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Federal and state officials are still working on the details, but Medicare beneficiaries should be prepared for changes in this year's annual open enrollment period.

All Medicare subscribers — those using traditional Medicare, private Medicare Advantage plans, prescription drug and Medigap supplemental coverage — are allowed each year to make changes to their coverage.

However, due to provisions in this year's Affordable Care Act, the open enrollment period will begin and end earlier than in previous years.

This year, open enrollment begins Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7. Last year, it was Nov. 15 through Dec. 31.

Mike Fierberg, a Denver-based spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, says starting open enrollment earlier helps avoid competition with the holidays for beneficiaries' attention. Getting the insurance squared away by early December also will help avoid trouble getting services in January, Fierberg said.

But the new enrollment period leaves state officials just a few weeks to notify county-level health-insurance program counselors of many changes, some of which have yet to be made final, he said.

Adrienne Muralidharan, senior Medicare specialist for the Allsup Medicare Advisor, an impartial Medicare plan selection service, said the change will help ensure beneficiaries have their updated Medicare membership cards at the start of 2012.

"In the past, some people with Medicare had to pay out-of-pocket for care at the start of the year because enrollment went through Dec. 31," Muralidharan said. "With earlier enrollment, from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, the transition to the new year should happen more smoothly."

Other changes for Medicare coverage are coming in 2012:

• Prescription drug (Part D) costs will change. Costs overall will increase slightly, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Standard Benefit Plan. Detailed cost information on individual plans will not be available until later this year. Estimates show that initial Part D deductibles will increase to $320.

• Medicare recipients reaching the mandated gap in prescription coverage — the "doughnut hole" — may benefit from higher prescription drug discounts.

• Cost for Medicare Part B premiums, which cover general medical services but not hospitalizations, are likely to increase because they are tied to the annual cost-of-living adjustment to be announced in October. For two years, there has been no COLA increase. Preliminary forecasts indicate there will be an increase in COLA for 2012, meaning all Medicare beneficiaries are likely to experience an increase in Part B premiums.

• As usual, there may be changes in Medicare Advantage plans' coverage options. Annual notices of changes for the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription plans should arrive in beneficiaries' mailboxes by Sept. 30. More information will be available online in October on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid web site, http://www.cms.gov. —

Medicare open enrollment

A measure in the Affordable Care Act this year reset Medicare's annual open enrollment period. This year it will run Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.