Medicare insurance plans can be very complicated and confusing. One of the most often confused aspects of this insurance are enrollment periods and which plans have registration periods. This article will clarify this confusion.
Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Insurance
This is the easiest to explain. First of all, there are no annual periods for making changes. It is not a day that I do not speak with someone who believes that there is a one-year period for making changes to Medicare Supplement plans; However, it is not. Additions are subject to change at any time of the year. Of course, there is an initial enrollment period when a person turns 65 or goes to Medicare Part B for the first time; however, there is no recurring period after this initial period.
Medicare Benefit Plans
Medicare Advantage plans for registration are more complicated than Medigap plans. The three registration periods for Medicare Advantage are listed below:
- ICEP - The initial election period. This is the period when you first go to Medicare, in which you can “choose” a Medicare Advantage plan. This period is three months before you go to Medicare Part B and three months after you go to Medicare Part B (a total of 6 months).
- AEP - This is an annual election period. This is the one that most people know about - the one you are watching TV commercials for. This takes place between November 15 and December 31 of each year. You can make changes to your Advantage plan during this time.
- OEP - This is an open registration period. This happens from January 1 to March 31 each year. You can only make one change during this period of time each year, and as part of this change you cannot add or drop the coverage of part D. In other words, if you have a plan that includes part D now, you cannot switch to a plan that does not include part D during an OEP.
Part of Medicare D
Medicare Part D has a period for registering Medicare Advantage AEP mirrors (November 15 - December 31). In addition, you can make changes to Part D during an OEP if you do not drop or add Part D as part of these changes. If you have Part D as of January 1, any change you make during the OEP should result in Part D as of April 1.
