Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment in Dover: Your Do-Over

DOVER, N.H. — The calendar just flipped, and with it comes a second chance many Medicare Advantage members in Strafford County don't realize they have. From January 1 through March 31, people already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan get a short window to change course — the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, or MA-OEP. If the plan you locked in during the fall isn't fitting the way you thought it would, this is your built-in do-over.

But the window is narrower than the fall's Annual Enrollment Period, and the rules about what you can and can't do are strict. Missing March 31 usually means waiting until next fall.

What the January–March window actually lets you do

The MA-OEP is aimed at one group: people who are already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan as of January 1. During these three months, you can:

• Switch from your current Medicare Advantage plan to a different Medicare Advantage plan.
• Drop your Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare (Parts A and B). If you do that, you can also join a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

That's it. You get one change during this window — not unlimited swaps. Once your new choice takes effect, the door closes until you have another qualifying event or the fall AEP rolls around.

What you cannot do in this window

This is where readers most often trip up. The MA-OEP does not let you:

• Move from Original Medicare into a Medicare Advantage plan for the first time.
• Join a stand-alone Part D plan if you're staying on Original Medicare and weren't already dropping an Advantage plan.
• Switch from one stand-alone Part D plan to another.

Those moves belonged to the fall Annual Enrollment Period, which ended December 7. If you needed one of them and missed it, your options now are limited to Special Enrollment Periods triggered by life events (moving, losing other coverage, qualifying for Extra Help, and similar circumstances).

How the dates fit together

It helps to see the Medicare calendar as a set of doors that open and close on fixed dates:

• October 15 – December 7 (AEP): The big fall window. Anyone with Medicare can change almost anything — Advantage, Part D, or back to Original Medicare. Changes take effect January 1.
• January 1 – March 31 (MA-OEP): The narrower window this article is about. Current Advantage members only. One change. It takes effect the first of the next month.
• Special Enrollment Periods: Triggered by specific life events and available year-round when you qualify.

If you enroll in a new plan on, say, February 12, coverage under that plan begins March 1. Wait until March 28, and you're looking at April 1. The earlier in the window you act, the fewer weeks you spend on a plan that isn't a good fit.

Where Dover fits in

Plan availability in Medicare is set at the county level. Dover is in Strafford County, and the plans on offer here are the same ones available to your neighbors across the county line in the same rating area. When you use the Plan Finder at medicare.gov, it will ask for your ZIP code and pull the Strafford County lineup.

If you're comparing options, focus on the specifics that actually change your year: which doctors and hospitals are in-network, whether your prescriptions are on the plan's drug list, and what the plan requires for referrals or prior authorization. A few program-level numbers to keep in mind as you compare:

• Part D out-of-pocket costs are capped at $2,100 for the year.
• The Part D deductible cannot exceed $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025; drug coverage now moves through three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your yearly drug costs into level monthly payments if that helps your budget.
• IRMAA income-related surcharges start above $109,000 for single filers in 2026.

What to do if you missed the fall window entirely

If December 7 passed and you're still in Original Medicare wishing you had Part D or an Advantage plan, the MA-OEP won't help you. Your realistic options:

1. Check whether you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. Moving into or out of Strafford County, losing employer coverage, or qualifying for Extra Help all open one. 2. Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). New Hampshire's SHIP is called ServiceLink, and counselors will look at your situation for free. 3. Otherwise, the next Annual Enrollment Period opens October 15, 2027.