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Medicare Enrollment Periods: Initial, Annual, Special and Open

You can only join or change Medicare coverage at certain times. Here is when each enrollment period happens, who it is for, and what you can do during it.

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Initial
Your first chance to sign up, around your 65th birthday.
Annual
October 15 to December 7 every year, for changing your coverage.
Open
January 1 to March 31, for people already on a Medicare Advantage plan.
Special
Opens after certain life changes, such as losing employer coverage or moving.

Initial Enrollment Period

Your Initial Enrollment Period lasts seven months: the three months before the month you turn 65, your birthday month, and the three months after. During this window you can sign up for Part A and Part B, and join a Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D drug plan.

If you already receive Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits, you are enrolled in Parts A and B automatically. Everyone else signs up themselves. Signing up in the months before your birthday month means your coverage starts on the first day of the month you turn 65.

Supplements have their own window: your Medigap Open Enrollment Period lasts six months, starting the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. Rules can differ by state, so ask us what applies where you live.

Annual Enrollment Period

From October 15 to December 7 each year, anyone with Medicare can review and change their coverage, and the changes take effect on January 1. You can switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan or back again, move to a different Medicare Advantage plan, and join, switch or drop a Part D drug plan.

From January 1 to March 31 each year there is also a General Enrollment Period, for signing up for Part A or Part B if you missed your Initial Enrollment Period; late enrollment penalties may apply.

Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period

If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan and January arrives with regrets, you get one more chance. From January 1 to March 31 each year, you can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, or drop Medicare Advantage and return to Original Medicare with a Part D drug plan. You can make one change during this window, and it is only for people who already have a Medicare Advantage plan. Few people know this period exists, which is exactly why it is worth a call if your new plan is not what you expected.

Special Enrollment Periods

Certain life changes let you sign up or change plans outside the usual windows. If you or your spouse are still working and covered by that employer’s group health plan, you can sign up for Part A and Part B at any time while that coverage lasts, and for up to eight months after the job or the coverage ends, whichever happens first.

Other common reasons include moving out of your plan’s service area, losing other health coverage, qualifying for Medicaid or Extra Help, and moving into or out of a nursing home. How long the window lasts, and which changes it allows, depends on the reason.

COBRA and retiree coverage do not count as coverage from current employment. Relying on either past 65 without enrolling in Part B can lead to a late enrollment penalty.
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