Check your mailbox: the mid-year benefits statement is here

If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, this is the stretch of the year when a particular piece of mail is worth a close look. Under a Medicare rule, plans that offer extra benefits are meant to send a personalized mid-year statement, generally between June 30 and July 31, listing the supplemental benefits you have not used so far this year, explaining how each one works, noting any cost to use it, and giving you a number to call. Think dental cleanings, vision and eyewear allowances, hearing aids, over the counter drugstore allowances, fitness benefits, and transportation. The reason this matters is simple. A lot of these benefits go unused, and most of them reset at the end of the year, so anything you have not touched by December is usually gone. Taxpayers and premiums fund a large pool of money for these supplemental benefits every year, and the value only reaches you if you actually use it. A word of realism: enforcement of this notice has been uneven, so not every plan sends one, and the exact format varies. That is all the more reason not to wait on the mailer. Whether or not a statement lands in your mailbox, mid-year is a good moment to pull out your plan's benefits summary or call the member number on your card and ask a plain question: what extra benefits do I have, how much is left, and how do I use them before they reset.