BATON ROUGE – From Blue Cross and Blue Shield:
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.