The 2026 guide to switching Medicare Advantage plans during open enrollment

The 2026 guide to switching Medicare Advantage plans during open enrollment

Two enrollment windows let you change Medicare Advantage plans every year. The October-to-December window is the big one. The January-to-March window is the second chance. Here's how to use both.

Most people who are on Medicare Advantage have never switched plans. They picked one at 65, it worked well enough, and they didn't think about it again. That's a mistake. Plans change every year. Your drugs change. Your doctors change. The plan that fit at 65 often doesn't fit at 70.

There are two windows every year when you can change Medicare Advantage plans. This guide walks through both, what each one allows, and the step-by-step process for picking a better plan.

The two windows, side by side

WindowDatesWhat you can doFall Open Enrollment (AEP)Oct 15 to Dec 7, 2026Change between any plans. Coverage starts Jan 1, 2027.Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment (MA OEP)Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2026Only for people already on MA. One switch allowed.

The fall window is when most people make changes. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services confirms the same dates year after year: October 15 through December 7.1 Changes take effect the following January 1.

The January-to-March window is a do-over for anyone who chose Medicare Advantage and quickly regretted it. You can switch to a different MA plan or drop MA entirely and go back to Original Medicare. Only one change allowed during this window.2

Step 1: Read your Annual Notice of Change letter

Every September, your current MA plan mails you something called the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). It's a thick envelope. Most people throw it in a drawer.

Don't. The ANOC is the only place that tells you exactly what's changing about your plan for next year. Premiums going up. Drugs being dropped from the formulary. Doctors leaving the network. Copays changing. Read the whole thing. The important stuff is usually buried on page 12.

If anything in the ANOC matters to you (your insulin moved to a higher tier, your cardiologist isn't in network next year), that's the signal to shop.

Step 2: Use the Medicare Plan Finder

Medicare.gov has a tool called Plan Finder. It's free, government-run, and it does exactly one thing well: shows you which plans in your zip code cover your specific drugs and your specific doctors.

Type in your zip code, your current drugs, your preferred pharmacies, and your doctors. The tool spits out a ranked list of plans by estimated annual out-of-pocket cost. Read the top five. Compare premiums, deductibles, drug coverage, and the doctor network.

One trap to know about: Medicare Plan Finder has had issues with incorrectly listed provider networks. For 2026, CMS is granting a Special Enrollment Period to people who enroll in a plan based on incorrect network information.

3 That's a safety net, but it shouldn't be your plan A. Call any doctor you absolutely need to keep and confirm with them directly that they're in the new plan's network.

Step 3: Compare what you actually use

Cheapest premium isn't the same as cheapest plan. A plan with a $0 premium and a $7,000 out-of-pocket maximum can cost more than a plan with a $40 premium and a $4,500 max, depending on how much care you use.

Look at:

Monthly premium (in addition to your Part B premium)

Annual out-of-pocket maximum

Copay for primary care visits and specialists

Drug formulary: are your medications covered, and at what tier?

Pharmacy network: is your pharmacy preferred (cheapest) or just in-network (cheaper than out)?

Extra benefits: dental, vision, hearing, fitness, OTC allowance

Estimate the worst case (you use the plan a lot) and the best case (you barely use it). Whatever plan looks best in both scenarios is usually the right pick.

Step 4: Check the star rating

Every Medicare Advantage plan gets a CMS star rating from 1 to 5. The rating measures things like customer satisfaction, drug pricing accuracy, complaint volume, and member retention.

Anything 4 stars or above is generally considered solid. Anything 3 stars or below has known issues. There's no perfect rating, but a plan rated 2 stars three years running is a red flag.

Step 5: The doctor call

Before you commit, call every doctor and specialist you see at least once a year. Ask: "Are you in-network for [plan name] for 2027?" If they say yes, also ask: "Are you accepting new patients on that plan?" Both matter.

This step takes about 30 minutes of phone calls. It also saves people from the most common Medicare Advantage horror story: enrolling in a plan in November, discovering in January that their cardiologist dropped the contract, and being stuck for a year.

Step 6: Enroll, then verify

Enroll directly through Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE. Both routes are documented and have proof of enrollment. If you enroll through a private agent or directly with the insurance company, get the confirmation in writing.

In late December, check your Medicare account online to confirm the new plan is showing. If it isn't, call right away. The cutoff to fix any enrollment errors is January, and after that you're locked in until the MA OEP window.

The most common mistake

Not switching at all. Most people stay in their original plan year after year because switching feels like work. But Medicare Advantage plans change every single year. The plan that won you over at 65 may not exist in its original form by 70.

Spend an hour every October reading your ANOC and running Plan Finder. If your plan still looks good, great, stay. If not, switch. That hour can be worth thousands over a 10-year stretch.

What to do next

Mark October 15 on your calendar right now. When the ANOC arrives in September, open it. Schedule one Saturday in October to compare plans. Get it done before Thanksgiving, when life takes over.

If the process feels overwhelming, call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) at shiphelp.org. They walk people through this exact decision every fall, for free, with no sales agenda.

Sources

1. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services / Medicare.gov, Open Enrollment dates. medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/sign-up/when-can-i-sign-up

2. Medicare Rights Center, Medicare Advantage Enrollees Have Until March 31 to Make Certain Coverage Changes, January 2026. medicarerights.org

3. Justice in Aging, Open Enrollment for 2026 Coverage through Medicare & the Marketplace, October 2025. justiceinaging.org/open-enrollment-guide