Time is running out to give your Medicare coverage a checkup and make changes for 2019. The program's annual enrollment period ends Friday. If you take no action, you'll automatically remain enrolled in your current plan. However, if you pass on the opportunity to see whether a better option exists, that decision could come with a cost. "You could end up with surprise bills because your providers are no longer participating in your plan or because your medication costs went up," said Elizabeth Gavino, founder of Lewin & Gavino in New York and an independent broker and general agent for Medicare plans.

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With the specifics of plans changing from year to year and new options available to many recipients, experts recommend making sure your current coverage will still make sense for 2019. Through Friday, Medicare recipients can: · Switch to an Advantage Plan (Part C) from original Medicare (Part A hospital coverage and Part B outpatient coverage); · Switch to original Medicare from an Advantage Plan; · Move from one Advantage Plan to another; · Move from one prescription drug plan (Part D) to another, or purchase one if you did not when first eligible (although you could face a penalty for late enrollment). New for 2019: If you pick an Advantage Plan during fall enrollment and realize afterward that it's not a good fit, you can switch to another one or back to original Medicare and a stand-alone Part D prescription plan between Jan. 1 and March 31. However, in that early year window, you cannot go from one stand-alone drug plan to another, or go from original Medicare to an Advantage Plan. Also, you can only do one switch during that window. In the current enrollment period, you can change your mind multiple times.