What to Bring to a Medicare Appointment in Maryland: 2026 Checklist

Quick answer: what should you bring to a Medicare appointment?

Bring the information that can change your Medicare choices: your enrollment deadline, Medicare Part A and Part B status, current insurance, employer or retiree coverage, preferred doctors and facilities, prescriptions and pharmacies, travel needs, budget, and any plan notices you received. If you already have Medicare coverage, bring the plan’s current Evidence of Coverage and Annual Notice of Change. If you are new to Medicare, bring the start and end dates for current or recent job-based coverage.

You may need your Medicare Number to join a Medicare health or drug plan or buy Medigap, but protect it like a credit card. Do not send a Medicare card image, Social Security number, medical records, bank information, or account password through an ordinary contact form, text message, or unencrypted email. Ask what secure process applies before sharing sensitive information.

This checklist was reviewed on September 14, 2026. Plan availability, benefits, premiums, networks, formularies, pharmacy status, enrollment rules, and effective dates can change. For the 2027 plan year, Medicare’s 2026 handbook directs beneficiaries to begin comparing plans on October 1, 2026; Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026. Verify the dates and rules that apply to your situation with Medicare, Social Security, your current plan, an employer benefits administrator, or another responsible official source.

First, identify the purpose of the appointment

A Medicare appointment can mean several different things. Before gathering documents, write down which task you need to complete:

• signing up for Medicare Part A or Part B through Social Security;
• comparing Original Medicare with Medicare Advantage;
• reviewing a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the next year;
• comparing Medigap policies to supplement Original Medicare;
• coordinating Medicare with current-employer, retiree, union, Medicaid, or other coverage; or
• getting free, unbiased counseling from Maryland’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program.

Those are not interchangeable appointments. Social Security handles enrollment in Part A and Part B. Medicare.gov provides the official plan-comparison tools. Private insurers issue Medicare Advantage, Part D, and Medigap coverage. Maryland SHIP provides free counseling and does not sell insurance. A licensed agent can discuss available products within the agent’s current licensing and carrier appointments, but cannot guarantee eligibility, acceptance, plan availability, savings, benefits, provider participation, drug coverage, claims, or an effective date.

If you are meeting with an agent about Medicare health or drug plans, confirm the products you agreed to discuss. Medicare’s plan marketing rules say an agent cannot pressure you, call a plan “the best” or “highest ranked,” charge a fee to process plan enrollment, or discuss additional plan products you did not agree to hear about unless you specifically request them and complete a separate appointment form.

Make a one-page Medicare summary

Create a short summary that frames the appointment without exposing private identifiers. Include:

1. Your Maryland county and ZIP code, because plan service areas can be local.
2. The reason for the appointment and your next deadline.
3. Whether you have Part A, Part B, both, or neither, plus the effective dates if known.
4. How you receive coverage now: Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, a separate Part D plan, Medigap, employer or retiree coverage, Medicaid, or another arrangement.
5. The doctors, facilities, prescriptions, pharmacies, travel patterns, and budget priorities that matter most.
6. The decision you need to make and the questions that remain unanswered.

Leave your full Medicare Number, Social Security number, bank details, passwords, diagnoses, and detailed medical history off this summary. The purpose is to organize the decision. A secure enrollment process may request some private information later.

Bring your enrollment timeline and current-coverage facts

Enrollment timing can affect whether someone can add or change coverage and when it starts. Write down your birth date, but keep your full Social Security number off the general worksheet. Note the date you first became eligible for Medicare, the dates Part A and Part B began or are expected to begin, and any enrollment notice or deadline you received.

If you have or recently had job-based insurance, bring the employer or union name, whether the coverage is based on current employment or is retiree coverage, and the exact start and end dates. Social Security’s current Medicare sign-up guidance says its application may request the start and end dates for current group health plans and for group plans held after age 65. Ask the employer benefits administrator for written confirmation instead of estimating.

Coordination can be especially fact-specific when an employer plan, retiree plan, Health Savings Account, COBRA, disability-based eligibility, Medicaid, or Railroad Retirement Board benefits are involved. Do not drop existing coverage or stop HSA contributions based only on a general checklist. Use the instructions that apply to your circumstances. Our Medicare 101 guide explains the major enrollment windows and coverage paths in more detail.

