January 1 – March 31
Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment
Already in an Advantage plan? Make one switch, or return to Original Medicare and add a standalone Part D plan.
Learn Before You Decide
Resources, Datesand plain-English answers
Good decisions start with good information. These are the dates, definitions and trusted sources Lynn shares most often with Sarasota, Bradenton and Port Charlotte clients — free, with no form to fill out and no email required.
Your Medicare calendar
3 months before – 3 months after your 65th birthday month
Initial Enrollment Period
Your seven-month window to enroll in Parts A and B and choose a Medicare strategy. Enroll early for coverage on the first of your birthday month.
First 6 months of Part B at 65+
Medigap Open Enrollment
Buy any Medicare Supplement sold in Florida with no health questions. Florida does not repeat this right annually — this window matters.
October 15 – December 7
Annual Enrollment Period (AEP)
Change Advantage or Part D plans for the coming year. Review your Annual Notice of Change letter, which arrives each September.
Anytime after a qualifying event
Special Enrollment Periods
Moving, losing employer coverage, gaining or losing Medicaid or Extra Help, a plan leaving your area, or entering a long-term care facility.
Checklists you can use today
Before your Medicare review
- Your red-white-and-blue Medicare card, or your Social Security award letter if you have not received one.
- A complete prescription list with exact doses and how often you take each one.
- The names of the doctors and specialists you want to keep, plus your preferred hospital.
- Your current plan's ID card and September Annual Notice of Change letter.
- A rough sense of your travel — how many weeks a year you spend outside Florida, and where.
Before a retirement income review
- Recent statements for IRAs, 401(k)s, brokerage accounts, CDs and any existing annuities.
- Your Social Security estimate from ssa.gov, and any pension election paperwork.
- A realistic monthly budget including HOA fees, property taxes, homeowners and flood insurance.
- Your estimate of essential versus discretionary spending — that distinction can help guide the plan.
Annual household coverage audit
- Review beneficiaries on your policies and retirement accounts after a marriage, divorce, birth or death.
- Verify that in-force life insurance policies are still funded and not drifting toward lapse.
- Review your prescriptions against the next year's formulary during the fall enrollment period.
- Reassess long-term care inflation protection against current Sarasota, Bradenton and Port Charlotte-area care costs.
Glossary of terms people actually get tripped up by
- Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)
- A notice generally sent each fall describing changes your plan will make for the next plan year, which may include premiums, copays, formulary and network updates.
- Elimination period
- The waiting period on a long-term care policy, measured in days of care, before benefits begin. Functions like a deductible.
- Formulary
- A drug plan's covered medication list, organized by tier. Formularies may change for a new plan year.
- Guaranteed issue
- A situation in which a carrier must sell you a policy regardless of health history.
- MOOP
- Maximum out-of-pocket — the annual cap on your medical cost share in a Medicare Advantage plan. Original Medicare has no MOOP.
- Surrender period
- The years during which withdrawing more than the free amount from an annuity triggers a declining charge.
- Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
- Bathing, dressing, eating, transferring, toileting and continence. Needing help with two of six typically triggers long-term care benefits.
- 1035 exchange
- A transfer between qualifying life insurance or annuity contracts that may defer recognition of gain when IRS requirements are met. Surrender charges, new surrender periods, benefits and tax considerations should be reviewed carefully.
Official and trusted Florida resources
- Medicare.gov
Official plan finder, coverage rules and enrollment.
- Social Security Administration
Enroll in Medicare, check benefit estimates and appeal IRMAA with form SSA-44.
- Florida SHINE Program
Free, unbiased volunteer Medicare counseling — 1-800-963-5337.
- Florida Department of Financial Services
Verify an agent's license and file consumer complaints.
- Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida
Elder services, caregiver support and benefit screening for Sarasota County.
- Eldercare Locator
Federal directory of local aging services by ZIP code.
Lynn Hunter Insurance is independent and is not affiliated with any government agency. Links are provided for your convenience.
Keep reading
Deeper guides by topic: Medicare, annuities, life insurance, long-term care and supplemental protection.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where can I get free, unbiased Medicare counseling in Florida?
- Florida's SHINE program (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders), run through the Department of Elder Affairs and the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida, offers free volunteer counseling at 1-800-963-5337. Medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE are the official federal sources for plan data and enrollment.
- How do I check whether my doctor takes a specific plan?
- When confirming whether a provider participates in a particular plan, it can be helpful to check the plan’s provider directory and confirm directly with the provider’s office using the exact plan name. Provider participation can change, so it is important to verify current network status.
- What is IRMAA and can I appeal it?
- IRMAA is the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount — a surcharge on Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for higher incomes, based on your tax return from two years prior. If your income has dropped because of a life-changing event such as retirement, the death of a spouse, divorce or loss of income-producing property, you can appeal using Social Security form SSA-44.
- Do you host educational events in Sarasota?
- Lynn regularly holds small-group Medicare education sessions and one-on-one review appointments throughout Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte County. Contact her to be notified about upcoming sessions, particularly in the weeks before the October 15 Annual Enrollment Period.
Local help, wherever you are in the area
Lynn meets clients in person throughout Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte County — at your kitchen table, your condo clubhouse, a Lakewood Ranch or Port Charlotte coffee shop — and by phone or video when that is easier. Snowbirds who split the year between Florida and a northern state are welcome; Lynn regularly helps part-year residents coordinate coverage that travels with them.
- Sarasota
- Bradenton
- Lakewood Ranch
- Venice
- Palmer Ranch
- North Port
- Osprey
- Nokomis
- Siesta Key
- Longboat Key
- Manatee County
- Sarasota County
- Charlotte County
- Port Charlotte
- Punta Gorda
- Englewood
- Rotonda West
Still have a question?
Ask it. Lynn welcomes questions from Sarasota, Bradenton and Port Charlotte neighbors, whether or not they become clients.