The Medicare & Medicaid Center

Medicare, or any health insurance company for that matter, is pretty
rigid about the dates that a plan can start or stop. As a policy
holder your responsibility is to abide by these rules and make sure
that your coverage is valid. As a Medicare Advantage Plan holder you
would be smart to know the options available if you missed the open
enrollment plan or wanted to change your options.

If you are in a Medicare Advantage Plan and want to switch to Original
Medicare you can do so from January 1st to February 14th. So if you
don’t like the choices that you made when you started your plan during
open enrollment you still have a choice. Don’t forget that this is
only if you want to switch from Medicare Advantage back to a Original
Medicare plan.

You will also have until February 14th if you decide to add a Medicare
Prescription Drug Plan to your policy. This coverage will begin the
first day of the month after your enrollment in the plan is completed.
This is a great option to have if you feel that you made a mistake
with your original plan.