Medicare open enrollment occurs each year from October 15 through December 7. During this period, you may join, drop, or switch Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, or Part D plans, but not Medigap.
Your initial Medicare enrollment window happens when you turn 65 years old or become eligible for Medicare sooner due to a disability.
That’s not your only chance to choose your coverage, though. Each year, you can use the Medicare open enrollment window to make changes to your Medicare plan.
These changes include:
- enrolling in Medicare Advantage
- enrolling in a Medicare Part D plan
- switching back to Original Medicare from Medicare Advantage
Open enrollment is a great time to evaluate your Medicare coverage and make sure it’s still the best choice for your needs. Keep reading to learn more about Medicare’s open enrollment periods.
Open enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7 each year.
The changes you make during open enrollment will begin on January 1 of the following year. So, if you use open enrollment to select a new Medicare Advantage plan any time between October 15 and December 7 of 2024, your new coverage would begin January 1, 2025.
What can you do during open enrollment?
During the open enrollment period, you can:
- change from Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) to a Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan
- change from a Medicare Advantage plan back to Original Medicare
- switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another
- switch from a Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage to one that does not
- switch from a Medicare Advantage plan that doesn’t include prescription drug coverage to one that does
- join, switch, or drop a Part D prescription drug plan
What can’t you do during open enrollment?
Not all Medicare plan changes can be made during the open enrollment period. The main thing you cannot do is buy a Medigap plan.
You can add a Medigap policy to your plan only at certain times. These Medigap enrollment periods are:
- Initial Medicare enrollment period (for those new to Medicare): You are eligible to both apply for a Medicare plan and add a Medigap policy during the 3 months before, 3 months after, and the month of your 65th birthday.
- Medigap open enrollment period: If you miss initial enrollment, you can apply for a policy during the Medigap open enrollment period. If you’ve already turned 65 years old, this period begins when you enroll in Part B. If you’re yet to turn 65 years old, this period runs until 6 months after you turn 65 years old and have enrolled in Part B. During this enrollment period, you’re guaranteed to be accepted by a Medigap plan and to get a good rate.
You may be able to buy Medigap plans outside of these windows, but you won’t have the same guarantees.
Insurance companies aren’t required to sell you a Medigap policy, especially if you’re under age 65 years. And after your enrollment window, Medigap plans can deny your application or charge you a much higher rate.
Here is an at-a-glance overview of when you’ll be eligible for each part of Medicare:
- Part A: You’re eligible to enroll for Medicare Part A during the initial enrollment period. You’ll automatically be enrolled at age 65 for Medicare Part A if you’re currently receiving Social Security disability benefits or Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) disability benefits.
- Part B: As with Medicare Part A, you’re eligible to enroll for Medicare Part B during initial enrollment, and you’ll be automatically enrolled if you receive disability or retirement benefits.
- Part C (Medicare Advantage): To enroll in Medicare Part C, you must first have parts A and B. You sign up for Medicare Part C during initial enrollment or other enrollment periods.
- Part D: You can enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan when you first get Medicare during initial enrollment. If you don’t sign up for Medicare Part D within 63 days of your initial enrollment period, you may incur a late enrollment penalty.
- Medigap: The initial enrollment period for Medigap is triggered by the start of the month when you turn 65 years old and sign up for Part B. Initial enrollment for Medigap lasts for 6 months from that date.
Medicare open enrollment is for people who are already enrolled in Medicare. If you’re signing up for Medicare for the first time, that’s your initial enrollment window.
The steps you need to take during your initial enrollment will depend on how you become eligible for Medicare.
For example, you’ll need to apply directly to Medicare if you’re not already receiving benefits from Social Security or the RRB. People who are receiving these benefits will be enrolled in Medicare automatically when they become eligible.
You can apply for Medicare by:
- going online
- calling Social Security at 800-772-1213
- visiting your local Social Security office (use this online office locator to find an office near you)
- sending a letter to your local Social Security office
You don’t need to take these steps if you’re already enrolled in Medicare. Instead, you can use the open enrollment window to change your coverage.
You can do this by visiting the Medicare website and shopping for new plans. You can then select a plan you want and join.
You don’t need to take any extra steps. As long as you join the new plan during open enrollment, you can just select your new plan. Remember, you’re selecting coverage for the next plan year — which means your plan will change in January, not right away.
Changing Medicare plans during open enrollment is generally as straightforward as selecting a new plan. When you select a new plan, you’ll be automatically disenrolled from your old plan.
This works when you’re switching from one Advantage plan to another or from one Part D plan to another. You can also add a Part D plan this way. Just select a Part D plan, and it will be added to your coverage starting in January.
Plus, you can go from Original Medicare (parts A and B) to a Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan the same way. Select your new plan during opening enrollment, and starting in January, that plan will provide your coverage.
The only time you might need to take extra steps is going from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare. You’ll need to call Medicare or your plan to make this switch.
You can disenroll in your Advantage plan over the phone, and your coverage will go back to Original Medicare starting in January of the following year.
Medicare open enrollment allows you to make changes to your Medicare coverage. You can enroll in an Advantage plan, join a Part D plan, or go back to Original Medical.
If you already have Medicare Advantage, you switch to a different Advantage plan. You can also switch Part D coverage during open enrollment.
You can switch plans during open enrollment by simply enrolling in a new plan; you’ll be automatically disenrolled from your old plan.
Changes you make during Medicare’s open enrollment period (October 15 through December 7) go into effect on January 1 of the following year.