If your Medicare plan was canceled, do this now

Key PointsSpecial enrollment allows switch to new Medicare plan if Advantage plan is canceled.Enroll by December 31 to avoid gaps; Medigap enrollment comes without medical underwriting."Crosswalking" differs from cancellation; only true cancellation grants special Medigap rights.If your Medicare Advantage plan was canceled and you missed the warning in your annual notice of change, don’t panic. Federal rules give you a special enrollment period that allows you to choose a new plan even after Medicare’s Dec. 7 open enrollment deadline. But timing matters. To ensure your new coverage begins Jan. 1 and to avoid a gap, you must enroll by Dec. 31. Jae Oh, author of Maximize Your Medicare, recently explained how this little-known enrollment window works and why it can be especially important for people whose plans were terminated. What follows is an edited transcript of that conversation, revised for clarity and brevity. If your Medicare Advantage (MA) plan is canceled for the new year, you get a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that lets you enroll in a new MA plan or Original Medicare. You should aim to enroll by December 31 to avoid any gaps in coverage starting January 1st, as that’s when your old plan ends. — Source: Photo by miniseries on Getty Images A little-known second chance Robert Powell: Medicare’s annual election period, often referred to as open enrollment, has come and gone. But if your Medicare Advantage plan was canceled, you may still have an opportunity to enroll in a new plan. Joining me to explain how this works is Jae Oh, CFP, author of Maximize Your Medicare. Jae, welcome. Jae Oh: Thanks for having me, Bob. A special election period many miss Robert Powell: This is a rare opportunity that people really need to know about, especially if they didn’t realize it existed. Jae Oh: That’s absolutely right. During the annual election period, people generally have to make changes by Dec. 7. But if your Medicare Advantage plan is canceled for any reason, the rules are different. In that situation, you have until Dec. 31 to select a new plan, and the last plan you choose will take effect on Jan. 1. This also opens a special election period that allows someone to move into Medigap. This can be especially important for people who have been in Medicare Advantage for years and didn’t fully understand the differences between Medicare Advantage and Medigap when they first enrolled. In this situation, they can enter Medigap without medical underwriting. Guaranteed rights, but with important choices Robert Powell:You’ve often talked about best practices for making that move. Jae Oh:Yes, although this situation is slightly different from a voluntary switch during open enrollment. Here, the right to move into Medigap is protected by federal regulation. The insurance carriers don’t have discretion. They must accept the application. That said, people still need to choose a standalone Part D prescription drug plan. And for 2026, that decision is trickier because the number of Part D plans has declined. On the positive side, there is now a hard cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,100 for 2026. Medicare Advantage vs. Medigap: No one-size-fits-all answer Robert Powell: For someone whose plan was canceled, how should they decide whether to stay in Medicare Advantage or switch to Medigap? Jae Oh: It usually comes down to money and geography. The quality of Medicare Advantage plans varies significantly depending on where someone lives. In some areas, such as parts of California, the number of PPO options has dropped sharply. In other regions, Medicare Advantage remains very competitive, with strong provider networks. Medicare Advantage premiums can be as low as zero, although you still must pay Part B premiums. Medigap premiums, by contrast, can run thousands of dollars a year. There is no blanket rule. The right answer depends on the individual household. Are plan cancellations becoming more common? Robert Powell: We see insurers cancel Medicare Advantage plans every year. Do you think this trend is growing? Jae Oh: That’s difficult to predict. A lot depends on how the federal government interacts with the Medicare Advantage system, including payment levels from CMS and changes to the risk-adjustment system. Those factors determine how much money carriers have to design benefit packages. Some plans simply stop making economic sense in certain markets. From what we’re seeing nationwide, plans with Social Security givebacks are among those being curtailed, which suggests 2026 is shaping up to be a tougher year. Beyond that, the future remains uncertain. Why timing matters more than ever Robert Powell: Another important point is that even if a plan is canceled, people still have an opportunity early in 2026 to make another change. Jae Oh: That’s correct. Anyone enrolled in Medicare Advantage can make one change during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from Jan. 1 through March 31. But here’s the key point: if your plan is canceled, you still must actively choose a replacement plan. If you do nothing, you’ll be returned to Original Medicare, which has no out-of-pocket maximum and no prescription drug coverage. By Jan. 2, your options narrow significantly. You can’t newly enroll in Medicare Advantage unless you were already a member, and the special Medigap opportunity disappears. Cancellation vs. crosswalking Robert Powell: One final point of confusion. If your annual notice of change says your plan was canceled, will the insurer automatically move you into a similar plan? Jae Oh: Sometimes, but not always. There’s a technical distinction. Some plans are simply renamed, and members are “crosswalked” into the new plan. That’s different from a full cancellation. The notice would clearly state whether your plan was being canceled outright or whether you were being moved into a renamed plan. If you are crosswalked, you don’t get the special Medigap rights. If your plan is truly canceled, you do. Robert Powell: Thank you again for sharing your insights. Jae Oh: My pleasure, Bob.

Key Takeaways If your Medicare Advantage plan is canceled, you generally have until Dec. 31 to choose new coverage. Plan cancellations create a guaranteed opportunity to enroll in Medigap without medical underwriting. Failing to act can leave you with Original Medicare only, without drug coverage or an out-of-pocket maximum. Not all plan changes are cancellations. Some are renames or crosswalks that limit your options. View post: 22 million Americans hit by ACA health insurance cliff after vote failsPersonal Finance22 million Americans hit by ACA health insurance cliff after vote failsWith enhanced ACA tax credits likely ending, Jae Oh, author of Maximize Your Medicare, explains how to manage premiums, plan choices and risk during open enrollment.Robert Powell, CFP – Retirement, Senior Editor 0 About the authorRobert Powell, CFP – Retirement, Senior EditorRobert Powell, CFP®, RMA®, is an award-winning financial journalist whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, USA Today, TheStreet, Investor’s Business Daily, Yahoo! Finance, and AARP. He is the editor and publisher of Retirement Daily on TheStreet and hosts the Decoding Retirement podcast. Powell also serves as editor-in-chief of the Retirement Management Journal and is a co-founder of finStream.tv. He was named a 2022 Robert N. Butler–Jack Rosenthal Age Boom Academy Journalist Fellow at Columbia Journalism School and received the 2021 RTDNA/NEFE Excellence in Personal Finance Reporting Award. Additionally, he teaches in the Financial Planning Association’s Online Elder Planning Specialist program.Start the Conversation