If your Medicare Advantage (MA) or Part D plan non-renews in your county for the next plan year, you'll receive an Annual Notice of Non-Renewal by early October of the current year. Here's what happens and what you need to do.
You get a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) automatically:
- The non-renewal triggers an SEP that runs from December 8 through the last day of February of the following year
- During this SEP you can:
- Enroll in a different Medicare Advantage plan
- Return to Original Medicare and add a Part D plan
- Importantly: purchase a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy with guaranteed-issue rights — meaning the carrier cannot deny you or charge more for pre-existing conditions. You typically have 63 days from the non-renewal date to use guaranteed-issue rights.
Why guaranteed-issue rights matter:
Normally, Medigap is medically underwritten outside of your initial 6-month Medigap Open Enrollment (around your 65th birthday). If you've developed health conditions since then, you might be denied or charged a much higher premium. A non-renewal SEP bypasses underwriting for specific Medigap plans (Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D, Plan F, Plan G, Plan K, Plan L, Plan M, Plan N — depending on your state).
This is one of the most valuable but underused windows in Medicare. Many members default to picking another MA plan when their current one exits — not realizing this is often the only chance after age 65 to get into a Medigap plan without underwriting.
What you should NOT do:
- Don't ignore the notice. If you do nothing, on January 1 you'll be auto-enrolled in Original Medicare with no Part D, exposing you to high drug costs and the Part D late-enrollment penalty.
- Don't assume the next-cheapest MA plan is your best option. Your network, your drug formulary, your benefits — all change. A licensed advisor can compare every option.
- Don't wait until late February. Carriers are heavily booked, and Medigap underwriting timeframes can run 30–60 days. Start in October or November.
How to use the SEP optimally:
1. Audit your current situation: What doctors do you see? What drugs do you take? What's your annual budget?
2. Compare ALL three paths: another MA plan, Original Medicare + Medigap + Part D, or a Special Needs Plan if you qualify (chronic condition or dual-eligible).
3. Get the Medigap quote IMMEDIATELY if you might want it — your guaranteed-issue window is finite.
4. Confirm enrollment in writing before December 31 to ensure January 1 coverage with no gap.
What to do next: Call (866) 534-1886. If your plan is exiting (or you suspect it might based on news of carriers leaving markets), we'll walk through every option in your county, time your enrollment correctly, and use the guaranteed-issue Medigap window if it makes sense for you. Free.