Medicare 2026

Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage in Columbia: Watch These Dates

COLUMBIA, Md. — Choosing between Original Medicare paired with a Medigap policy and a Medicare Advantage plan is a real decision, but for many people in Howard County the harder part is the calendar. The two paths are built differently, and the enrollment windows that let you move between them are not the same. Miss one, and your options can narrow in ways that are hard to undo.

Here is how the timing works, why it matters, and where to get help before a deadline slips by.

The structural difference, in one minute

Original Medicare is the federal program — Part A (hospital) and Part B (outpatient). You can add a stand-alone Part D drug plan and a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy that helps pay the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind.

Medicare Advantage (Part C) is different. A private plan, approved by Medicare, delivers your Part A and Part B benefits and usually your drug coverage in one package, typically with a network and plan-set rules.

You cannot have both a Medicare Advantage plan and a Medigap policy at the same time. That is why the enrollment dates below matter — they are the moments when you can move between these two very different structures.

The windows that matter

Initial Enrollment Period. When you first become eligible for Medicare (usually around your 65th birthday), you have a seven-month window to sign up for Part A and Part B. This is also when your one-time Medigap Open Enrollment clock starts.

Medigap Open Enrollment. This is a six-month window that begins the month your Part B coverage starts. During it, insurers must sell you any Medigap policy they offer at their standard rate, regardless of health history. After it closes, insurers in Maryland can generally use medical underwriting, which means health questions can affect whether — and at what price — you can get a Medigap policy later.

Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. This is the main window each year to join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage plan, and to join, switch or drop a Part D drug plan. Changes take effect Jan. 1.

Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MA-OEP): Jan. 1 – March 31. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, you get one chance during this window to switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and pick up a Part D plan). It is not a window to join Advantage for the first time from Original Medicare.

Special Enrollment Periods. Life events — moving, losing employer coverage, qualifying for Extra Help — can open extra windows. Columbia residents who move within or out of Howard County may trigger one.

How the dates interact

The trickiest interaction is between AEP and Medigap. During AEP (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7), it is straightforward to move from Original Medicare to Medicare Advantage. Going the other direction — from Advantage back to Original Medicare with a Medigap policy — is where people get surprised. Yes, you can drop your Advantage plan during AEP or MA-OEP. But buying a Medigap policy after your one-time Medigap Open Enrollment window has closed is a separate question, and in most cases insurers can review your health first.

That is why many people think of the Medigap decision as one that is easiest to make at the very beginning of Medicare, and revisit carefully later.

What happens if you miss a window

• Miss your Initial Enrollment Period for Part B without other qualifying coverage, and you may face a lifelong late-enrollment penalty and a wait for the General Enrollment Period.
• Miss your Medigap Open Enrollment window, and future Medigap applications can be subject to medical underwriting.
• Miss AEP, and you generally cannot join or switch a Part D or Advantage plan until the next AEP, unless a Special Enrollment Period applies.
• Miss MA-OEP, and if you are stuck in an Advantage plan that no longer fits, you typically wait until the next AEP.

Drug coverage dates you should know for 2027

Whichever structure you choose, Part D rules apply. In 2026, the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100, and the Part D deductible can be up to $615. The old coverage gap (“donut hole”) was eliminated in 2025, so Part D now has three phases. The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your out-of-pocket drug costs across the calendar year in monthly amounts instead of paying large sums at the pharmacy counter — you can opt in for a plan year, usually before or during it.

Higher-income enrollees should also note IRMAA, the income-related surcharge that begins above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026 and is based on tax returns from two years earlier.

Local context for Columbia

Columbia is in Howard County, where Medicare beneficiaries choose from the Advantage and Part D plans that carriers file with CMS for this service area each year. The specific plans, networks and drug lists change annually, which is why the Oct. 15 – Dec. 7 window exists — to give you a yearly chance to check that your coverage still fits.

For unbiased, personalized help, Maryland’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) — known here as SHIP/MAP (Maryland Access Point) — offers free counseling.