Medicare Advantage

Your Jan.–March Medicare Advantage Switch Window, Explained

LAKEVILLE, Minn. — If you signed up for a Medicare Advantage plan last fall and are already second-guessing the fit, you still have time. From January 1 through March 31, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period gives people already enrolled in an Advantage plan one more chance each year to make a change — no special reason required.

Here in Lakeville, that window matters. Winter is when many retirees actually start using their new plan for the first time — a specialist visit, a new prescription, a trip to a clinic that may or may not be in-network. If something isn’t working, this is your built-in do-over.

What the Open Enrollment Period actually lets you do

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (often shortened to MA-OEP) is narrower than the fall Annual Enrollment Period. During Jan. 1 – March 31, if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you may:

• Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage).
• Drop your Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare (Parts A and B).
• If you return to Original Medicare, join a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan.

You can only make one change during this window, and it takes effect the first day of the month after the plan gets your request.

What you cannot do in this window

The MA-OEP is not a wide-open enrollment period. According to CMS, during Jan. 1 – March 31 you cannot:

• Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan (if you weren’t already in one).
• Join a Part D drug plan if you’re staying on a Medicare Advantage plan without drug coverage — or if you're on Original Medicare and missed your earlier chance.
• Change from one stand-alone Part D drug plan to another.

Those kinds of changes generally have to wait for the fall Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7) or a Special Enrollment Period tied to a life event, such as a move.

Why Lakeville residents might use it

Lakeville is in Dakota County, where dozens of Medicare Advantage plans from multiple carriers are offered. With that much choice, it’s common for someone to enroll in the fall, then discover in January that their preferred clinic in Burnsville or Apple Valley is out of network, or that a medication landed in a higher tier than expected.

The MA-OEP exists precisely for those “this isn’t what I thought” moments. It’s also useful if your health situation has changed — for example, you now need regular specialty care and want a plan whose network fits better.

2026 changes worth knowing before you switch

Whether you stay put or make a move, a few program-level facts apply across all Medicare drug coverage in 2026:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 for the year. Once you hit it, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old “donut hole” coverage gap is gone — Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly installments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA — the income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D — starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

These rules are the same whether your drug coverage comes through a Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D plan.

How to compare fairly before you switch

Before making any change, it’s worth doing a short checklist:

• Pull your list of medications and the doctors and clinics you actually use.
• Use the plan finder at Medicare.gov to compare Advantage plans available in Dakota County side by side.
• Check the network and formulary of any plan you’re considering — not just the premium.
• Consider whether Original Medicare + a stand-alone Part D plan (and possibly a Medigap policy) might fit you better.

Star Ratings, published by CMS, can also give you a general sense of member experience and plan performance, but they’re one input — not a scorecard for your personal situation.