-from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) Washington State

“This free toolkit offers seven easy steps you can take to get ready, or you can work with a trusted family member or friend to help you get organized before Open Enrollment starts. It includes:

• A big envelope to keep all your Medicare-related mail in.
• A big menu to match your Medicare and health cards so you know what types of coverage you have.
• An easy fill-in form to chart out what’s changing in your current plan.
• Personalized situations to understand what your options are for Open Enrollment.
• Information about Extra Help programs to assist with covering Medicare costs.

Your current plan should send you an Annual Notice of Change letter before Oct. 15 outlining what will change in the coming year. Be sure to keep this letter in the big envelope located in the jumpstart toolkit. If you don’t receive a letter, be sure to contact your plan.

Knowing what you have now and what’s changing will help you get ready to look at your options starting Oct. 15.

What you can do now:

• Order your jumpstart toolkit today.
• Create your Medicare.gov account, if you don’t already have one, so you’re ready when Open Enrollment starts on Oct. 15.
• Gather all your Medicare mail and information you get in the jumpstart toolkit envelope before Open Enrollment.
• Keep an eye out for your Annual Notice of Change letter from your plan.”