Medicare Supplement

Before Your Medigap Window Closes in Duluth

In Duluth, turning 65 comes with a quiet deadline that many people don't hear about until it's too late. It's called the Medigap Open Enrollment Period, and it's the one stretch of time when buying a Medicare Supplement policy is truly on your terms.

The window is six months long. It starts the month you are 65 and enrolled in Medicare Part B, and once it closes, the rules change in ways that can follow you for years. If you live in Duluth or anywhere in St. Louis County, here is what to know before that clock runs out.

What the Medigap Open Enrollment Period actually is

Medigap — also called Medicare Supplement Insurance — is a private policy that helps pay some of the out-of-pocket costs Original Medicare leaves behind, like coinsurance and copays. It only works alongside Original Medicare (Parts A and B), not with a Medicare Advantage plan.

The Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a federal protection. For six months, starting the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B, you have what's called a "guaranteed issue" right. That means:

• Any insurer selling Medigap in Minnesota must sell you a policy.
• They cannot charge you more because of your health history.
• They cannot make you wait for coverage of most conditions (a limited pre-existing condition look-back can apply if you didn't have prior creditable coverage).

This is the only time this protection is automatic for most people. Miss it, and the door doesn't close entirely — but it gets much narrower.

Why this window is different from all the others

Medicare has a lot of enrollment periods, and it's easy to mix them up. The Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31) are for Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans. Neither one guarantees you a Medigap policy.

Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is tied to you — your 65th birthday month and your Part B start date — not to a date on the national calendar. That's why it's easy to miss. There is no letter that arrives saying "your six months start today." You have to know it yourself.

What changes after the six months end

Once your Medigap Open Enrollment Period closes, insurers in most states — including Minnesota — can use medical underwriting to decide whether to sell you a policy. That means they can:

• Ask detailed health questions.
• Charge a higher premium based on your health.
• Refuse to sell you certain policies altogether.

There are some limited "guaranteed issue" situations later on — for example, if your employer coverage ends or a Medicare Advantage plan leaves your area. But those are narrow exceptions, not a second open window. For most people, the six months at 65 are the one clean shot.

Minnesota also structures its Medigap policies a little differently from most states, offering "Basic" and "Extended Basic" plans plus optional riders. The federal enrollment protections still apply.

How this fits with plan choices in the Duluth area

Duluth is in St. Louis County, where Medicare beneficiaries generally have a range of Medicare Advantage and Part D plans available from multiple carriers, alongside the option of Original Medicare paired with a Medigap policy and a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

Which path makes sense is personal. Some people prefer the predictability of Medigap plus a drug plan; others prefer Medicare Advantage's bundled structure. What matters is knowing that if Medigap might ever be part of your plan — now or down the road — the easiest time to get in is during that six-month window.

A few 2026 program-wide figures worth keeping in mind while you compare:

• Part D has a new $2,100 out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs.
• The Part D deductible can be up to $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly amounts.
• IRMAA income surcharges begin above $109,000 for single filers in 2026.

Steps to take before your window closes

If you're approaching 65 in Duluth, a simple checklist helps:

1. Confirm your Part B start date — that's what triggers your six-month clock. 2. Decide whether you're leaning toward Original Medicare + Medigap + Part D, or Medicare Advantage. 3. If Medigap is on the table, compare policies while your guaranteed issue right is active. 4. Call the Minnesota Senior LinkAge Line (the state's SHIP program) at 1-800-333-2433 for free, unbiased counseling. 5. Use medicare.gov's plan finder to compare Part D and Medicare Advantage options in St. Louis County.