Medicare 2026

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, Jan. 1 to March 31, 2027: One More Chance to Change Course

If you signed up for a Medicare Advantage plan during fall Open Enrollment and your coverage started January 1, 2027, you're not locked in for the whole year. From January 1 through March 31, 2027, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period gives you one more opportunity to adjust your choice. Here's a plain-English look at how it works, who it's for, and what has — and hasn't — changed for the year ahead.

What the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period is

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, often called MA OEP, runs from January 1 to March 31 every year. In 2027, that means January 1 through March 31, 2027. It is a second-chance window after fall Open Enrollment (October 15 – December 7, 2026), when most people make their coverage decisions for the coming year.

The MA OEP is narrower than fall Open Enrollment. If you are already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you may make one of the following changes:

• Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage, depending on the plan), or
• Leave Medicare Advantage and go back to Original Medicare, and join a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan.

You get one change during this window. Once your switch is made and processed, the window closes for you until next year.

What it is not

It helps to be clear about what this period does not do. The MA OEP is not a chance to:

• Move from Original Medicare into a Medicare Advantage plan, or
• Switch from one stand-alone Part D plan to another while staying on Original Medicare.

Those changes generally need to happen during fall Open Enrollment or through a Special Enrollment Period, if you qualify.

When your change takes effect

Any change you make during the MA OEP takes effect on the first day of the month after your new plan receives your request. So if the new plan gets your paperwork in February, coverage begins March 1. Submitting earlier in the month gives the plan time to process it, but the effective-date rule is the same.

New to Medicare? You also have a one-time change

If you are new to Medicare and your first-ever coverage is through a Medicare Advantage plan, you have a one-time opportunity to change plans or drop back to Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan during your first three months of Medicare Advantage coverage. This is separate from the regular MA OEP and is designed to give newcomers room to adjust if their first choice isn't the right fit.

Expanded options for people with Medicaid or Extra Help

Since 2025, people who get help paying for Medicare — through Medicaid or the Extra Help (Low-Income Subsidy) program for Part D — have had a monthly Special Enrollment Period they can use to move from a Medicare Advantage plan to Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan, or to switch from one stand-alone Part D plan to another.

Additionally, people who are full-benefit dual-eligible (enrolled in both Medicare and full Medicaid benefits) can join an integrated Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) in any month of the year, if one is available to them.

These monthly options exist alongside — not instead of — the MA OEP. If you qualify, you have more flexibility to adjust your coverage throughout the year.

Medicare Advantage vs. Original Medicare with Medigap: a neutral look

If you're considering using the MA OEP to leave Medicare Advantage, it's worth thinking through the trade-offs. Neither path is universally better; each works differently.

Medicare Advantage plans bundle Part A, Part B, and usually Part D into a single plan from a private insurer. They often include extra benefits, use provider networks, and set their own cost-sharing. Out-of-pocket maximums limit what you pay in a year for covered medical services.

Original Medicare, paired with a stand-alone Part D drug plan and optionally a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy, lets you see any provider that accepts Medicare nationwide. Medigap policies help cover deductibles, copays, and coinsurance; Medigap premiums and acceptance rules vary. Original Medicare on its own has no annual out-of-pocket cap for Part A and B services, which is one reason many people pair it with Medigap.

The right fit depends on your health needs, preferred doctors, budget, and travel patterns. Both paths are legitimate; the MA OEP simply gives Medicare Advantage enrollees a chance to reconsider.

What's new for 2027 on the drug coverage side

The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026). Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs reaches that amount, you pay nothing more for covered Part D drugs for the rest of the year. The most any Part D plan may charge as a deductible in 2027 is $700, and the base beneficiary premium — used in calculating the late-enrollment penalty — is $41.33. Individual plan premiums are set plan by plan.

What hasn't been announced yet

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, along with the IRMAA income-related surcharge brackets, have not yet been announced. CMS typically releases those figures in the fall. Social Security has announced a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for benefits beginning January 2027.

Where to get reliable, up-to-date information

For official plan details, enrollment tools, and the latest 2027 numbers once announced, visit Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.