Special Enrollment Period Announced for Medicare Beneficiaries

May 18, 2020

BATON ROUGE– Louisiana residents who were eligible but unable to enroll in a Medicare plan because of the COVID-19 pandemic now have extra time, per updated guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The Medicare Special Enrollment Period (SEP) began on March 1, 2020, and is available through June 30, 2020. To be eligible for the SEP, an individual must have been eligible to enroll in a Medicare plan at some point during this period, but was unable to do so because of the pandemic. This means that individuals whose eligibility period ended in March, April or May would now have until June 30, 2020, to enroll in a Medicare plan.

Beneficiaries enrolling during the SEP will not be required to provide proof that they were affected by the pandemic-related emergency.

Louisiana residents who want more details about the SEP or information about Blue Cross Medicare Advantage plans can call 1-800-232-4967 (TTY 711), 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., 7 days a week or visit www.bcbsla.com/blueadvantage.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is committed to our mission to improve the health and lives of Louisianians. Founded in New Orleans in 1934, we are a tax-paying nonprofit health insurer with offices in every major region to serve our customers. We were recognized in 2019 as an honoree of The Civic 50, named by Points of Light as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States. 

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. We are a private mutual company, owned by our policyholders, with an independent Louisiana Board of Directors and no shareholders. We invite all Louisianians to visit our website at www.bcbsla.com or talk to us on social media.

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