What Can I Do During the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period?

The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is here! If you’re new to the Medicare program or haven’t heard of the AEP before, this may seem like a whirlwind. What is the AEP, and when does it open and close? Most importantly, who can help you make a plan choice?

 What is the Annual Enrollment Period?

The Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 to December 7 every year. This is your chance to make changes to your Medicare insurance plan!

During AEP you can:

• Enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan if you have Original Medicare (Parts A and B).
• Return to Original Medicare from a Medicare Advantage plan by not renewing for the next calendar year.
• Move from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Enroll in a Medicare Part D plan.
• Switch from one Part D plan to another.
• Drop your Part D plan completely.

Unless your Initial Election Period (IEP) coincides with this 54-day period, you cannot use the AEP to sign up for Original Medicare for the first time.

Information about the next year’s health and drug plans become available each October, and we recommend working with a licensed sales agent to make sense of your current coverage and future options. Independent, licensed sales agents cannot charge you for their services and are required to represent your best interests.

If your plan is changing or you weren’t satisfied with your coverage, you may be interested in changing your plan. Comparing different plans can also help you save money or receive coverage that better fits you. Any coverage changes you make go into effect January 1 of the following year.

When researching AEP, you may see it called a few different names. Don’t worry, they’re all referring to the same period of time. Alternative AEP names you might hear include:

1. Annual Election Period
2. Annual Coordinated Election Period
3. Open Enrollment Period (OEP)
4. Fall Open Enrollment Season

Can I Make Changes Outside of the AEP?

Once the Annual Enrollment Period ends, you may still be able to make changes to your coverage. For example, January 1 to March 31 is the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. During this time, you may be able to make a one-time switch to a new Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan or return to Original Medicare without incurring a penalty.

If any number of special circumstances apply to you, you may make changes to your Medicare Advantage and Part D coverage by using a Special Election Period (SEP).

What’s expected for this year’s Medicare annual enrollment period?

The 2026 Medicare annual enrollment period runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026, for coverage that starts in 2027. Before it opened, CMS published its September 28, 2026 outlook for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. These are national averages and projections. Your own plan’s numbers may be higher or lower.

CMS also said more than 99% of people with Medicare will have at least one Medicare Advantage plan available, and 97% will have 10 or more. It estimated that about eight in 10 Medicare Advantage members can keep their current plan at the same or a lower premium. That still leaves about two in 10 who can’t, which is why CMS encourages people to review their current coverage.

How do you make a change during open enrollment?

You don’t need special forms or a reason. Medicare.gov lists three ways to join a plan:

1. Select “Enroll” for the plan on Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder.
2. Contact the plan by phone or on its website, or ask it for a paper form.
3. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.

Timing matters. Medicare says the plan must get your request by December 7. A paper form counts only once the plan receives it, so mail it early. Coverage then starts January 1.

You usually don’t have to cancel your old plan. When you switch drug plans, Medicare says your old drug coverage ends when your new coverage begins. Watch for a letter from the new plan that confirms your start date.

If you like your plan, you can generally stay put. CMS says people who want to keep their current coverage generally do not need to re-enroll. Just make sure the plan is still offered and still fits your needs for next year.

Dropping drug coverage. If you only want to drop a drug plan, Medicare lists several ways: call 1-800-MEDICARE, mail or fax a signed notice to the plan, use the plan’s online option, or ask the plan for a disenrollment form. Keep in mind that going 63 or more days in a row without creditable drug coverage can lead to a late penalty later.

What should you compare before December 7?

Plans can change their costs and benefits each year. A short checklist keeps the review focused. Use the same list for every plan you look at, including your current one.

• Your drugs. Enter every prescription and dose in Plan Finder. Check whether each drug is covered and at what tier.
• Your pharmacies. Confirm your usual pharmacy is in the plan’s network, and whether mail order changes the price.
• Your doctors and hospitals. For Medicare Advantage, check that each one is in the plan’s network for next year.
• Total yearly cost. Add premiums, deductibles and copays for the care you expect, not just the monthly premium.
• Star ratings. See how the plan scores on quality.

For 2026, CMS set the Part D yearly out-of-pocket cap at $2,100 and the maximum standard deductible at $615. Plans can set a lower deductible. Check Plan Finder for the 2027 amounts on any plan you compare.

About star ratings. CMS rates Medicare Advantage and Part D plans on a 1-to-5-star scale each year. The 2027 ratings were posted on Plan Finder on October 8, 2026. CMS says 15 Medicare Advantage drug plan contracts are marked with a high-performing icon for 2027. Ratings are one factor. They don’t tell you whether a plan covers your drugs or doctors.

