The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period – AEP for short – is a set time each year for changing your Medicare coverage choices if you choose to. AEP runs from October 15 to December 7. New coverage choices go into effect on January 1.
What changes can I make during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period?
The specific actions you can take during AEP depend on your current coverage. Check your situation below for a run-down on what you can do.
(Note that open enrollment is not for you if you are just about to sign up for Medicare for the first time. You get your own enrollment period to do that.)
During open enrollment, you can switch coverage:
- from original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan
- from a Medicare Advantage plan to original Medicare
- from one Medicare Advantage plan to another
- from one Part D drug plan to another
- from a Medicare Advantage plan that doesn’t offer drug coverage to another that does, and vice versa
During open enrollment, you can also join a Part D drug plan for the first time if you missed your personal deadline for signing up. Or you can drop your Medicare drug coverage entirely.
For more information, please review the Retirement section of our website.
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-Medicare to get information on all of your options.