Question: I keep getting calls from insurance companies asking about my Medicare coverage, I thought Open Enrollment was over?

Answer: This is such a common question this time of year. I probably answer it very similarly every year this time of year.

The Annual Open enrollment Period is from October 15 to December 7 annually. You are correct that period of time is in the past.

From January 1 to March 31, we have what is called the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MA-OEP). This is an opportunity for individuals with a Medicare Advantage Plan to switch to any other type of insurance product they choose, with or without drug coverage.

Medicare Advantage Plans (MA) are plans that replace your Original Medicare Benefits and usually include prescription drug coverage. There are many MA Plans available in our area, but not as many as last year. You may remember we lost a LOT of plans for 2026 and many individuals already made their switch for 2026.

All the Medicare Advantage Plans available have different monthly premiums, co-pay structures and networks of providers, so I will speak broadly to this situation.

The Medicare Advantage Plans are health plans that replace traditional Medicare, such as HMO’s (Health Maintenance Organizations), PPO’s (Preferred Provider Organizations), and PFFS (Private Fee For Service) plans. Each year, insurance companies adjust coverage, these changes include premiums, co-pays and deductibles, extra benefits, etc. You may have thought your plan didn’t change and have found that it is very different in 2026, or now have decided you might want something different.

During this Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, you can go from a MA Plan (with or without drug coverage) to a different MA Plan (with or without drug coverage), or to Original Medicare AND a Stand-Alone Drug Plan (PDP) or Original Medicare and NO drug coverage.

It is also important to remember that if you are dropping a Medicare Advantage Plan and returning to Original Medicare, you should seriously consider adding on a Medicare Supplement Plan. So, leaving your HMO, or PPO, or PFFS plan could reactivate your Original Medicare, and then you would need to decide to enroll in a Drug Plan and a Medicare Supplement Plan. These two things do not happen without you actively enrolling in a product of your choice.

So if for some reason you chose NOT to get drug coverage as part of your Medicare Advantage Plan, you could change that choice from January 1 to March 31.

During this period of time, your new coverage will begin the first of the following month. January is already over, but if you change your insurance during February, your new plan will begin March 1. If you change your insurance during March, your new plan will begin April 1.

This MA-OEP is also useful for those individuals who are deciding that they don’t want to stay in their Medicare Advantage Plan for any reason. One reason could certainly be that your premiums or copays have increased. Another reason could be that your doctor, hospital, or pharmacy, no longer participates with the Medicare Advantage Plan you had thought you wanted to keep. Another reason that people sometimes switch out of MA Plans is that they have a serious medical problem that may be covered more comprehensively with Original Medicare. (In this situation I am thinking about something like Cancer or Renal Failure.)

In the event that you decide to go back to Original Medicare, I always stress the importance of evaluating the option of adding on a Medicare Supplement Plan in this situation. In New York State, you are allowed to enroll in a Medicare Supplement Plan anytime. In this illustrated situation there are no pre-existing conditions limitations. In this type of change you are going directly from one product to another, and the “pre-existing limitations” clause does not apply to you.

This MA-OEP is certainly one of the ways to switch your insurance right now from January 1 to March 31! So, you will continue to see commercials on TV, receive mail from and the dreaded phone calls from Medicare Advantage Plans.

There are other ways that you can change your insurance choice called Special Enrollment Periods (SEP’s). There are lots of other SEP’s and there may be one that fits your situation and would allow you to change your insurance another way throughout the year.

Janell Sluga is a Geriatric Care Manager helping seniors in our community access services and insurance. To reach her, please email editorial@post-journal.com.