Plain-language guide

Your Annual Enrollment Period game plan

The Annual Enrollment Period is the one stretch of the year when anyone with Medicare can change how they're covered. It runs from October 15 to December 7. Here's what happens when, and a calm order to handle it in, so you're deciding on your own schedule instead of a salesperson's.

The dates, in order

  • Sep 30Your plan's Annual Notice of Change should arrive by now. It tells you what's changing for next year. Here's how to read it.
  • Oct 15The Annual Enrollment Period opens. From today you can switch plans, change drug coverage, or move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
  • Dec 7The Annual Enrollment Period closes. Whatever you've chosen by the end of this day is your coverage for next year.
  • Jan 1Your new coverage starts. A separate window, Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment, also opens today and runs through March 31 for people who want to adjust an Advantage choice.

Source: Medicare.gov, 2026.

A calm order to work through it

  1. Late September: read your ANOC. When the letter arrives, check your premium, your drug coverage, your doctors and pharmacy, and any extra benefits. If nothing important changed and you're happy, you don't have to do anything. Plans renew on their own.
  2. Early October: make your short list. If something did change, or you just want to check you're still in the right place, write down what matters to you: your prescriptions, your doctors, and your budget. You're getting ready, not deciding yet.
  3. After October 15: compare on the official Plan Finder. The Medicare Plan Finder on Medicare.gov lets you enter your drugs and see every plan in your area side by side, with real costs. It's free and it doesn't sell anything.
  4. Before December 7: decide, or decide to stay. Give yourself a few days of margin. If you're switching, make the change on Medicare.gov or with free SHIP help. If you're staying, you're already done.

You do not have to do anything during the Annual Enrollment Period. If your plan still fits, staying put is a real choice. The reason to look is that plans change quietly, and this is the window when you can respond.

Watch the calls this time of year

Enrollment season is also scam season. Real Medicare will not cold-call you to sell a plan or ask for your Medicare number. If a call feels like pressure, hang up and call the number on the back of your own card, or 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), yourself. Our free resources include a printable card for exactly this.

Free, official help with your own decision

This guide explains how things work. For decisions about your own coverage, use the official sources. They're free and they don't sell anything.

  • Medicare.gov The official government site to compare plans and check coverage yourself.
  • SHIP: free local counseling Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program: free, unbiased Medicare help.