If you’ve been in the same Medicare plan for a few years or your health needs have changed, it might be time to review your options. These questions may help you decide if you should reconsider your coverage:

• Have your doctors or prescription drugs changed?
• Has the way you use your plan changed? For example, do you go to the doctor more (or less), have more diagnostic tests, or go to the hospital more?
• Do you travel more or less than when you selected your plan?
• Has your plan premium increased significantly?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it might be time to compare your plan with others to see if there’s something else that better fits your needs.

 

Switching from one Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plan to another is very straightforward – simply use our plan recommendation tool to choose a new plan and complete an application between October 15 and December 7. (See steps in next question.)

If you're switching from one Medicare Supplement plan to another or from Medicare Advantage to Medicare Supplement, you may be subject to underwriting, meaning that you aren’t guaranteed acceptance. The exception is when you qualify for "guaranteed issue rights," which means an insurance company can't refuse to sell you a Medicare Supplement policy. Learn more about guaranteed issue rights.

Starting October 15, you can compare your current plan with plans available for next year and enroll online using our plan recommendation tool. Just follow these steps:

1. Log in to this site.
2. Find the “Your Current Coverage” box on the homepage.
3. Click Compare 2023 Coverage under the plan you want to shop for.
4. Go through the steps of updating your profile. The more information you provide, the better we can recommend plans that fit your needs.
5. Compare your plan to others we recommend. Plans are scored based on cost and benefits. The higher the score, the better the match.

To keep your current plan, simply do nothing and it will renew. Or select a new plan and follow the steps to enroll.

 

Maybe. It depends on what kind of plan you have, and what you’re switching to.

If you end a Medicare Supplement plan, always contact the plan to cancel your coverage after you’ve been accepted into the new plan.

If you switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another, you do not need to cancel your coverage.

Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans can be changed during the annual open enrollment period, October 15 through December 7. You can also return to Original Medicare Parts A and B. Under certain circumstances, you may qualify to change your plan outside of the Medicare open enrollment period. See if you qualify.

Medicare Supplement plans can be changed any time during the year (medical underwriting may apply).