When Can I Enroll?

Most people sign up for both Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) when they’re first eligible (usually when they turn 65).  Around your 65th birthday (or 25th disability check), you'll have a 7-month window of time when you can sign up for Medicare.  It's called your Initial Enrollment Period – or IEP for short. Your IEP includes your 65th birthday month, the 3 months before and the 3 months after.

The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period 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.

You can make changes to your Medicare Advantage Plan and Medicare prescription drug coverage when certain events happen in your life, like if you move or you lose other insurance coverage.  These chances to make changes are called Special Enrollment Periods (SEPs).  Rules about when you can make changes and the type of changes you can make are different for each SEP.

Did you know that if you’re unhappy with your Medicare Advantage Plan (Medicare Part C), you have options?  Each year, there’s a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 – March 31.  During this time, if you’re in a Medicare Advantage Plan and want to change your health plan, you can 1) Switch to a different Medicare Advantage Plan with or without drug coverage, or 2) Go back to Original Medicare and, if needed, also join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.  Your coverage will start the 1st of the following month that you enroll.