Protect your Medicare card and account information

If you already have a Medicare card, it shows whether you have Part A, Part B, or both and the date each began. Medicare’s card guidance says the Medicare Number is unique to you and should be protected like a credit card. It may be needed to join a plan, but you should share it only with appropriate health care providers, insurers or plans and their licensed agents or brokers, or trusted people who work with Medicare, such as SHIP.

Bring the card only if the appointment purpose requires it and you are confident about who you are meeting. Keep it in your possession until a secure application step requires the number. Medicare advises people not to share their Medicare Number or other personal information with an unexpected caller, email sender, or visitor.

For an initial planning conversation, a note that says “Part A and Part B active” with the effective months may be enough. Never place an image of your Medicare or Social Security card in an ordinary website form.

Bring the plan documents you already have

If you are reviewing existing Medicare Advantage or Part D coverage, bring the current Evidence of Coverage and the Annual Notice of Change for the coming year. The Evidence of Coverage explains what the plan covers, what you pay, and how its rules work. Medicare says the Annual Notice of Change arrives in the fall and describes changes in coverage, costs, and other plan details that take effect in January.

Also gather:

• your current plan member card and the full plan and network name;
• premium notices and recent Explanation of Benefits statements, with private claim details covered when they are not needed;
• notices about formulary, pharmacy, network, prior-authorization, or benefit changes;
• employer, retiree, union, or Medicaid coverage documents; and
• any official eligibility, enrollment, denial, or termination notice related to the decision.

Do not assume a familiar plan name means the plan is unchanged. Compare the exact plan, contract, service area, network, formulary, and coverage year.

Prepare a doctor and facility list

List the doctors, specialists, hospitals, laboratories, outpatient facilities, durable-medical-equipment suppliers, and other providers that are important to you. A name, practice, and location are generally enough for an insurance comparison; diagnoses and medical records are not.

Provider access depends on the coverage path. Under Original Medicare, ask whether the provider accepts Medicare and whether the provider accepts assignment. Under Medicare Advantage, check the exact plan’s current network and out-of-network rules. Medicare’s guidance on getting services explains that Medicare Advantage members should check with the plan to confirm whether a provider is in network, and that out-of-network care may cost more when the plan permits it.

Use a three-way verification method before relying on a result: check the plan’s official directory, contact the plan, and confirm with the provider office using the exact plan and network name. Save the date, source, and person or department that confirmed the answer. Network participation can change, and a provider saying it “takes Medicare” does not necessarily answer whether it is in a particular Medicare Advantage network.

Prepare a prescription and pharmacy list

For each current prescription, record the drug name, dosage, form, quantity, and how often it is filled. Add your preferred local and mail-order pharmacies. Share this list only through an appropriate private channel; you generally do not need to include the condition being treated.

Medicare’s Plan Compare lets users save drugs and pharmacies to compare plan costs. Review the exact plan’s formulary, drug tier, quantity limits, step-therapy rules, prior-authorization requirements, and pharmacy network. Medicare explains that preferred in-network pharmacies may have different cost sharing and that an out-of-network pharmacy may require someone to pay the full cost.

Do not change, skip, or substitute a medication because of an insurance comparison. Treatment decisions belong with an appropriate health professional. The checklist is for checking coverage and cost rules, not for giving medical advice.

Compare costs and coverage rules on the same worksheet

Use one row for each option and the same columns for every row. Depending on the coverage path, useful comparison fields include:

• monthly premiums, including the Part B premium when applicable;
• medical and drug deductibles;
• copayments and coinsurance for care you may use;
• the medical out-of-pocket limit for a Medicare Advantage plan;
• formulary tiers and pharmacy cost sharing;
• provider network and referral rules;
• prior-authorization requirements;
• travel and out-of-area coverage;
• extra benefits and the limits attached to them; and
• the enrollment deadline and expected effective date.

The lowest premium is not automatically the lowest total cost, and an added benefit is only useful when its eligibility, limits, providers, and service area fit your situation. Medicare’s comparison of Medicare Advantage plan types shows that HMO, PPO, PFFS, SNP, and MSA designs can differ in networks, referrals, drug coverage, and other rules. The specific plan document—not the plan-type label alone—controls.

