Medicare open enrollment begins yearly on October 15 and runs through December 7. It's the one enrollment period when all Medicare beneficiaries can make any desired or necessary changes to their coverage.
Open enrollment is the time of year when experts recommend you review your Medicare coverage to see if you need to make a change. It’s also the time when Medicare beneficiaries can find themselves under siege from various insurance companies seeking their business and scammers looking to steal vital personal information.
Here's what you need to know about Medicare open enrollment.
When does Medicare open enrollment run?
Open enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7, giving beneficiaries a window in which to review options, including traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage, the private insurance alternative to the government insurance plan. It's a good idea, then, to brush up on some Medicare basics.
During this open enrollment, you may change your Part D or Medicare Advantage plan for 2026, or switch between Medicare Advantage and original Medicare or vice versa.
On January 1, another open enrollment is held only for Medicare Advantage enrollees. During that enrollment period, which ends March 31, Medicare Advantage enrollees can change to a different Advantage plan or to original Medicare.
Starting January 1, if you pay for Part A and sign up for Part B during the General Enrollment Period that runs from January 1 through March 31, you can also join a Medicare drug plan when you sign up for Part B. Your drug coverage would start the month after the plan receives your request to join.
Authorities advise consumers to be wary of promises made by people promoting Medicare Advantage plans, to get anything in writing and check with medical providers to confirm they are part of the plan’s network. Medicare Advantage plans may restrict patients to using in-network providers, while traditional Medicare will cover any provider nationwide who accepts Medicare.
Authorities also warn Medicare enrollees to be alert to possible open enrollment scams.
How to compare Medicare plans
Medicare offers a plan finder to help enrollees compare Medicare health and drug plans. The plan finder provides information about costs and covered drugs, as well as star ratings of various Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans. The star ratings are updated annually and incorporate the experiences of people who use the plans.
What’s new for Medicare in 2026
There are a few Medicare changes on the horizon for 2026.
Medicare Part D annual deductible and out-of-pocket maximum are going up. In 2026, the cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs will increase to $2,100, up from $ 2,000 in 2025. That means you'll be liable for an additional $100 in drug costs over the year in 2026.
If your plan has a deductible, you pay 100% of your gross covered prescription drug costs (GCPDC) until the deductible is met. For 2026, that maximum increases to $615, $25 more than the 2025 amount of $590.
Prior authorizations for traditional Medicare are coming to six states in 2026. Six states — New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and Washington — will begin using the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model to perform prior authorization evaluations.
This change will go into effect on January 1, 2026, when the CMS starts to use AI to "test ways to provide an improved and expedited prior authorization process relative to Original Medicare’s existing processes, helping patients and providers avoid unnecessary or inappropriate care and safeguarding federal taxpayer dollars," per a CMS press release.
Medicare to cover weight loss drugs. After negotiations with many major drug companies, the Trump administration struck a deal to lower the costs of GLP-1 medications and to have Medicare begin covering the weight-loss drugs in 2026. Medicare will pay $245 per month, down from list prices ranging from $1,000 to $1,350.
Beneficiaries will pay a maximum of a $50 copay. Medicare will cover Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Different Medicare options
People who chose to keep traditional Medicare may also enroll in a supplemental plan, known as Medigap, to help cover costs like copays. (Note that as of January 1, 2020, Medigap plans sold to people new to Medicare can no longer cover the Part B deductible.)
Traditional Medicare, when not paired with Medigap, does not have a limit on out-of-pocket expenses in a year. Open enrollment is an opportunity to review Medigap coverage to determine if you have the best option for your needs, as well as the one that makes the most sense financially.
Medicare Advantage plans, which are offered by private insurance in place of traditional Medicare, do have yearly limits on out-of-pocket costs.
Medigap policies can’t be paired with Medicare Advantage. If you switch from original Medicare with Medigap to Medicare Advantage and then change your mind, you may not be able to get the same Medigap coverage and may have trouble getting any Medigap policy again.
In general, your first time enrolling in Medicare is your opportunity to get a Medigap policy. After that, you may not be able to buy a Medigap policy, or if you are able, it may cost more because of pre-existing health conditions.
Medicare Savings Programs help people with lower incomes pay Part B premiums and Part A and B deductibles, coinsurance and copayments. According to the Medicare Rights Center, if you qualify for one of the four main Medicare Savings Programs, your Part B monthly premium will no longer be deducted from your Social Security.
You will also automatically get the benefit of a program called Extra Help, which helps with Part D prescription drug costs. For information about open enrollment, you can visit Medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, which can help you review and compare your coverage and any possible changes.
What if you want to skip Medicare open enrollment?
While authorities urge an annual review of your coverage, you don’t have to do anything if you’re happy with what you have. If you want to maintain your current Medicare coverage, you do not need to re-enroll.
