Skip to main content
Plan Exit Rescue CenterHelp for people whose Medicare plan is ending

What is the Special Enrollment Period when a plan is terminated?

A Special Enrollment Period is a protected window Medicare gives you when something changes outside your control — including losing your current coverage — so you can join, switch, or drop a plan outside the normal Open Enrollment dates.

Medicare describes Special Enrollment Periods as times outside the usual enrollment dates when you can make coverage changes after certain events, including losing your coverage.

Why it matters when your plan is ending

The ordinary Open Enrollment window runs October 15 to December 7, and Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment runs January 1 to March 31. A plan termination is not bound by only those dates, which is why a December 8 phone call is not automatically too late.

What to bring to the call

  • Your Medicare number.
  • The non-renewal notice, which arrives in October when a plan leaves Medicare.
  • Your prescription list and your doctors.

1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays, and can confirm which enrollment period applies to you.