Medicare Open Enrollment 2026 Guide

What is Medicare open enrollment?

Medicare open enrollment – also known as the annual election period (AEP) or annual coordinated election period – refers to an enrollment window that takes place each fall, during which Medicare plan enrollees can reevaluate their existing Medicare coverage — whether it’s Original Medicare with supplemental drug coverage, or Medicare Advantage — and make changes if they want to do so.

This guide is all about Medicare’s annual election period. If you’re interested in learning about additional opportunities to enroll or change your Medicare coverage, we’ve covered those here.

When is Medicare open enrollment?

Medicare open enrollment starts October 15 and continues through December 7 each year.

Extended enrollment opportunities are available to some people in areas where FEMA declares an emergency or major disaster that hampers their ability to complete their signup during the normal window.

What plan changes can I make during the Medicare open enrollment period?

During the Medicare open enrollment period – if you’re already enrolled in Medicare coverage – you can:

• Switch from Original Medicare to Medicare Advantage (as long as you’re enrolled in both Medicare Part A and Part B, and you live in the Medicare Advantage plan’s service area).
• Switch from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare (plus a Medicare Part D plan (PDP), and possibly a Medigap plan, although medical underwriting might be required for Medigap, depending on the state and the person’s circumstances).
• Switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Switch from one Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) to another.
• Enroll in a Medicare Part D plan if you didn’t enroll when you were first eligible for Medicare. If you haven’t maintained other creditable coverage, a late-enrollment penalty may apply.

If I change my coverage at the start of the AEP, can I change my mind before the December 7 deadline?

Yes. You can change your mind and pick a different plan later in the AEP. There’s no limit on the number of plan changes you can make during the AEP.

The last plan selection you make will be the plan that takes effect January 1.

If I make a mistake when I change my coverage during the AEP, what can I do to fix it?

If you realize that you’ve made a mistake while the AEP is ongoing, you can simply pick a different plan instead (by the December 7 deadline) and the new choice will take effect on January 1.

If the AEP has ended and you’ve enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan but believe you should have picked a different plan, you can use the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MAOEP) to pick a different Advantage plan or switch to Original Medicare and a Part D plan.

For instance, maybe you picked an Advantage plan that doesn’t cover an expensive medication you need, or that doesn’t include a conveniently located hospital in its network. Or maybe you let your existing Advantage plan auto-renew and didn’t realize that the premium or benefits would be changing as of January. Regardless of the reason, the MAOEP gives people with Medicare Advantage one “do-over” opportunity at the start of the year.

The annual MAOEP window runs from January 1 to March 31.

If the AEP has ended and you’ve enrolled in a stand-alone Part D plan that doesn’t fit your needs, your options are more limited. There is nothing like the MAOEP to make changes to a stand-alone Part D plan. Changes to these plans can generally only be made during the fall AEP.

However, if you believe that you were given inaccurate or misleading information that led you to make the wrong plan choice, you can call 1-800-MEDICARE and explain the details. Depending on the circumstances, the call center may allow you to make a plan change at that point.

Who’s eligible to make coverage changes during Medicare open enrollment?

If you’re currently covered by Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage, then you’re eligible to make changes during open enrollment.

However, the annual Medicare open enrollment period does not apply to Medigap plans, which – in most states – are only guaranteed-issue during a beneficiary’s initial enrollment period, and during limited special enrollment periods. So to clarify, you cannot use the annual Medicare open enrollment period to enroll in a new Medigap plan on a guaranteed-issue basis. You can certainly apply for a new Medigap plan during this window – just as you can at any time of the year. But if your six-month initial enrollment period for Medigap has ended and you’re not in a trial right period or otherwise eligible for a special enrollment period, Medigap insurers in most states will use medical underwriting to determine your eligibility and premium.

