Christy Bieber, The Motley Fool
Wed, January 14, 2026 astatine 4:35 AM CST 3 min read
-
If you're presently enrolled successful Medicare Advantage, March 31 is an important date.
-
Medicare Advantage program enrollees tin marque changes to their plans betwixt Jan. 1 and March 31.
-
Make definite your program meets your needs, arsenic missing the March deadline means you'll mostly request to hold until October to alteration coverage.
-
The $23,760 Social Security bonus astir retirees wholly place ›
As a retiree, it's captious that you person the close healthcare coverage. That's wherefore anyone who's presently enrolled successful a Medicare Advantage program needs to instrumentality enactment by March 31, arsenic that's an important day for participants successful the program.
Here's wherefore March 31 is truthful important and what to bash if you're enrolled successful a Medicare Advantage plan.
March 31 is the extremity of the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment play that starts connected Jan. 1. This January-to-March 31 play is antithetic from unfastened enrollment successful the fall, arsenic lone existent Medicare Advantage enrollees are allowed to enactment successful it.
During this period, those who are enrolled are allowed to marque 1 change. They tin either:
-
Switch to a antithetic Medicare Advantage plan
-
Switch to archetypal Medicare, either with oregon without Part D coverage
Medicare Advantage Plan enrollees person the enactment to marque these changes careless of whether they presently person medicine cause sum -- with one exception. If you're presently covered by a Medicare Part D plan, you're allowed to alteration either to an Advantage program without medicine cause sum or to archetypal Medicare. You aren't allowed to marque changes to your Medicare Part D sum during your unfastened enrollment period.
This objection affects precise fewer people, though, since adjacent to 90% of Advantage Plans successful 2025 offered medicine sum arsenic a program benefit.
If you're enrolled successful a Medicare Advantage Plan, determination are a fewer things that you should bash earlier March 31:
-
Review your security usage implicit the past year, arsenic good arsenic your expected aboriginal aesculapian needs successful the coming year.
-
Determine if your existent Medicare Advantage program is inactive gathering your needs.
-
Explore alternate Medicare Advantage Plans, comparing things similar premiums and coverages to spot if a antithetic program is simply a amended fit.
If you privation to research your options oregon if you determine that you privation to marque changes, you tin bash truthful by utilizing the Medicare Plan Finder oregon by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
Taking the clip to corroborate your sum tin assistance you debar other out-of-pocket spending retired of your status plans, which is captious to your semipermanent fiscal security. Most radical volition not person different accidental to marque changes to their Medicare plans until October unless they suffice for a peculiar enrollment period, truthful instrumentality vantage of this accidental now.

1 hour ago
1




English (CA) ·
English (US) ·
Spanish (MX) ·