The term "crosswalked" refers to how a Medicare beneficiary is automatically transferred or moved from one Medicare plan to another Medicare Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plan for the following year - crosswalks can be part of Medicare plan mergers or consolidations or being splitting apart based into small pieces or changes in
Contract ID/Plan IDs.
For example, you are enrolled in the 2023Medicare plan "ABC" and your plan mergers with Medicare plan "XYZ", in 2024, you will be automatically moved from your ABC plan to the new 2024 Medicare plan XYZ - however, you still have the option of choosing a different 2024 Medicare plan on your own -- during the Annual Enrollment Period (
AEP).
Important: If you are crosswalked into another Medicare plan, your plan coverage may not be the same as your original plan.
Please remember that a Medicare plan can also change names year-to-year - with new coverage features (premium, deductibles, co-pays).
Usually, you will learn of the transfer to another Medicare plan when you receive your Annual Notice of Change (
ANOC) letter from your current Medicare Part D prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan.
If you are crosswalked or transferred to another Medicare plan, your new plan will be effective starting in the next plan year (January 1), along with any coverage changes that the new plan provides - unless you choose to enroll in another Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan during the annual Open Enrollment Period (
AEP) that starts on October 15th and continues through December 7th, with your new Medicare plan coverage beginning on January 1st. To change your Medicare plan coverage outside of the AEP, you must qualify for a
Special Enrollment Period.
Need a way to see if your Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan is changing next year?
Our
PDP-Compare
and
MA-Compare
tools allow you to compare annual changes in
all
stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (
PDPs) or Medicare
Advantage plans (
MAs or MAPDs) across the country showing changes in
monthly premiums and plan design changes, as well as changes in
co-payments or co-insurance rates for different drug tiers along with
the most recent Medicare Star ratings.
Both the
PDP-Compare
and
MA-Compare also show the Medicare Part D plans or Medicare Advantage plans that will be
merged,
discontinued, or
added next year.
Since 2006, Medicare plan mergers and consolidations have become a normal occurrence and each year, a number of people are crosswalked or automatically transferred into other Medicare plans.