One unique feature for Medicare Supplement enrollment is the Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period. This is not an annual enrollment period, and your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period is uniquely timed to you. During these six months, you can purchase any Medigap plan sold in your state without having to answer any health questions.
Confused about your Medicare coverage options? Watch our free video: How to Find the Best Medicare Coverage Without Paying More Than You Need To…
What is it?
Your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period is a once in a lifetime chance to enroll in any Medicare Supplement sold in your state without having to answer health questions, provide a list of medications, or go through underwriting.
During this period, insurance companies also can’t delay your coverage for pre-existing conditions or charge you more for factors like using tobacco.
When is it?
The Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period is six months long. It starts the first day that you meet both of these qualifications: you need to be 65 or older and have coverage from Medicare Part B.
That’s how Medicare wrote the rule. The age 65 part needs a little definition. If you are enrolling in Medicare Part B with an effective date of the first day of the month of your Medicare eligibility due to turning 65 soon, you are considered 65 for the purposes of this enrollment period, even if your birthday hasn’t actually happened yet.
Let’s look at a couple examples. If your 65th birthday is June 22, your Medicare Part B coverage will start on June 1, and your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period will start on June 1 and run through November 30.
If your birthday is September 1, your Medicare Part B coverage will start August 1, because first day of the month birthdays are handled differently by Medicare. Your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period will start August 1 and last through January 31.
One important note: You do not need to wait to apply for a Medicare Supplement until your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period starts. You can apply for a Medigap plan months before your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period begins.
Many of our clients apply for a Medicare Supplement, if that’s their chosen coverage, as soon as their Medicare ID number is assigned. Your Medicare Supplement will then be effective on the first day of your Medicare Part B coverage.
What if you had Medicare before age 65 due to a disability?
When you first become eligible for Medicare due to a disability, you have a six month Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period, but in some states, Medicare Supplement insurance companies are not required to offer all the Medicare Supplement plans they sell to people who are under age 65.
Because of that, when you turn 65, you will have your six month Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period with all plans available from all carriers.
This is really good news for everyone who’s been paying the much higher costs for under age 65 Medicare Supplement policies. When you turn 65, your Medicare Supplement premiums go way down.
What if you kept working past age 65, stayed on your employer’s group health plan, and delayed your Part B enrollment until you retired?
Still the same rule. When you apply for Medicare Part B, that effective date triggers your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period. You were 65 or older but didn’t have Part B yet.
As soon as both qualifications are met, you get your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period.
Protecting your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period is one of several reasons why it is very important to delay Medicare Part B if you are going to be working past age 65 and stay on your employer’s group health plan. More information in the video linked here.
If you keep working, stay on your group health plan, and take both Medicare Parts A and B at age 65, your first six months on Part B are still your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period. If you don’t use that enrollment period because you were on a group plan, you’re out of luck. You don’t get another Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period when you retire.
This is once in a lifetime. When it’s gone, it’s permanently gone.
Is this the only time you can buy a Medigap plan?
No. Medicare Supplement plans are month to month contracts that, at least in theory, you can change any time.
In many cases, if you are beyond your first six months on Medicare Part B and are age 65 or older, you will have to answer health questions and go through underwriting to be approved to purchase a new Medigap policy. The video linked here explains how that works in more detail and which health conditions may make it more difficult to pass underwriting.
There are many exceptions to that general rule. There are events and circumstances that can trigger a guaranteed issue right to purchase a Medicare Supplement without having to answer health questions. Here is a link to a complete list of guaranteed issue right situations: https://www.medicare.gov/supplements-other-insurance/when-can-i-buy-medigap/guaranteed-issue-rights
One thing to keep in mind is that a national guaranteed issue right doesn’t give you the right to purchase any Medicare Supplement sold in your state. A national guaranteed issue right allows you to purchase one of a partial list of Medigap plans.
The two glaring omissions in that list are Plan N and High Deductible Plan G. Those are two popular plans that, as of the date of this video, you can’t purchase using a national guaranteed issue right.
Different states have their own Medicare Supplement enrollment rules. There is a ton of variety from one state to another. You may be able to purchase a Medicare Supplement plan anytime without health questions, or during some time around your birthday, or some other time during the year. Check your state’s department of insurance website to find our what’s available in your location.
What about Medicare Supplements during the Annual Enrollment Period?
The ads are confusing every single year. Between October 15 and December 7, you can change or join Medicare Part D plans and Medicare Advantage plans.
You can leave your Medicare Supplement to join a Medicare Advantage plan, but unless you have a guaranteed issue right, you do not have a right to purchase a Medicare Supplement without going through underwriting during the AEP.
What if you miss your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period and can’t qualify for a Medigap plan through underwriting?
If that happens, a person can enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan. Although that may not be the coverage the individual preferred, sometimes there are no other options.
Unfortunately, Medicare does not notify you that you have enrollment periods coming up or that they are ending. It’s all on you, the consumer, to remember all of this. Of course, you don’t have to do that alone, because we are here to help you.
Is your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period the best time to buy a Medicare Supplement?
It’s the easiest time to purchase a Medicare Supplement, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best.
Saying it’s the best time to buy a Medicare Supplement is used in marketing a lot, and that contributes to people thinking that once they’ve bought a Medigap plan during their Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period they can never change their plan. And that’s generally not true.
Medicare Supplement rates change every year. Your health can change. The best time to buy a Medicare Supplement is when you need to purchase one.
Whenever that time is, we will help you find coverage that is affordable and that you can qualify to purchase, if at all possible.
Questions? We Can Help!
If you have Medicare Supplement questions, please feel free to give our office a call at 877-312-1414 or schedule a free, no obligation Medicare Plan Consultation.
We’re here to take the stress and confusion out of Medicare and help you find the right coverage for you. Have a great day!
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