Medicare Advantage

Medicare in Miami: The Dates That Decide Your Path

For 2027, Miami is looking at 101 Medicare Advantage plans: 16 new, 30 gone since 2026, and 61 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 20 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Miami-Dade County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

MIAMI — Choosing between Medicare Advantage and a Medigap plan is a big decision, but it's not one you make in a vacuum. The calendar has just as much to say about your options as your health or budget does. In Miami-Dade County, where roughly 463,896 residents are 65 or older, the difference between acting on the right date and missing a window can shape your coverage for years.

This article focuses on the timing side of the choice: which enrollment periods apply, what each one lets you do, and what happens if a deadline slips by.

The one deadline that shapes Medigap forever

Medigap — also called Medicare Supplement Insurance — works alongside Original Medicare (Parts A and B). The single most important date for Medigap is your Medigap Open Enrollment Period: a six-month window that starts the month you're 65 and enrolled in Part B.

During those six months, insurers in Florida must sell you any Medigap policy they offer at their standard rate, regardless of your health history. Once that window closes, Florida does not currently guarantee you can buy a Medigap policy later — insurers can ask health questions and can decline you or charge more. That's why this date matters so much: it's not repeated every year.

If you delay Part B because you have qualifying employer coverage, your six-month Medigap window won't start until you actually enroll in Part B later on.

The Advantage path runs on a yearly calendar

Medicare Advantage (Part C) works differently. Instead of one big lifetime window, it runs on a repeating annual cycle:

• Initial Enrollment Period (IEP): the seven-month window around your 65th birthday, when you can first pick up Part A, Part B, a Part D drug plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan.
• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 – December 7. This is the main window when anyone with Medicare can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the coming year. Changes take effect January 1.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MA OEP): January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan). People in Original Medicare cannot use this window to jump into Advantage.

Miami is in Miami-Dade County, where 81 Medicare Advantage plans are available in 2027 across 16 carriers. That's a lot to sort through, which is another reason to mark the AEP on your calendar rather than rushing at the last minute.

How the dates interact — and where people trip up

Here's where the two paths cross in a way that catches people off guard.

Say you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan when you first turn 65. A year or two later, you decide Original Medicare plus a Medigap policy would suit you better. You can use the AEP or MA OEP to leave Advantage and return to Original Medicare. But applying for a Medigap policy at that point is a separate step — and because your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period has already ended, the insurer in Florida can generally review your health before deciding whether to sell you the policy.

There is a narrow federal "trial right" if you joined Medicare Advantage the very first time you were eligible and switch back within 12 months. Outside of situations like that, moving from Advantage to Medigap later in life is not automatic.

The takeaway: the Medigap decision at 65 isn't just about the current year — it's about keeping the door open.

Missed a window? What actually happens

Missing an enrollment date rarely means "you're stuck forever," but the consequences vary:

• Missing your Part B sign-up window can trigger a lifetime late enrollment penalty added to your Part B premium.
• Missing Part D enrollment when you first become eligible — and going more than 63 days without other creditable drug coverage — can trigger a Part D late enrollment penalty. If you stay with Original Medicare, Florida has 10 stand-alone Part D plans for 2026, sold statewide, that Miami-Dade residents can join; drug coverage can also come through a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drugs (MA-PD).
• Missing the AEP usually means waiting until the next October, unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (moving, losing other coverage, qualifying for Extra Help, and similar life events).
• Missing your Medigap Open Enrollment Period doesn't create a penalty, but it can permanently change what Medigap policies are available to you.

A few program figures worth knowing

While this piece is about timing, a handful of program-wide figures help put deadlines in context:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") has been eliminated since 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly amounts.
• IRMAA income-based surcharges start above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

These are set by Medicare itself, not by any individual plan.

Where to get personalized help

Deadlines are universal, but your situation isn't. Before you commit to a path:

• Visit medicare.gov to compare plans available in your ZIP code.
• Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24/7.
• Contact Florida SHINE, the state's free State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), for one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers who don't sell insurance.

The right choice between Medicare Advantage and Medigap depends on your health, your doctors, your budget, and — as much as anything — on which door the calendar still has open for you.