Medicare-Related Enrollment Dates and Guidelines
September: Is your plan changing?
- Early September, non-renewing plans send out required Non-Renewal notice.
- Late September, the Annual Notice of Change is sent. This document side-by-side compares this year's benefits to next years.
Compare: In October, we use Medicare’s tools to find a plan that meets your needs for the coming year. It's important to disclose upcoming procedures.
- This is the one time of year when ALL people with Medicare can make changes to their health and prescription drug plans for the next year.
Between: October 15- December 7 make a change for the new year!
- Change from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage Plan.
- Change from a Medicare Advantage Plan back to Original Medicare.
- Switch from one Medicare Advantage Plan to another Medicare Advantage Plan.
- Switch from a Medicare Advantage Plan that doesn’t offer drug coverage to a Medicare Advantage Plan that offers drug coverage or visa versa.
- Switch from one Medicare Prescription Drug Plan to another Medicare Prescription Drug Plan
January 1—Coverage Begins
- Your new coverage begins if you switched to a new plan. If you stay with the same plan, any changes to coverage, benefits, or costs for the new year will begin on January 1. All prescriptions and or any exceptions to tiering or formulary, need to be renewed or initiated with your plan.
Between January 1–March 31
- If you’re in a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO), you can make one add'l. change to a different plan or switch back to Original Medicare (and join a stand-alone Medicare Prescription Drug Plan) during this time. Any change made will be effective the first of the next month.
Special Enrollment Periods
- After your Initial Enrollment Period is over, you may have a chance to sign up
for Medicare during a Special Enrollment Period. - You may be eligible if you miss an enrollment period because of certain exceptional circumstances, like being impacted by a natural disaster or an emergency, incarceration, employer or health plan error, losing Medicaid coverage, or other circumstances outside
of your control that Medicare determines to be exceptional. Also, moving out of your plan's service area (usually county or state). - For example, if you didn’t sign up for Part B (or Part A if you have to buy it) when you were first eligible because you have group health plan coverage based on current employment (your own, a spouse’s, or a family member’s if you have a disability), you can sign up for Part A and/or Part B. Your coverage generally starts the first day of the month after you sign up.
- You should sign up for Part B during the last 3 months while you’re still working, or within the first full month after losing employer coverage, you can request to delay your Part B start date either the date you leave employment or one month later. Usually, you won’t have to pay a late enrollment penalty if you sign up during a Special Enrollment Period. Employers are tasked with determining if the Employer Plans meet the 2025 Part D creditability. Employees may no longer be creditable from Partd Late Enrollment Penalties.
- This Special Enrollment Period doesn’t apply if you’re eligible for Medicare based on End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), or you’re still in your Initial Enrollment Period.
When to buy a Medicare Supplement policy
- The best time to buy a Medigap policy is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period, which is the six-month period that begins on the first day of the month in which you turn 65 or older and have enrolled in Part B. (Some states have additional Open Enrollment Periods.) After this enrollment period, you may not be able to buy a Medigap policy. If you are able to buy one, it may cost more, or have limitations in coverage for pre-existing conditions.
- If you delayed taking Part B because you enjoyed employer group health coverage, your Medigap Open Enrollment Period won't start until you sign up for Part B. You must sign-up for Part D prescription coverage prior to the Part B effective date if you choose to have one.
If need have questions about enrollment please give us a call. We're here to help. By contacting the phone number on this website you will be directed to a licensed agent.
This information comes from www.medicare.gov and Medicare and You 2023.