In addition, if you didn’t enroll in Medicare Part B when you were first eligible, you may not use the AEP to sign up. Instead, you’ll use Medicare’s general enrollment period, which runs from January 1 to March 31. The general enrollment period is also for people who have to pay a premium for Medicare Part A and didn’t enroll in Part A when they were first eligible. (Most people do not have the pay a premium for Part A.)

Learn more about Medicare’s general enrollment period.

Can I sign up for Medigap during the AEP?

You can certainly apply for a Medigap (Medicare supplement) plan during the AEP or at any other time of the year. But unlike Part D and Medicare Advantage plans, there is not a federally required annual enrollment opportunity for Medigap plans.

If you apply for a Medigap plan after your six-month initial enrollment period has passed, however, the Medigap insurer is likely to use medical underwriting to determine your eligibility and premium.

There are 19 states (as of 2026) that offer an annual window during which existing Medigap enrollees can select from at least some other plans without medical underwriting, and a few of those states also extend that option to people who are newly enrolling in Medigap.

How will plan availability, costs, and benefits change for 2026 Medicare coverage?

As we get closer to open enrollment, you’ll be able to see a detailed summary of Medicare premium and out-of-pocket changes here. But in general:

• The Inflation Reduction Act will continue to cap the cost of insulin products at $35/month in 2026, and ensure that Part D enrollees do not have to pay for recommended vaccines.
• More people will continue to be eligible for the full Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (Extra Help).
• Out-of-pocket costs for drugs covered under a Medicare Part D plan will be capped at $2,100¹ (up from $2,000 in 2025). This applies to stand-alone Part D plans as well as Part D coverage integrated with a Medicare Advantage Plan.
• People with Medicare Part D will continue to have the option to have their drug costs spread out over the full year in equal monthly payments, instead of having to meet their out-of-pocket limit early in the year.²
• The standard Medicare Part B premium for 2026 won’t be finalized until the fall of 2025. But according to the Medicare Trustees Report, it is projected to be $206.50/month (up from $185/month in 2025), and the Medicare Part B deductible is projected to be $288 (up from $257 in 2025).³ 
• The 2026 Social Security COLA will be finalized in the fall of 2025, but it’s projected to be 2.7%, resulting in Social Security benefits being an average of $54/month higher in 2026.⁴ For most Medicare beneficiaries, Part B premiums are withheld from Social Security checks, and net checks (after Part B is deducted) generally can’t decrease from one year to the next. But the projected COLA for 2026 will be more than enough to cover the projected increase in Part B premiums.
• 2026 Medicare Part A premiums (for those who have to pay for Part A) will also be finalized in the fall of 2025. But the Medicare Trustees Report projects that it will be $310/month for those with at least 30 quarters of work history (up from $285/month in 2025), and $563/month for those with under 30 quarters of work history (up from $518/month in 2025).³ 
• The 2026 Medicare Part A deductible will also be finalized in the fall of 2025. But according to the Trustees Report, it’s projected to increase to $1,716 (up from $1,676 in 2025). The daily copays for inpatient days 61-90, lifetime reserve days, and skilled nursing facility care are also projected to increase.³  
• The federal government is continuing the temporary Part D premium stabilization program that was put in place for 2025, but with less assistance available to the insurers. The monthly per-member subsidy that participating insurers will receive is dropping from $15 to $10, and the cap on how much participating insurers can raise their premiums will be $50/month for 2026, instead of the $35/month premium increase cap that applied for 2025.⁵ In 2025, 99% of PDP enrollees are in plans that opted into the premium stabilization program for 2025.⁶
• The maximum Medicare Part D deductible will be $615 in 2026, up from $590 in 2025.⁷ (Part D plans can have lower deductibles, or no deductible at all. But if they have a deductible, it can’t exceed $615 in 2026.)
• The threshold for having to pay Medicare’s IRMAA (high-income surcharge) for Medicare Part D and Part B will increase again. The details will be finalized in the fall of 2025, but for a single individual, it’s projected that it will start at an income of $109,000 (up from a threshold of $106,000 in 2025).⁸
• The maximum allowable cap on out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Advantage plans (not counting prescription costs) will decrease slightly to $9,250 in 2026, down from $9,350 in 2025.⁹  But average out-of-pocket caps are typically well below the allowable maximum.
• Medicare Advantage plans that offer supplemental benefits for chronically ill enrollees will be limited to offering benefits that “have a reasonable expectation of improving or maintaining the health or overall function of the chronically ill enrollee,”¹⁰ which might result in changes to some of the supplemental benefits that some plans offer.
• As was the case for 2025,¹¹,¹² some insurers that currently offer Medicare Advantage plans or stand-alone Part D plans have said they are exiting the market or reducing their plan offerings for 2026.¹³,¹⁴ It’s always important for Medicare beneficiaries to open and read the mail they get from their plan each fall, but that’s especially true as we head into 2026. If your plan’s benefits or premium are changing in a way that won’t fit your needs — or if the plan is being eliminated altogether — you’ll want to comparison shop for alternatives during the October 15 to December 7 open enrollment period. Note that if your Medicare Advantage plan is terminating and won’t be available for renewal, you’ll have a guaranteed-issue right to enroll in most available Medigap plans, if you want to switch to Original Medicare.

