Southern Senior Care Blog

This is one of the most common questions we receive. When can I change my supplement, my drug plan, my advantage plan, etc. So here are the rules:

When can I change my Medicare Supplement?

Any time you want. That’s right. You could change Medicare Supplement Insurance every month if you wanted to. Realistically, you should review your rates every year, and you will probably find that you will want to change your Medicare Supplement company about once every three-four years to save money. To change to another Medicare Supplement Provider you will need to answer several health questions. Click here to see a list of common questions.

When can I change my Medigap Plan?

See Above. A Medigap Plan is just another name for a Medicare Supplement Plan. They are identical. They are synonyms. The reason for the confusion is the word “gap” which is also used to describe the gap (donut hole) in coverage in the prescription plan. Medicare also uses the two terms interchangeably which adds to the confusion.

When can I change my Medicare Prescription Drug Plan?

You can “change” Medicare Prescription Drug Plans during the Annual Enrollment period between November 15 and December 31st.  If you “change” during the annual enrollment period , your new plan will start January 1st. If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan that includes Prescription coverage (an MAPD) plan, then you can change to another MAPD plan during the “Open Enrollment” period between January 1st - March 31st. Your new plan will begin on the 1st day of the next month. I have put the word “change” in quotes for a reason.

When can I change my Medicare Part D plan?

See above. A Part D plan is another name for Prescription Drug plan.

When can I change my Medicare Advantage Plan?

The rules for changing a Medicare Advantage Plan are similar to the Medicare Part D Plan. As long as you have Medicare Parts A and B (check your red, white and blue card), you can “change” to a Medicare Advantage Plan between November 15th and March 31st. You simply need to have one of the following:

1. Original Medicare (with parts A and B)
2. Original Medicare and a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Plan
3. Medicare Advantage Plan

There is one difference that causes some confusion. If you do NOT have a Medicare Prescription Plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan that includes Part D, then between January 1st and March 31 you cannot change to a Medicare Advantage Plan that has Part D included. This would be “Adding” Prescription Drug coverage, which as we said above you cannot do except between November 15th and December 31st.

If you have any specific questions or comments, please submit them in the comments section below.