If you are comparing Original Medicare plus Medigap with Medicare Advantage, use our Medigap versus Medicare Advantage guide to frame the tradeoffs, then verify current Maryland availability, eligibility, underwriting or guaranteed-issue rights, and premiums with the responsible sources.

Adjust the checklist to the appointment type

New to Medicare

Bring your enrollment timeline, Part A and Part B status, current-employer coverage dates, employer size and benefits contact if relevant, HSA questions, and any Social Security notice. Preview options before the appointment, but remember that Medicare says you cannot join a Medicare health or drug plan until you have a Medicare Number.

Annual coverage review

Bring the current Evidence of Coverage, the coming year’s Annual Notice of Change, your updated provider and prescription lists, pharmacy preferences, and a record of the costs or access problems that mattered this year. Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7 each year, but a review does not require a change. If you keep a plan, its benefits, costs, network, or formulary may still change for January.

Medigap comparison

Bring your Part A and Part B effective dates, current Medigap policy if any, any guaranteed-issue notice, the lettered plan benefits you want to compare, and official quotes for the same lettered plan. Standardized lettered plans generally have the same basic benefits, but premiums and company practices can differ. Eligibility to buy or switch can depend on timing and Maryland rules.

Employer or retiree coordination

Bring the employer or union plan documents, proof of current-employment status, coverage dates, prescription-creditability notices, dependent-coverage facts, and the benefits administrator’s contact information. Medicare’s 2026 handbook warns people with employer or union coverage to contact the benefits administrator before changing coverage because adding other coverage could affect the worker’s or dependents’ plan.

Questions to ask during the appointment

Use the meeting to turn documents into a decision record. Ask:

• Which enrollment period or special rule applies, and what official source confirms it?
• What exact plan year, service area, contract, and network are we comparing?
• Are my doctors, facilities, prescriptions, and pharmacies covered under this exact plan?
• Which costs are fixed, estimated, or dependent on the care I use?
• What referrals, prior authorizations, or utilization rules apply?
• How does this choice interact with employer, retiree, union, Medicaid, or other coverage?
• What must I do after choosing a plan, and how will I confirm enrollment and the effective date?
• Who handles billing, claims, coverage decisions, appeals, and later changes?
• What information must be provided securely, and why is it needed?
• Is the person helping me paid by a plan or carrier, and which products can they discuss?

Write down unresolved questions instead of filling gaps with assumptions. The correct next step may be to contact Social Security, 1-800-MEDICARE, the plan, an employer administrator, a provider, a pharmacy, Maryland SHIP, or the Maryland Insurance Administration.

What to do after the appointment

Keep a short decision log with the options reviewed, source dates, comparison results, unresolved questions, next deadline, and the reason for any choice. Save official notices and confirmation numbers securely.

Do not sign or submit an enrollment form until you are ready. After an enrollment request, confirm that the responsible organization received it and verify the coverage effective date. Do not cancel existing coverage until the replacement coverage and its timing are confirmed. If a plan switch affects drug coverage, provider access, an employer benefit, or Medigap eligibility, verify those consequences before the old coverage ends.

Review new plan materials when they arrive. Confirm the member card, provider directory, formulary, pharmacy network, premium billing, and any required next steps. Report suspected fraud or unauthorized enrollment to Medicare using its official contact options.

Maryland Medicare help and local guidance

Maryland’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program offers free, confidential Medicare counseling and does not sell insurance. The Maryland Department of Aging currently lists the Carroll County SHIP office at 410-386-3800. Verify the number on the official page before relying on it.

Kayla Pugh helps Medicare beneficiaries and families organize comparison questions and review available plan features within her confirmed service scope. The commercial page for Medicare guidance in Westminster remains the canonical page for local Medicare broker intent. This article has a narrower purpose: helping people prepare for a useful, privacy-conscious appointment. Learn more about Medicare services or schedule a consultation.

When contacting the office, share only the general coverage type, Maryland county, decision deadline, and whether you already have Medicare. Do not place a Medicare Number, Social Security number, medical record, bank information, prescription details, or card image in the website form. Kayla can explain what information is appropriate for the next secure step.

Frequently asked questions

This article provides general insurance education, not legal, tax, financial, or medical advice. Verify current enrollment rules, plan availability, premiums, benefits, networks, formularies, pharmacy status, coverage coordination, document requests, and effective dates with the responsible official source before acting.