Medicare Part D Open Enrollment Extended for Select Counties in NC

RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 13 -- The North Carolina Department of Insurance issued the following news release:

The request made by the North Carolina Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) for an extension to the Medicare Part D Open Enrollment Period has been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Administration for Community Living for the 16 counties hardest hit by Hurricane Matthew.

This Special Enrollment Period is extended to any NC Medicare beneficiary affected by Hurricane Matthew and the flooding that followed, and will run through the end of December for enrollment into Part D plans effective January 1, 2017.

The extension includes, but is not limited to, the following counties: Pitt, Lenoir, Greene, Craven, Wayne, Sampson, Bladen, Pender, Cumberland, Columbus, Robeson, Scotland, Moore, Harnett, Johnston and Duplin. Those beneficiaries not living in these counties but who receive assistance from someone living in the affected counties may also qualify for this Special Enrollment Period.

For assistance, Medicare beneficiaries may contact their local SHIIP coordinating site for plan comparisons, and must then contact Medicare for enrollment at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

SHIIP is a division of the North Carolina Department of Insurance and offers free, unbiased information about Medicare, Medicare prescription drug coverage, Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Supplement plans as well as long-term care insurance and other health insurance issues. In addition to helping Medicare beneficiaries compare and enroll in plans during the Open Enrollment Period, SHIIP counselors can help people find out if they are eligible for Medicare cost savings programs.