Medicare Open Enrollment

Medicare is the same, but have your coverage needs changed?

In this ever-changing world, it’s nice that some traditions remain the same year after year—like Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). Each year this runs from October 15 to December 7. During this period you can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage plan. You can change from Original Medicare (Parts A and B) to a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C), or switch from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare. You can also join, switch or drop Medicare drug coverage plans (Part D). Any changes you make take effect January 1.

There is a separate enrollment period just for Medicare Advantage, from January 1 through March 31. This period is called the Annual Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment period (MA-OEP).  This is when you can switch between Advantage plans or end your Advantage coverage and return to Original Medicare. However, during this period you cannot switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan.  

There are also some life changes that can trigger Special Enrollment Periods with the ability to make changes all year long. For example, when you lose your current employer coverage or become eligible for Medi-Cal, move to a new coverage area, or move into or out of a skilled nursing facility, long-term care hospital or similar facility.

If you are already enrolled in Medicare, you should receive the 2026 Medicare and You handbook in late September or early October. It’s also available online at medicare.gov/medicare-and-you. Additionally, in late September you should receive a separate notice detailing how your Medicare Advantage plan, or standalone Part D prescription drug plan, will change in the upcoming year. This notice is called the Annual Notification of Change (ANOC) document. 

So should you gather up your colored pens and highlighters to review your coverage and the changes for the upcoming year? Not necessarily, says licensed health insurance agent Vince Kelly. However, this is why it’s important to review the ANOC to see if your plan will have any significant changes. 

“A lot can change in five years, but year-to-year? Generally, not so much,” Kelly says. “You should at least go over your Medicare options every few years or when your medical or financial circumstances change.”

This is why medicare.gov is a great resource with its Plan Finder. This is especially helpful for people not on a Medicare Advantage plan but who have a standalone Part D prescription drug plan. This is because the standalone Part D prescription drug plans have been volatile in premiums each year. Medicare Advantage plans include Part D, and the majority of the Medicare Advantage HMOs have a $0 premium in Southern California. 

The Annual Enrollment Period is a good time to consider switching from a Medicare supplement plan, or Medigap, to an HMO, especially as you age, Kelly says, because Medigap premiums increase each year. “At age 65,” he explains, “a really good supplement plan may cost $170 per month right now, but if you are age 75 right now, that premium could be $300 or higher each month.”

And there are a few things you should check every year, like your Medicare Advantage HMO insurance card. “You should ensure your insurance ID card has your name—with no misspellings—and lists both your primary care physician and correct medical group name, for example, Torrance Memorial IPA,” Kelly says. “Primary care physicians can move or retire. If that happens, listing your medical group on your insurance card will make it easier for you to continue receiving care from the same group.”  

For more information, go to medicare.gov; call the Torrance Memorial IPA Resource Center at 310-517-7239; call licensed independent agent expert Vince Kelly at 310-625-1837; or attend Torrance Memorial IPA’s complimentary Medicare 101 lectures (TorranceMemorialIPA.org/medicare101) for more information.