Annual Election Period or AEP is a time to review the Medicare Advantage and Prescriptions Drug Plans for the Next Plan year. These plans make changes every year so Medicare also allows you to make changes. Plan Reviews can start October 15th until December 7th and the New Plans will take Effect January 1st of the upcoming year.
Open Enrollment Period or OEP
Each year, there’s a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 – March 31. During this time, if you’re in a Medicare Advantage Plan and want to change your health plan, you can do one of these:
Switch to a different Medicare Advantage Plan with or without drug coverage
Go back to Original Medicare and, if needed, also join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan
If you switch Medicare Advantage Plans or go back to Original Medicare with or without a Medicare drug plan, your new coverage will start the first day of the month after your new plan gets your request for coverage. Keep in mind, if you go back to Original Medicare now, you may not be able to buy a Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy.
Information from Medicare.gov
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