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Ready or not, if you are turning 65, life is changing.\u00a0 Perhaps you are ready to retire and catch up on some traveling.\u00a0 Perhaps you intend to keep working a bit longer, but are planning to put in a few less hours.\u00a0 No matter what your 65th birthday brings, you can be sure of one thing.\u00a0 Your health insurance options are going to change significantly.\u00a0 Being prepared for Medicare <\/a>is one of the smartest things you can do as you approach this major milestone and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina can help.<\/p>\nHere are some things you can do to prepare:<\/p>\n
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- Learn about Medicare enrollment periods<\/strong>:\u00a0 The Medicare enrollment periods are different than the enrollment periods for individuals under the age of 65.\u00a0 In addition, there are a number of different enrollment periods, such as your Initial Enrollment Period (IEP), the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), and Special Enrollment Periods (SEP) with which you need to be familiar.<\/li>\n
- Learn what the different parts of Medicare cover:\u00a0 <\/strong>There are a few different parts to Medicare coverage and each of those parts cover different things.\u00a0 Understanding what Medicare Parts A, B, C and D cover,<\/a> and don’t cover,\u00a0is essential to you obtaining the\u00a0right amount of coverage for your\u00a0healthcare needs.<\/li>\n
- Decide whether a Medicare Supplement is right for you:\u00a0 <\/strong>Even before you are eligible for Medicare, review your options.\u00a0 Explore Medicare Supplements <\/a>and Part D Prescription Drug Coverage and begin deciding what plans work best for you.\u00a0 Consult with a licensed Medicare Agent <\/a>to discuss\u00a0available plans and begin\u00a0thinking about\u00a0what kind of plan best fits your budget and your lifestyle.<\/li>\n
- Don’t wait too long to enroll in Medicare:\u00a0 <\/strong>If you wait to long to sign up for Medicare, you could incur a penalty.\u00a0\u00a0Gather the information you will need to get enrolled in Medicare as efficiently as possible.<\/li>\n
- Mark your calendar:\u00a0 <\/strong>Three months prior to your 65th birthday is when your Initial Enrollment Period begins.\u00a0 In order to ensure that you are covered with BCBSNC by your 65th birthday, you need to enroll in Medicare and make a final selection, whether it be a Medicare Supplement <\/a>or other type of Medicare plan.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Keep in mind that Original Medicare (Parts A and B) will likely not cover all of your health expenses.\u00a0 Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina can help fill the gaps with Medicare Supplement plans that help pay for things Parts A and B don’t cover, like Medicare copayments, coinsurance and deductibles.\u00a0 You cannot get a Medicare Supplement plan through the federal government as they are run by private insurance companies such as BCBSNC and regulated by the state.<\/p>\n
Turning 65 is an exciting milestone!\u00a0 Let\u00a0NC Health Plans and BCBSNC\u00a0help you navigate your way through the changes in your health insurance so you are prepared for Medicare.\u00a0 For more information on North Carolina insurance coverage, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com <\/a>or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our experienced and professional agents.<\/p>\n
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Ready or not, if you are turning 65, life is changing.\u00a0 Perhaps you are ready to retire and catch up on some traveling.\u00a0 Perhaps you intend to keep working a bit longer, but are planning to put in a few less hours.\u00a0 No matter what your 65th birthday brings, you can be sure of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[23,89,88,859],"class_list":["post-7475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-medicare-supplement-coverage","tag-bcbsnc","tag-bcbsnc-medicare-supplement","tag-medicare","tag-medicare-parts-a-and-b"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7475"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7527,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7475\/revisions\/7527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Learn what the different parts of Medicare cover:\u00a0 <\/strong>There are a few different parts to Medicare coverage and each of those parts cover different things.\u00a0 Understanding what Medicare Parts A, B, C and D cover,<\/a> and don’t cover,\u00a0is essential to you obtaining the\u00a0right amount of coverage for your\u00a0healthcare needs.<\/li>\n