If you live in Chattanooga and have Medicare, the annual enrollment period from October 15 to December 7 is your yearly chance to review your coverage and make a change. You can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or drug plan, and the plan must get your request by December 7 for coverage that starts January 1.
This article is educational. Instant Health Help is a licensed health insurance agency, and our agent, Lobsang Rivas, is licensed in Tennessee. We are not Medicare, CMS, or an insurance company, and we do not quote prices or name plans here. Check official dates on Medicare.gov.
The short answer
You have three good places to start in the Chattanooga area, and you can use more than one:
- Medicare. Medicare.gov Plan Finder and 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) show the plans sold in your ZIP code.
- TN SHIP, Tennessee’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program. The state says TN SHIP gives free, unbiased Medicare counseling and does not promote any insurance agency. Call 1-877-801-0044 or see the TN SHIP page.
- A licensed agent. An agent can compare options with you and help you enroll. Medicare.gov suggests checking the rules agents must follow.
Looking for a Medicare office to sign up? Medicare.gov says you sign up for Part A and Part B through Social Security, online or at a local Social Security office. Once you have Part A and Part B, the three options above can help you choose a plan.
Key Medicare dates
- Annual enrollment: October 15 to December 7. Changes start January 1.
- Medicare Advantage open enrollment: January 1 to March 31, only if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan. You can switch to another Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare.
- Turning 65: your initial enrollment period lasts seven months, starting three months before the month you turn 65.
Why your address decides your choices
Chattanooga sits right on the Georgia line, and a lot of people here live in one state and see doctors in the other. Medicare.gov says that to join a Medicare health or drug plan, you must live in the plan’s service area. So your choices follow your home address, not where your doctor’s office is.
If you live in Tennessee, compare plans with your own ZIP code. Choices in Hamilton County may differ from Bradley, Marion, Sequatchie, or Rhea County.
If you live across the line in Georgia, such as Fort Oglethorpe, Rossville, or Ringgold, you compare plans sold where you live. Our agent is not licensed in Georgia, so use Medicare.gov or Georgia’s free SHIP counselors, which you can find through SHIP’s national locator.
Either way, if your doctors are on the other side of the state line, ask each office and the plan whether they will be in network next year. We never assume.
Just moved to the Chattanooga area?
Plenty of retirees move here for the mountains and the river. Medicare.gov says that if you move to a new address outside your plan’s service area, you can switch to a new Medicare Advantage or drug plan. Your chance to switch starts when you move and lasts for 2 full months after. If you tell your plan before you move, it can start the month before you move. If you were in a Medicare Advantage plan and do not pick a new one, you will be enrolled in Original Medicare when your old plan drops you.
What Chattanooga area residents should review
Your Annual Notice of Change. Your plan sends it each fall. Read what is changing for next year before you decide to stay.
Your doctors and hospitals. Whether you go to a hospital near downtown, in Hixson, or in East Ridge, or to a clinic in Ooltewah or Cleveland, confirm directly with the office and the plan.
Your prescriptions and pharmacy. Enter every drug you take in Plan Finder, along with the pharmacy you actually use.
If you spend part of the year elsewhere. If you live in another state for part of the year, Medicare.gov suggests checking whether the plan will cover you there.
Help with costs
If your income is limited, Medicare.gov points to Extra Help with drug costs, which you apply for through Social Security, and Medicare Savings Programs, which you apply for through your state. TN SHIP counselors can help you look at both. Getting Extra Help can also open a Special Enrollment Period to change your drug coverage.
Under 65?
If you or someone in your family does not have Medicare yet, Tennessee residents shop for Marketplace plans on HealthCare.gov, and open enrollment runs November 1 to January 15. See our Tennessee open enrollment guide.
How we help
We help Tennessee residents with Medicare by phone and online, in English or Spanish. Learn more on our Tennessee health insurance help page. We look at your doctors, prescriptions, and ZIP code, explain the options in plain English, and leave the decision to you. If you are helping a parent, you are welcome on the call too.
Want a second set of eyes before December 7?
Have your Medicare card, your drug list, and your doctors’ names ready, and we can walk through it together.
Call (321) 315-0054 | agent@inshh.com
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 10 organizations which offer 489 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), TTY 1-877-486-2048, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays. Instant Health Help is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program.
Featured photo: Walnut Street Bridge, Chattanooga, Tennessee by Snickersnack30, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped with text added.
