What Can I Do During the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period?

If you’re new to Medicare or haven’t heard of the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) before, it can feel like a whirlwind. What is the AEP, when does it open and close, and who can help you make a 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 coverage. During AEP you can:

• Join a Medicare Advantage plan if you have Original Medicare (Parts A and B).
• Return to Original Medicare from a Medicare Advantage plan.
• Switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Join a Medicare Part D drug plan.
• Switch from one Part D plan to another.
• Drop your Part D coverage completely.

Unless your Initial Enrollment Period happens to fall during this 54-day window, you can’t use the AEP to sign up for Original Medicare for the first time.

Information about next year’s health and drug plans becomes available each October. Plans can change their costs, covered drugs and networks from year to year, so it’s worth reviewing your plan’s Annual Notice of Change and comparing your options. A licensed insurance agent can help you make sense of your current coverage and future options. Any changes you make take effect January 1 of the following year.

When researching AEP, you may see it called a few different names. They all refer to the same period:

• Annual Election Period
• Annual Coordinated Election Period
• Open Enrollment Period
• Fall Open Enrollment

Can I Make Changes Outside of the AEP?

Once the Annual Enrollment Period ends, you may still be able to make some changes. From January 1 to March 31, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period lets people already in a Medicare Advantage plan make a one-time switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.

If certain special circumstances apply to you, such as moving or losing other coverage, you may be able to change your Medicare Advantage or Part D coverage during a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).

Read more: Medicare.gov, Joining a plan

Want help with your situation? Request a plan review or call a licensed insurance agent at (832) 734-6825 (TTY 711). There’s no cost for my help and no obligation.