Straight answers from a licensed independent agent, no jargon.

Welcome to your September edition. This is the month your current plan starts talking to you about next year: the Annual Notice of Change begins arriving in mailboxes soon, and reading it correctly matters more than usual before the Annual Enrollment Period opens on October 15. Consider this issue your guide to reading it right.

Every Medicare Advantage and Part D plan must mail its Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, by September 30. If you have coverage, you should have this letter within the next few weeks. Most people skim it and set it aside. We’d encourage a different approach this year.

The ANOC compares your current plan’s 2026 coverage to what it will look like in 2027. It’s not a sales document, it’s a factual summary, and it’s the best early-warning system you have before enrollment season gets busy. Three sections deserve real attention:

If anything is unclear, or you can’t locate the letter at all, that’s worth a phone call now rather than a scramble in mid-October.

The part of the ANOC that causes the most confusion is the formulary: the list of drugs your plan covers and what you pay for each. Drugs sit in cost tiers, and a plan can move a medication to a higher tier for the coming year even if the drug itself hasn’t changed.

Here’s why that matters at the pharmacy counter. A medication with a modest copay this year could move to a coinsurance-based tier next year, meaning you pay a percentage of the cost instead of a flat fee. For higher-cost medications, that difference adds up quickly.

This is why we recommend a simple check every fall: confirm each medication you take is still on next year’s formulary, and note its tier. Don’t assume this year’s coverage carries over unchanged. Formularies are reviewed annually, and the change applies whether or not you noticed it in the mail.

If you’re still working and weighing when to leave your employer plan for Medicare, recent reporting is worth a look. Major surveys of employer health benefits project an 8.2% average increase in cost per employee for 2027, the steepest jump since 2003. In response, several large employers are narrowing drug coverage and shifting more cost onto employees through higher deductibles and premium sharing.

None of this changes your Medicare rules. But if employer coverage has felt like the safer, cheaper option, it’s worth confirming that’s still true before deciding to delay enrollment.
Read the full article here: Employer and worker health plan costs expected to jump in 2027 - CBS News and Survey: Health benefit costs expected to jump 8.2% in 2027, the biggest increase since 2003 - Mercer

September is recognized nationally as Healthy Aging Month, a reminder that small, consistent habits (walking, hydration, staying socially connected) do more for long-term wellness than any single big change. Late September also brings National Falls Prevention Awareness Week, timed to the first day of autumn. Falls remain one of the most common causes of serious injury for adults 65 and older, and most are preventable: clear walkways, better lighting, and a review of any medications that may affect balance all help.

This month is also a good moment to check in on the caregivers in your life. Family caregivers report high stress, and it often shows up in habits that seem harmless at first, like skipping sleep or leaning on food or shopping to unwind. Respite care, support groups, and asking for help earlier rather than later make a real difference.

Reading your ANOC on your own is a reasonable start. Reading it correctly, and knowing what it means for your specific doctors and prescriptions, is a different task entirely. That is the work we do for you, at no cost, as your No-Cost Medicare Concierge.

Our No-Cost 3-Step Medicare Risk Audit gives you a clear, written picture before you decide anything:

There is no obligation and no sales pressure attached to this review. It exists to give you facts before your plan’s changes take effect. Reply to this email, call us at (561) 444-8975, or book a time online to schedule your audit before the Annual Election Period begins on October 15.

Howard Sobel and Legacy Health Advisory Group is an Independent Medicare advisor helping people choose the right plan with confidence, not confusion.

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