How many people change their coverage during the AEP?

Most Medicare beneficiaries do not switch plans during Medicare’s AEP. An analysis by KFF found that over the course of a decade, the percentage of beneficiaries who switched to a different Part D plan ranged from 10% to 13% per year. And for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries it was even lower, ranging from 6% to 11%.

More troubling is the fact that seven out of ten beneficiaries didn’t even compare their coverage options during a recent open enrollment period. It may well be that the plan you already have will continue to be the best option for the coming year. But there’s no way to know that without actively comparing the available alternatives, and the majority of Medicare beneficiaries aren’t doing that.

What will happen if I don’t change my Medicare coverage during the annual election period?

If you don’t make a plan change, your existing coverage will renew for 2026, assuming it will continue to be available. But that could come with cost and benefit changes. The plan you have might have changes to its drug formulary (covered drug list) or its provider network, meaning that a specific medication or doctor may no longer be covered under the plan. And the plan could also have premium and/or cost-sharing structure changes.

This is why it’s so important to actively compare the available options each fall. You’ll want to check to see how your doctors and prescriptions will be covered in the coming year, both by the plan you already have and by the other plans that are available in your area.

After the annual election period ends, you will not be able to make a change to your stand-alone Part D plan until the next annual election period. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, you will still have an opportunity to use the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MAOEP) that runs from January through March. You can make just one plan change during this window.

But it’s important to note that the new plan selection would take effect in February at the earliest (and as late as April, depending on when you make the plan selection). This means your out-of-pocket medical costs for the year would reset to zero when the new plan starts, regardless of how much you had spent in the early part of the year under your old plan (note that this is not the case for Part D drug spending, which will transfer to the new plan).

So, if there’s any chance you’ll want to make a plan change, the best approach is to select your new plan by the annual election period deadline (by December 7) so that the coverage takes effect January 1 and covers you for the entire year.

What do I have to do during open enrollment if I just want to keep my current coverage for next year?

If your current Medicare plan will still be available in 2026 and you want to keep it, you don’t have to do anything. It will automatically renew on January 1. But it’s important to pay attention to any mail you get from your plan, as it might not be available next year or there might be changes to the coverage. Any changes will be communicated to you by your plan in an Annual Notice of Change letter, which your Part D or Medicare Advantage insurer will send to you in September. Those could include changes in the premium, deductible and other cost-sharing, provider networks, prescription benefits, etc.

Even if you’re happy with your current plan and nothing about it will change significantly for 2026, it’s still important to comparison shop during the open enrollment period that runs from October 15 to December 7. There may be another plan that might be a better fit, and that window is your opportunity to switch plans. But as long as your plan will continue to be available next year, it will automatically renew on January 1 if you make no changes during open enrollment.