Medicare Advantage

Columbia Medicare Annual Enrollment: What You Can Do by December 7

COLUMBIA, S.C. — If you signed up for a Medicare Advantage plan during the fall Annual Enrollment Period and something about it isn't sitting right, you still have time to make one change. The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 through March 31, and it gives people already in a Medicare Advantage plan a limited chance to adjust course before the plan year gets away from them.

Columbia enrollees get a second look at Medicare Advantage through March 31

This window is narrower than the fall enrollment period most people are familiar with, and it comes with its own set of rules about what you can and cannot do. Here is a plain-English guide for Columbia-area readers.

Who this window is for

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (often shortened to MA-OEP) is only for people who are already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan as of January 1. If you are enrolled in Original Medicare — with or without a stand-alone Part D drug plan — this window is not for you.

Columbia is in Richland County, where beneficiaries typically have a wide selection of Medicare Advantage plans to choose from, so it's not unusual to realize after the fact that a different plan might have been a better fit for your doctors, your prescriptions, or the way you actually use care.

What you can change between Jan. 1 and March 31

During the MA-OEP, you're allowed to make one change. Your options are:

• Switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage).
• Drop your Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare. If you do this, you can also join a stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

The change takes effect the first day of the month after the plan receives your enrollment request.

What you cannot do in this window

The MA-OEP is not a do-over of the fall Annual Enrollment Period. During this window you cannot:

• Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan.
• Join a stand-alone Part D plan if you are staying in Original Medicare and were not already in one.
• Make more than one change. Once your switch goes through, that's your move for this window.

If you need to make a different kind of change, you may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period — for example, if you move out of your plan's service area or lose other coverage. Those are separate from MA-OEP and have their own rules.

What's new for 2027 that may affect your decision

A few program-level changes are worth knowing about as you weigh whether to switch:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap. The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered prescriptions reaches that amount, you pay nothing more for covered drugs the rest of the year. This applies whether your drug coverage comes through a Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D plan.
• Part D deductible cap. The maximum Part D deductible is $615 for 2026 and $700 for 2027. No Part D plan can charge a deductible higher than that amount.
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone. As of 2025, Part D has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. If your drug costs are uneven throughout the year, you can ask to spread payments out in monthly installments instead of paying large amounts at the pharmacy counter. Enrollment is optional and free.
• IRMAA thresholds. Higher-income beneficiaries pay an income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D. For 2026, IRMAA begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

These are national program rules, not features of any specific plan.

How to make a smart switch — not a rushed one

Before you change plans, it helps to gather a few things:

1. Your current Medicare card and plan ID. 2. A list of your prescriptions, with doses and how often you take them. 3. A list of your doctors and preferred hospitals, including whether you see anyone at Prisma Health, Lexington Medical Center, or the Dorn VA — networks vary plan to plan. 4. Any referrals or upcoming procedures already in motion under your current plan.

Then compare plans using the official plan finder at medicare.gov, which lets you enter your drugs and providers to see how each plan handles them. Star Ratings, published by CMS, can give you a sense of how plans perform on customer service, care quality, and complaints — they're one data point among several.