Medicare Advantage Special Enrollment Period
If you received a letter from your Medicare Advantage (MA) plan that it will no longer sell its plan in your area, you have a special enrollment from Dec. 8 – Feb. 28. You have the option to:
- Enroll in another MA plan
- Enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan
- Return to Original Medicare and buy a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan and maybe enroll in a Medigap plan.
The new plan starts depending on when you enroll. To ensure coverage starts Jan. 1, you should enroll before Dec. 31. If you do nothing before Feb. 28, 2025, you’ll automatically be covered by Original Medicare Parts A and B only. But you must act if you want to continue to have prescription drug coverage, either by enrolling in an MA plan that includes drug coverage or by enrolling in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.
During the Medicare Advantage Special Enrollment period you have these options:
1: Choose a different Medicare Advantage plan
You can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan with or without drug coverage, but your options will depend on where you live. People who are low income, live in an institution or who have certain chronic conditions have additional options.
- See your options and compare plans using Medicare's online Plan Finder
- See Medicare Advantage plans available by county
- Learn more about Medicare Advantage plans
2: Leave your MA plan to return to Original Medicare
The easiest way to leave an MA plan and return to Original Medicare is to sign up for a stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. Also, when you switch to Original Medicare (Parts A and B), you might be able to select a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) plan (PDF, 490.24 KB) that will help pay for out-of-pocket costs that Original Medicare doesn't cover.
If you take prescriptions, you will want to:
- Buy a Medicare prescription (Part D) plan (PDF, 275.00 KB).
- Compare Medicare Part D prescription drug plans with Medicare’s online Plan Finder
Also, Medicare has programs that help people save money on Parts A, B and D. Find out if you qualify for the Medicare Savings Program or Extra Help (PDF, 256.75KB)
How to get help
- Review your Medicare and You handbook (PDF, 3.7 MB) and visit Medicare.gov to create an account, or use the Plan Finder to see your options.
- Contact SHIBA.
- Contact Medicare. You can talk or live chat with a real person, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (except some federal holidays).
- Find a local presentation or counseling session with our SHIBA program in your area.
Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period
Jan. 1 – March 31 is the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MA-OEP). You must be enrolled in an MA plan on Jan. 1 to make a switch. Any changes you make, take effect the first day of the month after your request.