Medicare enrollment periods, explained

Medicare does not run on a single enrollment calendar. Depending on your situation — new to Medicare, already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, or dealing with a change in your coverage — a different window applies to you, with its own dates and its own rules about what you are allowed to do. Using the wrong one, or missing the one that actually applies to you, can mean waiting months longer than necessary to make a change, or trying to make a change you are not eligible for. The four enrollment periods below cover most of the situations people call us about: the annual window open to everyone, the shorter window for people already on a Medicare Advantage plan, the life-event windows that open outside the regular calendar, and the seven-month window that applies the first time you become eligible for Medicare. Find the one that matches where you are, or call and a licensed agent will tell you which window applies to you.