Medicare Advantage Plans Cutting Back Dental Benefits For 2025; Things To Do Now

Medicare Advantage plans with dental care are likely reducing 2025 coverage benefits. Act now to save.Photo byJesse Slome

Jesse Slome is director of the American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance (AAMSI) a national advocacy organization that supports insurance professionals who market Medicare solutions. This post may include affiliate links. If you purchase anything through these links neither the author nor the Association earn a commission. However, agents who sell Medicare plans do.

The nation's Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are starting to roll out their 2025 Annual Notice Of Plan Changes. And one of the biggest changes you likely might overlook involves your dental benefits.

If you have Medicare Advantage coverage, and some 33 million Americans do, here are several vital to-dos between now and the end of the year.

Dental benefits have been one of the hottest additions in recent years. According to a report from the American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance, some 98 percent of Medicare Advantage plans now offer dental benefits. In 2017, only 30 percent of plans included free dental benefits.

The first to-do now is to watch for the arrival of your plan's Annual Notice of Change. These are generally mailed in mid-September and typically consist of a detailed guide to your 2025 plan provisions. If you don't receive your package by the end of September, call and request a copy.

Read the package carefully. The description of your 2025 dental benefit coverage and any plan changes generally will appear towards the end of the informational guide.

While the dental benefits are important to seniors, they generally are secondary to the other health benefits most people care about. If your plan has other significant changes in costs or coverage, be sure to start the process of comparing alternative plans as soon as Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) begins on October 15th. AEP lasts only 53 days and waiting too long could be a costly mistake.

Finally, take advantage of all available dental benefits before the end of the year. Call to make your appointments now because available time slots grow scarce as others try to maximize their 2024 plan benefits before the December 31st deadline.

Jesse Slome focuses on sharing planning and money-saving tips especially for seniors. Follow Slome on Newsbreak to receive regular updates and other ideas.