Medicare Advantage Enrollment.
Enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that’s right for you.
The Annual Medicare Enrollment Period is from October 15 to December 7
To enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan, there are a few things you should know:
- Medicare is for people 65 or older, and certain people with disabilities.
- With limited exception, you may only enroll in Medicare at certain times: near your 65th birthday (see below), during the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), or during the Open Enrollment Period.
- You must enroll in Original Medicare (Parts A or B) and be paying premiums before enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C), like BSW SeniorCare Advantage or Covenant Health Advantage.
- The penalty for Part B is an additional 10 percent of the premium for each 12-month period you were eligible but not enrolled. Penalties for Part A only occur for those who have to pay premiums for Part A.
Turning 65 this year?
There is a seven-month window during the calendar year that you turn 65 in which you can enroll in a Medicare plan. The window starts three months before your birthday month and ends three months after. For example, if your birthday occurs in April, your window starts in January and ends at the end of July.
Annual Enrollment Period
The Annual Enrollment Period is from October 15th through December 7th. During this time, you may enroll in a Medicare plan for the first time, or you can re-evaluate your current plan. When re-evaluating your plan, you may:
- Switch from Original Medicare to Medicare Advantage, go from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare, or change Medicare Advantage plans
- Enroll into a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan
- Switch to another Part D plan
- Drop from your Medicare Part D coverage
Open Enrollment Period
The Open Enrollment Period is between January 1 to March 31. Between January 1 and March 31 of each year, people enrolled in Medicare Advantage may change their plan once. The options are to switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, to buy a Part D prescription drug plan to supplement your Original Medicare (Parts A and B) or drop to Original Medicare from Medicare Advantage.