their drugs are in the formulary and they have coverage the day that they need it. And if there’s a problem in the future, if they lose their ID card, or they have billing issues, we go along with them. So, we’re their customer service as well.”

Watch this interview to learn more details about Medicare Enrollment, and how you might benefit from working with a Broker. Traci answers the following questions:

• Can people enrolling for the first time make any changes later on?
• Do new enrollees have the same time period to enroll?
• What is the Medicare Savings Program?
• You say you can help people apply for this Savings Program?
• What if I make a mistake the first time I enroll in Medicare?

If you’d like to have some assistance with Medicare Enrollment, or want to learn more about how Senior Insurance Consultants can help you, call their office at 203-707-2371.  You can visit their website at sic65.com to book an appointment,  or email them at hello@sic65.com.

You can also listen to Traci and her husband talk about Medicare every Saturday morning at 7:30am on the Talk of Connecticut on WDRC Radio 1360AM, with the Mr. and Mrs. Medicare show!