Enrollment Timeline

Enrollment began November 15, 2005 and continues until May 16, 2006. After this time, you can still enroll your loved one, but there will be a higher premium or penalty. The higher premium/penalty will apply for the rest of your loved one’s life. So, it is highly advantageous to enroll prior to May 16, 2006.

Once enrolled, if you wish to change plans, you can switch plans during a specific window of time each year: November 15 through December 31. Your new Medicare prescription drug plan will then begin January 1 of the following year. Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for the Extra Help program (described below, under Plan Costs) can change their prescription drug plan at any time. If your loved one does not qualify for Extra Help, he or she can change plans once between now and May 16, 2006.

Under a new policy announced recently, CMS will allow "ongoing" enrollment for low income beneficiaries who qualify for Extra Help with premiums and other costs. To qualify, single beneficiaries, for example, must learn less than about $15,000 yearly and have assets worth less than $11,500.

You (as your loved one’s caregiver) can sign up your loved one for the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan if you have the legal right to make health care decisions on his/her behalf (such as through a Power of Attorney). This person is sometimes called an “authorized representative.” Even if your loved one does not have the intellectual ability to enroll herself/himself in the plan, she/he is still eligible, if she/he is a Medicare recipient. However, the person completing the form must be a legal representative. If your loved one does not yet have a legal representative, he or she can choose an individual to act as the representative to fill out the application (such as a spouse, child, or a caregiver).