Every date that matters
Five windows. Only two of them apply to any one person at any one time, and this page tells you which.
| Window | When | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Enrollment | 7 months around your 65th birthday | Everyone, once |
| Annual Enrollment | October 15 to December 7 | Anyone with Medicare Advantage or a drug plan |
| Advantage Open Enrollment | January 1 to March 31 | Only people in an Advantage plan on January 1 |
| General Enrollment | January 1 to March 31 | People who missed their first window |
| Special Enrollment | When your circumstances change | Anyone that happens to |
| Medigap open enrollment | 6 months from Part B starting at 65 | Everyone, once, and it does not come back |
What each window actually lets you do
Open the one you are in. Each has its own link, so you can send a window to someone who needs it.
Three months before the month you turn 65, your birthday month, and three months after. This is your first and cleanest chance to take Part A and Part B.
Apply before your birthday month and coverage begins the first day of that month. Apply during it or after it and coverage begins the first of the month after you apply.
The one most people mean when they say “open enrollment”. Anyone on Medicare can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D drug plan. Whatever you choose starts on January 1.
This is the window to re-check your drug plan, because formularies and networks change every January. It is also the six weeks when your mailbox fills with mail you did not ask for.
It does not give you a Medigap policy. Medigap has its own rules and its own windows.
A single change, for people who are in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1. You can move to a different Advantage plan, or drop back to Original Medicare and add a Part D drug plan.
If you are on Original Medicare on January 1, this window does nothing for you. And leaving an Advantage plan here does not guarantee that a Medigap company will accept you.
The catch-up window for Part A or Part B. Since 2023, coverage starts the first day of the month after you sign up, rather than waiting until July.
A late-enrollment penalty usually applies: 10% added to your Part B premium for each full 12 months you could have had it and did not, for as long as you have Part B.
Events that open a window outside the usual dates:
- Employer coverage ends. Eight months to take Part B without penalty. But only 63 days to pick up drug coverage. Two different clocks, and the shorter one catches people.
- You move out of your plan’s service area. Usually the month before through two months after.
- You lose Medicaid or Extra Help.
- Your plan leaves your county or loses its Medicare contract.
- A five-star plan is available. One switch, any time from December 8 to November 30.
- Exceptional circumstances, including a federally declared emergency or being given wrong information by a plan.
If any of these is happening to you, call before you do anything. The windows are short and they do not reopen.
The fall mail
Between late September and December 7, your mailbox fills up. Most of it is advertising. Two pieces are not, and they are the ones people throw away.
- Your Annual Notice of Change. Arrives by the end of September from your current plan. It lists everything changing on January 1: the premium, the copays, the drug list, the network. Read the drug list and the network sections. Skip the rest.
- Your employer’s creditable coverage letter, if you still have coverage from a job. It confirms your drug coverage is at least as good as Part D. Keep it. You may need it years from now to avoid a penalty.
Nobody from Medicare will knock on your door
Medicare does not cold-call, does not door-knock, and will never ask for your bank details over the phone. Neither will we. If someone pressures you to decide today, that is the tell.
Two clocks that are not the same length
This is the mistake we see most often, and it is entirely the system’s fault for being confusing. When employer coverage ends:
- You have eight months to enroll in Part B without a penalty.
- You have 63 days to pick up drug coverage without a penalty.
People hear “eight months” and relax, then collect a Part D penalty in month three. If your job coverage is ending, deal with the drug plan first, and call us the week you find out.
Not sure which window you are in?
Your birthday and one sentence about your current coverage is all we need. We will tell you your dates and what, if anything, is urgent.