People living in the North Country may loose their Medicare Advantage Plan and need a replacement.
North Country Medicare beneficiaries are urgently navigating their options during the Medicare open enrollment period due to the discontinuation of local plans. Open enrollment runs through December 7th. It is the time when Medicare beneficiaries can make changes to their health plan. Steve Criss, of Criss Consulting, said this year MVP Health Care announced that the UVM Health Advantage Select with Part D (PPO) is ending. Criss said United Healthcare is also discontinuing some Advantage plans as well. If current subscribers don’t join a plan with prescription drug coverage or a stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan with Original Medicare by February 28th, they won’t have prescription drug coverage in 2026 and may have to pay a lifetime Part D late-enrollment penalty if enrolled in a Medicare prescription drug plan later.