If you live in Lansing 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 Michigan. We are not Medicare, CMS, or an insurance company, and we do not quote prices or name plans here.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 Lansing 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.
- Michigan’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). The state describes it as an unbiased resource that does not sell Medicare plans. Call 1-800-803-7174 to reach a local certified counselor, or see the Michigan SHIP page. Calls to that number go to MI Options, a broader state call center that also helps with long-term care options and connects you with a SHIP counselor for Medicare questions. You may still hear Medicare counseling in Michigan called MMAP, the program that used to run it.
- A licensed agent. An agent can compare options with you and help you enroll. Medicare.gov suggests checking the rules agents must follow.
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.
Work and retirement in the Capital Region
Bureau of Labor Statistics and regional economic reports put government, education and health services, trade and transportation, insurance, and manufacturing among Lansing’s largest employers. State offices, a large university, insurers based in the area, clinics, and auto-related plants shape a lot of local careers:
Retired from a state, university, insurance, or plant job? Many people here have health coverage from a former employer or union. If that is you, slow down before you switch anything this fall.
Talk to your benefits administrator first. Medicare.gov says that in some cases, joining a Medicare Advantage plan might cause you to lose your employer or union coverage. If you drop or lose that coverage, you may also lose it for your spouse and dependents, and you may not be able to get it back.
Ask what your retiree plan expects from Medicare. Medicare.gov notes that you may need both Part A and Part B to get full benefits from retiree coverage, and that once you retire, Medicare generally pays first.
Ask about drug coverage. Find out whether your retiree plan’s drug coverage is creditable before you add or drop a Medicare drug plan.
Still working past 65. If you kept a W-2 role in state service, at a campus, in an insurance office, or at a plant, talk with your benefits office and Social Security about Part B timing before you leave the job plan.
What Lansing 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 campus in Lansing, a specialist in East Lansing or Okemos, or a clinic in Grand Ledge, Charlotte, or St. Johns, ask each office and the plan whether they will be in network next year. We never assume.
Your county. Plans are sold by service area. Someone in Ingham County may see different choices than a neighbor in Eaton or Clinton County. Always compare with your own ZIP code.
Your prescriptions and pharmacy. Enter every drug you take in Plan Finder, along with the pharmacy you actually use.
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. Michigan SHIP counselors can help you look at both. Getting Extra Help can also open a Special Enrollment Period to change your drug coverage.
How we help
We help Michigan residents with Medicare by phone and online, in English or Spanish. Learn more on our Michigan health insurance help page. We look at your doctors, prescriptions, ZIP code, and any retiree coverage you have, explain the options in plain English, and leave the decision to you. Under 65 and need Marketplace coverage? See our Michigan open enrollment guide.
Want a second set of eyes before December 7?
Have your Medicare card, your drug list, your doctors’ names, and any retiree plan letters 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: Michigan State Capitol, Capitol Avenue, Lansing, MI by w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped with text added.
