How to Review a Client's ANOC Letter This AEP
A step-by-step process for turning a client's ANOC letter into a focused AEP review call, plus what to do when a client never gets the letter at all.
The Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, is the letter every Medicare Advantage and Part D plan must mail each September, listing what changes in coverage, cost, and network for the coming year. For agents, the job is turning that letter into a short review call with the client before AEP ends December 7.
What's Inside a Medicare ANOC Letter?
Carriers are required to send a standardized ANOC to every Medicare Advantage and Part D enrollee by September 30 each year, per CMS guidance to plan sponsors. The letter compares this year's plan to next year's side by side. Four sections matter most to an agent doing a review call: premium and deductible changes, formulary and drug-tier movement, provider and pharmacy network changes, and benefit changes such as dental, vision, or over-the-counter allowances. Medicare.gov's own description of the ANOC frames it the same way: a fall notice meant to help the member decide whether the plan still fits before they have to act. Network changes carry extra weight for clients in rural counties, where losing one in-network specialist can mean driving well outside the county for the same care next year.
| What changed on the ANOC | Why it matters | What to ask the client |
|---|---|---|
| Premium or deductible increase | Changes the client's monthly cost even with no other changes | "Did your Social Security deduction or premium bill change?" |
| Drug moved to a higher tier or removed | Can raise a client's out-of-pocket cost on a maintenance medication | "Are you still taking the same medications as last year?" |
| Provider or pharmacy dropped from network | Client may need a new doctor or pharmacy mid-treatment | "Is your regular doctor's office still listed as in-network?" |
| Extra benefit reduced or removed | Dental, vision, hearing, or OTC allowances are easy for a client to miss | "Have you used your dental or OTC allowance this year?" |
What's the Difference Between an ANOC and an EOC?
The ANOC and the Evidence of Coverage arrive in the same envelope but answer different questions. The ANOC is short, it lists only what is changing, and it is the document a client should read first. The Evidence of Coverage is the full plan rulebook: every covered service, every cost-share, and the plan's complete rules for the coming year. A client who calls confused about "two letters" usually has both in hand. Point them to the ANOC first, and keep the EOC as the reference document for anything the ANOC doesn't spell out in detail.
A Step-by-Step Process for Reviewing ANOC Letters During AEP
A review call works best with a short, repeatable sequence rather than reading the letter line by line. Here is a process that fits in the ten to fifteen minutes most clients will give you:
- Pull the client's current plan and medication list before the call. Check what you already have on file against the ANOC's changes so you are not asking the client to re-explain their own coverage.
- Confirm the three things most likely to affect the client: their maintenance medications, their primary doctor, and their monthly premium.
- Walk through only the changes that apply to them, not the whole letter. Most ANOC letters list changes a given client will never notice.
- Decide together whether a plan comparison is worth running for the next plan year, or whether staying put is still the better option.
- Document the call and the decision before moving to the next client, while the details are still fresh.
The ANOC review call carries more weight than most agents give it credit for, because it is one of the few moments all year when a client actively expects to hear from their agent about their coverage. A client who gets a plan change explained clearly and proactively is less likely to be talked into switching by a call center during AEP, and more likely to stay a retained client after the window closes. The letter itself does the hard part by surfacing what changed; the agent's job is narrowing that list to the two or three items that actually affect this specific client, in plain language, before December 7 arrives and the window to act closes for the year. A client whose maintenance drug just moved to a non-preferred tier, for example, can face a jump of several hundred dollars a year if nobody catches it until a pharmacy counter in February.
When Should an Agent Start ANOC Review Calls?
Carriers are required to send the ANOC by September 30, which puts most letters in a client's mailbox two to three weeks before the Annual Enrollment Period opens on October 15. The two-week gap is useful. An agent who starts review calls as soon as letters go out gets to a client's plan changes before a call center does, and before the client has had time to get anxious about a premium increase on their own. Nothing can be enrolled before October 15, so early calls in this window are about reviewing the letter and flagging a likely plan change, not taking an enrollment action. Clients whose ANOC shows no real change can wait until later in AEP. Clients with a formulary or network change belong at the top of the call list in late September.
What Should an Agent Do if a Client Never Received an ANOC?
Plans are required to mail the ANOC, but letters get lost, forwarded to an old address, or thrown out with other mail. Medicare's own guidance is direct about the fix: if a member did not get this notice, contact the plan directly to request a copy or have it read over the phone. An agent can usually resolve this faster than the client calling the plan alone, since the agent already knows which plan the client is on. Note the missing letter in the client's file so the same gap doesn't repeat next AEP.
Documenting the ANOC Review in Your CRM
AgencyView keeps each Medicare client's household, medications, providers, and health conditions on their contact record, so a reviewer can see what the client is actually taking and who they see before making the call. Each policy record carries the plan type, carrier, and coverage tag — MA, MAPD, Medicare Supplement, or standalone Part D — so an agent working a list can filter straight to clients on a plan likely to change. A task can be logged against the contact for the review call itself, with a due date ahead of December 7 and a note of what was discussed and decided.
AgencyView's AEP Review feature does a version of this comparison automatically: it checks every Medicare Advantage and Part D client's current plan against CMS's published data for the next plan year and flags the ones whose plan is changing, generating a client-ready summary of what's different. It isn't reading the ANOC letter itself, but it is independently working from the same CMS plan data the ANOC is built from, so an agency can see which clients need a call before the letters even finish arriving in the mail. Calls placed through AgencyView's RingCentral integration are recorded and transcribed, which gives agencies a record of what was actually discussed if a client later disputes a plan change.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the ANOC letter arrive? Plans must mail it by September 30 each year, ahead of the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period, which runs October 15 through December 7.
Is the ANOC the same as a plan termination notice? No. Most ANOC letters describe changes to an ongoing plan. A separate non-renewal notice is required if a plan is leaving the service area entirely.
Do Medicare Supplement clients get an ANOC? Medigap carriers are not required to send the standardized ANOC/EOC package the way Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are, though many send a renewal notice with any rate change.
Should every client get a full review call? Prioritize clients whose ANOC shows a real change first — premium, formulary, or network — and handle no-change renewals with a shorter check-in.
What if a client wants to switch plans after the review? AEP allows one plan change per client; document the client's reasoning and the date of the request in their file either way.
Running every client's ANOC through a consistent review process, instead of waiting for them to call confused, is easier when the plan, medication, and provider details are already sitting on the contact record. That's what a Medicare agent CRM like AgencyView is built to keep organized for agencies working through AEP.
Where AgencyView fits
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