Q: I'm writing to get some information about a Medicare Managed Care Disenrollment form. I've called Social Security for two weeks and also faxed them, but no answer. I wanted some information and to get some questions answered that I don't understand. Does this have something to do with my medical insurance? I have Parts A and B of Medicare and supplemental insurance through AARP. I would appreciate any information. -- B.R.
A: Medicare Managed Care Disenrollment form is used for disenrolling from a managed care health plan (Medicare HMO). Generally, it is used when you leave one Medicare managed care plan and join a different health plan or return to original fee-for-service Medicare and Medigap insurance. The disenrollment form should be filled out when you leave your old health plan. This tells Medicare about the change. The form instructions should tell you where to send your form.
Without more details it is difficult for me to tell you exactly what you need to do with the form you now have. You need to determine what organization sent you the form and why.
- Did you enroll in your new supplemental insurance plan (AARP) recently?
- What organization sent you the form? Was the form sent to you from your current health care insurance plan (AARP) or from a previous health care insurance plan in which you were recently enrolled within the past 12 months?
If you received the form from your AARP plan and you want to remain in that plan, do nothing. The form may have been mailed to you for your convenience only. Should you ever wish to change plans, you would fill out the form. If this is the case, you would not need to do anything with your form except to file it with your insurance plan papers.
If however, the form came from a previous Medicare managed care plan in which you were enrolled, or from your Social Security office, you may need to fill out the form as soon as possible, and make sure it gets filed properly, in order to prevent the potential for a lapse of coverage.
There are several resources available to you to help you do this. Try contacting your local Area Agency on Aging and ask for the help of a volunteer health insurance counselor. The service is free and the counselor can help you fill out your form and get it filed correctly. The volunteers are not connected with any insurance company. Area Agencies on Aging are nonprofit organizations. If you are not sure of the phone number of your local agency call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or go to http://www.eldercare.gov.
Medicare also has a toll-free help line. 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), but I recommend trying your local Area Agency on Aging's volunteer insurance assistance program first.
May 2001
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