Hypothetical example. Plan X has a $0 monthly premium but a $500 drug deductible and higher copays for your two brand-name drugs. Plan Y costs $40 a month with a lower deductible. Plan X looks cheaper at first. But once you add 12 months of premiums, the deductible and a year of copays, Plan Y could cost less for someone who fills those prescriptions every month. The numbers here are made up. The point is to compare the full year, using your own drug list.

How is the annual enrollment period different from the January to March window?

Medicare has two fall-and-winter windows with similar names. They are easy to confuse, but they work differently. Here is how Medicare.gov describes each one on its joining a plan page.

The key difference: if you’re in Original Medicare with a stand-alone drug plan, the January to March window doesn’t apply to you. The fall window is your main yearly chance to make a change, unless a Special Enrollment Period applies.

Can you change Medigap during the Medicare annual enrollment period?

This is a common mix-up. The Medicare annual enrollment period covers Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policies follow their own rules, and there is no yearly federal window to switch them.

Medicare says your best time to buy Medigap is your 6-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, which starts when you’re 65 or older and have Part B. After that, there’s no federal guarantee a company will sell you a policy, and it may cost more due to health problems.

Outside that window, Medicare says switching may mean paying more and answering medical questions, unless you have a guaranteed issue right. Some states give extra rights, so check with your State Insurance Department. Our guide to Medicare supplement underwriting explains how health questions work.

Leaving Medicare Advantage in the fall. You can drop a Medicare Advantage Plan and go back to Original Medicare during open enrollment. But getting a Medigap policy afterward isn’t automatic. Unless you have a guaranteed issue right, an insurer may review your health. One protected case: if you joined Medicare Advantage when you first became eligible at 65, Medicare gives you 12 months to return to Original Medicare with special rights to buy Medigap.

Also note: Medicare says it’s illegal for anyone to sell you a Medigap policy while you have a Medicare Advantage Plan.

Which costs stay the same no matter which plan you choose?

Some Medicare costs don’t depend on the plan you pick in the fall. A Medicare Advantage Plan requires both Part A and Part B, so the 2026 Part B standard premium of $202.90 applies whether you stay in Original Medicare or join a Medicare Advantage Plan. Medicare.gov notes you pay it whether or not you use Part B services.

Higher incomes pay more. CMS adds an income-related amount (IRMAA) to Part B and Part D premiums. Here are the 2026 Part B figures for individual and joint filers:

Source: CMS 2026 fact sheet. The Part D add-on is paid on top of your plan’s premium. The 2027 Part B premium had not been announced when this was written, so expect these figures to change in January.

Should you change plans if you have job or retiree coverage?

Be careful here. If you have coverage from a current or former employer or union, a fall plan change can affect it. Medicare.gov warns that joining a Medicare Advantage Plan may affect your employer or union coverage, and you may not be able to get that coverage back.

Retiree plans often expect you to have both Part A and Part B. Medicare says to check with your benefits administrator before you join a Medicare plan, because joining one your former employer doesn’t offer could cause you to lose your retiree coverage.

Before you act during open enrollment, ask your benefits office two questions. First, how does my retiree plan work with Medicare? Second, what happens to my coverage, and my spouse’s, if I join a different Medicare plan?

Missed the annual enrollment period? Other ways to make a change

If December 7 passes, you may still have options. The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 to March 31, is for people already in a Medicare Advantage Plan. Beyond that, Medicare lists Special Enrollment Periods for specific life events. A few that come up often:

• 5-star plan in your area. You can switch to a 5-star plan once between December 8 and November 30 of the following year.
• Low-rated plan. If your plan has been rated under 3 stars for the last 3 years, you can switch any time you’re in it.
• You move. If you move out of your plan’s service area, your window starts when you move and lasts 2 full months after.
• Medicaid or Extra Help. If you have full Medicaid or get Extra Help, you can switch Part D plans once per calendar month.
• Nursing home or rehab stay. You can make changes while you live there and for 2 full months after you leave.
• Exceptional circumstances. Cases such as misleading information from a plan representative are reviewed one by one. If approved, you generally get 2 months to make a change.

Watch the details. Medicare warns that moving from a Medicare Advantage drug plan to a stand-alone drug plan ends your Medicare Advantage coverage. Moving to a 5-star plan without drug coverage could leave you without drug coverage and a possible penalty. For more on switching, see our guide on how to change Medicare plans, or call 1-800-MEDICARE for your situation.

Read more:CMS.gov. Medicare Open Enrollment. – https://www.cms.gov/priorities/key-initiatives/medicare-open-enrollment-partner-resources Not affiliated or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.