Medicare Open Enrollment arrived this past Monday and is now in full swing. The enrollment timeframe runs between October 15 to December 7 each year.
What is Medicare Open Enrollment?
The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), as Open Enrollment is also known, lets you switch between certain Medicare plans.
- Enrolling in a Medicare D plan – If you didn’t enroll during your eligibility period, you can do so now. There may be a late enrollment fee, though.
- Switching between Medicare D plans
- Going from Original Medicare to Medicare Advantage
- Switching Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare
- Changing Medicare Advantage plans
The General Enrollment Period (GEP)
Another Medicare enrollment period takes place between January 1 and March 31. This is known as the General Enrollment Period.
Here’s what you can do during the GEP:
- Enroll in Original Medicare – If you didn’t sign up for regular Medicare when you became eligible, you can do so now. But there may be a late enrollment penalty, though.
- Switch from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare
- Change Medicare Advantage plans
The Difference Between AEP and GEP
Although the AEP and GEP share similarities, they also have distinctions:
- Amount of changes – The first difference is the amount of times you can switch plans during the enrollment periods. While the GEP offers just a single shot, the AEP doesn’t have a limit.
- Switching from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare – Downgrading to Original Medicare comes at a price during the GEP. You can only take the simpler package if you add a Medicare D plan to it.
- Changing Medicare Advantage plans – this is actually something new. The 21st Century Curses Act extended the possibility to switch between Medicare Advantage plans all the way through the end of March. So for this one there isn’t much of a difference between AEP and GEP Afterall.