How to Switch Medicare Plans, and When You're Allowed To

Switching Medicare plans is mostly about timing. The how is simple once you know which window you're in and which kind of coverage you're changing. Medicare Advantage and Part D follow one set of rules. Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policies follow another.

When can you switch Medicare plans?

You can change Medicare Advantage and Part D plans only during set windows, unless something in your life opens a special enrollment period. Here are the windows that matter for the 2027 plan year.

During open enrollment you can change your mind more than once. The last choice you make by December 7 is the one that counts. The January to March window is different: you get one change, and you can't use it to move from Original Medicare into Medicare Advantage or to swap one standalone drug plan for another.

Our guides to every enrollment period and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period go deeper on each.

What special enrollment periods let you switch mid-year?

A special enrollment period (SEP) opens a window outside the usual dates because of a specific event. Common ones:

• You move out of your plan's service area, or to a new area with different plan options
• You lose employer or union coverage, including COBRA: you have 2 full months after the month the coverage ends
• You get Extra Help or Medicaid: you can change drug coverage once per calendar month
• You move into or out of a nursing home or other institution
• Your plan leaves Medicare or stops serving your area
• A 5-star plan is available: you can join it once between December 8 and November 30
• Your plan is low performing, meaning under 3 stars for 3 years in a row

Each has its own timing and proof. Our special enrollment periods guide lists them, and the Medicare Star Ratings guide explains the 5-star rule.

How do you switch Medicare Advantage or Part D plans?

It takes one step: join the new plan during a valid window. Medicare & You 2027 says your old drug coverage ends when your new coverage begins, and the new plan sends a letter with your start date. You don't need to cancel the old plan.

1. Check the new plan first. Make sure your medications are on its drug list, your pharmacy is in network, and, for Medicare Advantage, your doctors and hospitals are in network.
2. Enroll. Use Medicare.gov's Plan Finder, call the plan, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or work with a licensed agent.
3. Watch for the confirmation letter. Medicare & You 2027 says to contact your plan if a change doesn't appear in your account within 10 days.
4. Look for the new ID card before January 1, and use it starting that day.
5. Re-enroll in the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan with the new plan, if you used it. Participation doesn't follow you to a new plan.
6. Tell your pharmacy and doctors about the new card.

How do you switch from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare?

During open enrollment or the January to March window, join a standalone Part D drug plan. That moves you out of Medicare Advantage and back to Original Medicare with drug coverage. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE to disenroll.

The step people miss is the Medicare Supplement. Original Medicare alone has no yearly cap on your 20% share, so most people want a Medigap policy alongside it. In Nebraska, outside your one-time Medigap Open Enrollment Period, the Department of Insurance says companies may refuse coverage because of health reasons. Its 2026 fact sheet describes no birthday or anniversary rule that would let you switch freely.

So the order matters:

1. Apply for the Medigap policy first.
2. Wait for approval.
3. Then join the Part D plan, which ends your Medicare Advantage coverage.
4. Line up the Medigap start date with the day your Medicare Advantage plan ends.

Some people have a guaranteed issue right instead. For example, if you joined Medicare Advantage when you first got Part A at 65 and leave within the first year, federal law guarantees you can buy a Medigap policy. Our guide to Medigap open enrollment in Nebraska covers those rights.

How do you switch Medicare Supplement policies?

You can apply for a new Medigap policy any time. Whether you get it depends on underwriting, unless you have a guaranteed issue right. Choosing a Medigap Policy, the federal guide, lays out the safe way to do it:

• Don't cancel the old policy first. Apply for the new one and wait for approval.
• Use the 30-day free look. You get 30 days after the new policy arrives to decide whether to keep it. You'll pay both premiums that month.
• Then cancel the old policy by contacting that company. Medigap doesn't end on its own, even if you join a Medicare Advantage plan.
• Know what you're giving up. Once you cancel an older policy, you usually can't get it back. Policies bought before June 1, 2010 may have benefits newer ones don't.

What should you check before you switch?

Before any change, run the same list:

• Are all my medications covered, and on what tier?
• Is my pharmacy in network?
• Are my doctors and my hospital in network, if it's Medicare Advantage?
• What's the premium, deductible and yearly out-of-pocket maximum?
• Am I giving up a Medigap policy I can't get back?
• Will this switch end extra coverage, like employer or retiree benefits?

The annual enrollment review page covers that process, and the enrollment calculator helps with first-time dates. For unbiased help, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (TTY 1-877-486-2048), or Nebraska SHIP at 1-800-234-7119. If you'd like a local agent to walk through a switch with you, talk to me.