Medicare Open Enrollment: How to Help Your Parents Review Their Plan (Without Taking Over)
If you or your parents are on Medicare, there’s a good chance a thick envelope showed up at the house a few weeks ago. It’s called the Annual Notice of Change, and it explains what’s different about their plan next year: premiums, copays, which pharmacies are preferred and which prescriptions are covered.
There’s also a good chance it’s sitting unopened in a pile on the counter.
That’s not a judgment. Medicare paperwork is dense, and most people assume that if nothing’s broken, there’s nothing to do. But plans change every year, and a plan that worked great in 2026 can quietly cost a lot more in 2027.
Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7. It’s the one window each year when your parents can review their coverage and switch plans if something better fits. Any change they make starts January 1.
Here’s how to help your parents without making them feel like you’re taking over their business.
(This article is general information, not insurance or financial advice. For decisions about a specific plan, talk with a licensed Medicare advisor or a free SHIP counselor. More on that below.)
1. Offer help, don’t announce a review
How you bring it up matters more than anything else on this list. “We need to go over your Medicare” sounds like an audit. Try something lighter:
“Did your plan send that big packet this year? Want to look through it together?”
“I heard Open Enrollment starts this week. Is that something you usually look at, or do you just let it roll over?”
“I’m trying to understand how Medicare works for when it’s my turn. Would you walk me through yours?”
That last one is my favorite. It puts your parent in the role of teacher, which is a lot more comfortable than being the one who needs help.
2. Gather the basics first
Before anyone compares anything, you’ll want a few things in one place:
Their Medicare card and their current plan’s card (Advantage, Part D or supplement)
The Annual Notice of Change for next year
A current list of medications, with doses
The names of their doctors, specialists and preferred pharmacy
If this is the first time you’ve seen all of it together, that alone is a win. You’ve just learned where the important information lives, which is half of what family preparedness is.
3. Look at what’s changing for them
Skim the Annual Notice of Change together and look for a few things in particular:
Premiums. Is the monthly cost going up?
Prescriptions. Are all of their medications still covered, and at the same tier?
Doctors. If they have a Medicare Advantage plan, are their doctors still in the network?
Pharmacy. Is their pharmacy still a preferred one?
Copays and deductibles. Did the cost of a doctor visit, a specialist or a hospital stay change?
You’re not looking for perfection. You’re looking for surprises, and it’s much better to find them in October than at the pharmacy counter in January.
4. Compare plans with free tools
The Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov lets you enter their zip code and medications to compare plans side by side. It’s free, and it’s the official tool.
When you compare, look at the total yearly cost, not just the monthly premium. A plan with a $0 premium can end up costing more than one with a premium once you add up prescriptions and copays.
If the website feels like too much (it can), there’s a better option. Every state has a State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) with free, unbiased counselors who will walk through plans with your parents. You can find yours at shiphelp.org. Your parents can also call 1-800-MEDICARE.
5. A few things to be careful about
Switching away from a Medigap (supplement) plan. In most states, if your parents leave a supplement plan, they may not be able to get it back later without answering health questions. Get advice before making that move.
Scams. Open Enrollment is prime time for fake “Medicare” calls. Medicare will not call to sell them a plan or ask for their Medicare number. If someone calls with an offer that sounds urgent, it’s okay to hang up.
Costs that aren’t covered. Medicare does not pay for most long-term care, like an extended stay in assisted living or ongoing help at home. That’s worth knowing now, even if it’s not part of this year’s decision. This is one of the biggest things I think families misunderstand
6. Let them make the decision
This is the “without taking over” part. Your role is to help them see the options clearly, not to choose for them. Ask what matters most to them: keeping a certain doctor, lower monthly costs, fewer surprises or a pharmacy close to home. Then let them decide.
If they’d like you on the call with them, or a SHIP counselor on speakerphone, wonderful. If they’d rather handle it themselves now that they’ve looked, that’s wonderful too. Either way, you’ll know what plan they have, and you’d want that information in an emergency.
7. Write it down for next year
Before you close the laptop, jot down a few notes and keep them somewhere the family can find: which plan they chose, why, the member ID number and the customer service phone number. Next October, you won’t be starting from scratch.
If you or a parent is turning 65 soon-
Open Enrollment is for people already on Medicare. If your mom or dad is getting close to 65, there’s a different set of things to know, and I asked an expert to explain them.
Shawna Hovis-Mayer is an independent health insurance advisor here in Arizona who focuses on Medicare. Here are a few things she shared on the My Parents Lied to Me podcast that every family should hear:
Medicare isn’t free. Part A usually has no premium if they worked at least 10 years, but there’s always a monthly premium for Part B.
The first bill is a doozy. Medicare bills Part B quarterly at first, so the first bill covers three months. You can switch it to monthly.
They may be signed up automatically. If your parent is already collecting Social Security, they’ll usually be enrolled in Parts A and B at 65, and the Part B premium comes out of their check.
Waiting can cost them. Shawna worked with a son helping his mom, who was 68. A family member had told her she didn’t need Medicare until she started Social Security. That advice came with penalties.
Still working at 65? If their employer coverage qualifies, they may not need to enroll yet. When they retire, they’ll need a one-page form from HR showing they had coverage, so start about three months before their retirement date.
Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care. In Shawna’s words, “it’s nowhere in there.” It may help with a short rehab stay after a fall or hospital stay when they’re expected to get better, but not with ongoing help at home or assisted living. That’s a conversation to have with a financial planner while your parents are healthy, because coverage gets harder to qualify for later.
Listen to the full conversation with Shawna on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube
You can reach Shawna at 602-799-9481.
Where to start
If talking about money and health with your parents feels awkward, you’re not alone. My free Family Conversation Guide has simple, low-pressure ways to start conversations like this one.
[Get the free Family Conversation Guide →
Keep them SAFE. You stay CALM.
Nicole Porter, Founder, Your Parent Porter
