Can I switch Medicare Advantage plans after open enrollment?

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Common Special Enrollment Periods

• You move out of your plan's service area, or to a place with new plan options: from the move through two full months after.
• You leave job-based or union coverage, including COBRA: two full months after the month that coverage ends.
• You have Medicaid or Extra Help: Part D changes once a month. If you lose Medicaid, you get three full months to change.
• Your plan's contract ends or isn't renewed: for a non-renewal, from December 8 through the last day of February. For 2027, that's February 28, 2027. See my Medicare Advantage plan is ending in 2027.
• You move into or out of a nursing home or other institution: while you live there and two full months after you leave.
• A declared emergency or disaster, such as a Texas hurricane, kept you from making a change you were eligible to make. See what happens to my Medicare plan after a hurricane.
• A 5-star plan is available where you live: Medicare.gov says you can switch to it once between December 8 and November 30 of the following year.

Texas situations

• Dual eligibles in Bexar, Dallas, El Paso, Harris and Hidalgo counties have more integrated D-SNP choices starting January 1, 2027. See can I have STAR+PLUS and Medicare Advantage.
• TRS and ERS retirees should check with their retirement system before joining another plan, because joining an outside Medicare Advantage or Part D plan affects their retiree coverage.
• Winter Texans who move to Texas permanently get a Special Enrollment Period for the move.

Get help

A licensed insurance agent with Benefits Life can check whether you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period and compare plans from the companies they work with, at no cost to you, at (512) 265-6565, TTY 711. You can also see plans in your ZIP code. See Medicare enrollment periods.

Related questions

Sources

• Medicare.gov — Special Enrollment Periods
• 42 CFR §422.62 — Election of coverage under an MA plan
• Medicare.gov — Understanding Medicare Advantage and drug plan enrollment periods

Frequently asked questions

What is the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period?

From January 1 to March 31 each year, people in a Medicare Advantage plan can make one change: switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, or drop it for Original Medicare and join a Part D plan. People new to Medicare Advantage get the same one-time change in their first three months of Medicare. The new coverage starts the first of the month after the plan gets your request.

I moved within Texas. Can I change plans?

Yes, if your new address gives you new plan choices or is outside your plan's service area. Medicare.gov says your chance begins when you move and lasts two full months after; if you tell your plan before you move, it starts the month before. Medicare Advantage plans differ by county in Texas.

I just got Medicaid or Extra Help. When can I change?

Medicare.gov says people with Medicaid or Extra Help can change Part D coverage once a month, with the change starting the first of the next month. That includes leaving a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage for Original Medicare and a Part D plan.

I joined Medicare Advantage at 65 and don't like it. Can I leave?

Yes. If you joined a Medicare Advantage plan when you first became eligible at 65, you can switch to Original Medicare any time in your first 12 months in the plan, and you have a federal right to buy certain Medigap policies without health questions.

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