Dear Marci, I missed my Initial Enrollment Period so am now planning to enroll this month during the General Enrollment Period. I’ve been hearing conflicting information about it from my family and friends, though. Has the General Enrollment Period changed? -Rob (Indianapolis, IN) Dear Rob, Yes, there has been a major change to the General Enrollment Period (GEP), as of January 1, 2023. This may explain why you’ve heard some conflicting information about this enrollment perio

By Sara Kraft Last month, the US government passed the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, which may be the most significant piece of legislation issued by the United States government in over 50 years. The IRA seeks to address and ease the lifestyle changes necessitated by four major issues facing US households: income inequality, climate change, health care, and inflation. The IRA is the largest investment made by any government toward confronting climate change to date. The b

By Dena Bunis, AARP August 2022 Inflation Reduction Act limits out-of-pocket drug costs, caps insulin copays, makes vaccines free. For the first time in Medicare’s history, the amount of money that beneficiaries in drug plans will have to pay for their prescriptions each year will be capped, thanks to provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The new law makes other changes to the program’s Part D drug benefits, including putting a limit on out-of-pocket payments for

Dear Marci, I am working on my budget for the new year and wondering what my Medicare costs will be in 2022? -Emma (San Jose, CA) Dear Emma, Your Medicare coverage and costs can change each year, so it is important to understand and review your benefits. Here is an overview of new costs in 2022. Part A (Hospital insurance) Part A premium: Free if you’ve worked 10 years or more $274 per month if you’ve worked 7.5 to 10 years $499 per month if you’ve worked fewer than 7.5 yea

Dear Marci, I am 65 years old and have Original Medicare. I receive a lot of costly care and have heard from my doctor that I should look into purchasing a Medigap policy to help lower my out-of-pocket costs. Can you tell me more about Medigaps? -Louis (Buffalo, WY) Dear Louis, Medigaps are health insurance policies that offer standardized benefits to work with Original Medicare (not with Medicare Advantage). They are sold by private insurance companies and are designed to