Medicare open enrollment 2026: what you are able to do now

Medicare’s annual open enrollment interval begins Oct. 15, giving roughly 69 million beneficiaries the chance to make modifications to their well being protection.

What you are able to do throughout open enrollment is determined by the kind of protection you’ve got now:

• Change your Medicare Benefit plan. You possibly can be part of, drop, or swap to a different Medicare Benefit plan – with or with out drug protection – or add or drop drug protection.
• Change your drug plan. In the event you’re in Authentic Medicare, you possibly can be part of, drop, or swap to a different Medicare Half D prescription drug plan.
• Change the way you get protection. You possibly can swap from Authentic Medicare to a Medicare Benefit plan, or from a Medicare Benefit plan again to Authentic Medicare.

Protection for any modifications will start on Jan. 1, so long as the plan receives your request by Dec. 7.

Be taught what you might want to learn about Medicare throughout the federal government shutdown.

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In the event you’re returning to authentic Medicare

In the event you swap again to authentic Medicare, it’s possible you’ll want to affix a separate drug plan and may also contemplate including Medicare Complement Insurance coverage (Medigap).

Medigap is additional insurance coverage you should purchase from a non-public well being insurer to assist cowl your share of out-of-pocket prices below authentic Medicare – however there are limits on when you possibly can add it.

What to know throughout the federal government shutdown

Due to the federal government shutdown, Medicare’s web site is alerting beneficiaries that “updates to information on this website may be limited or delayed. Your Medicare benefits and coverage will continue as before, and you can go to your doctor and access the health care services you need.”

And since Medicare staff are thought-about important staff, beneficiaries who name Medicare’s helpline at 1-800-633-4227 will nonetheless have the ability to get the assistance they want. That was confirmed in a telephone name to the helpline on Sunday.

What Medicare specialists say it’s best to — and shouldn’t — do throughout the shutdown

So what do Medicare specialists advise beneficiaries to do, on condition that important updates to Medicare’s web site could also be delayed or restricted throughout the federal government shutdown?

“Relax for now,” mentioned Melinda Caughill, co-founder of Sixty-5 Integrated. “There are absolutely no bonus points and no better deals for completing your Medicare open enrollment on October 15.”

Medicare’s open enrollment interval runs till December 7, giving beneficiaries practically two months to make modifications to their protection. “Since we have just shy of two months in which to make changes and there’s no extra deal or bonus for getting done sooner, just relax a bit to see what happens,” Caughill mentioned.

She additionally famous this isn’t the primary time Medicare’s open enrollment has coincided with a authorities shutdown. The 2013 shutdown, which lasted 16 days, triggered some administrative delays and confusion — however open enrollment nonetheless went ahead.

“If the current shutdown drags on,” Caughill added, “it’s likely the government will extend the Medicare open enrollment deadline.”

Why this 12 months feels totally different

In accordance with Caughill, a much bigger concern this 12 months isn’t the shutdown in any respect — it’s the truth that main insurers have stopped paying commissions to brokers for Half D drug plan gross sales.

“This means anyone with a standalone Part D drug plan is on their own this year,” she mentioned. “Agents used to be busy as heck helping seniors compare Part D plans. This year, they’re out. And if they’re not out, they’re probably steering people toward Medicare Advantage plans. Good luck with that.”

Caughill additionally warned towards relying too closely on the Medicare.gov Plan Finder device. “Despite all the glorification of the Medicare.gov plan finder, it ain’t all that,” she mentioned.

“People have a very hard time understanding how to compare plans on their own — if they even remember to do it,” Caughill added. “They just don’t know the tricks professionals use every day to find the best coverage.”

Medicare and the federal government shutdown: “an inconvenience, not a crisis”

Tom Wright, founding father of The Turning 65 Workshop, echoed Caughill’s view that beneficiaries ought to keep calm. Wright and his spouse are Medicare beneficiaries themselves, “personally along for the ride during the unprecedented disruption of this year’s annual open period.”

As for Medicare.gov updates, Wright sees the slowdown as largely “an inconvenience.”

“Fortunately, there are numerous other sources where needed info can be found,” he mentioned. These embody:

• Instantly contacting well being or drug plans or visiting their web sites
• Consulting SHIP (State Well being Insurance coverage Help Program) counselors
• Attending Medicare training occasions at native councils on growing older
• Talking with trusted insurance coverage professionals who specialise in Medicare
• Checking with state insurance coverage departments for data on Medigap insurance policies
• Reviewing the 2026 Medicare & You handbook

“Medicare.gov is still functioning quite nicely, in my opinion,” Wright mentioned. “It’s just not updating as frequently as usual.”

What Medicare beneficiaries ought to do subsequent

“This is definitely a year for Medicare beneficiaries to be proactive and ready to do a bit more homework than usual,” Wright mentioned.

In the event you need assistance reviewing your protection choices throughout open enrollment, contact your State Well being Insurance coverage Help Program (SHIP) free of charge, unbiased Medicare counseling. Discover your native SHIP at shiphelp.org or name 877-839-2675 (say “Medicare” when prompted).

Social Safety funds will proceed, however COLA announcement delayed

In the meantime, Social Safety’s web site is assuring guests that “Social Security and SSI payments will continue during the government shutdown.” That’s as a result of these advantages are thought-about obligatory spending– their funding isn’t tied to the annual federal funds course of.

What’s much less clear to many retirees is after they’ll study subsequent 12 months’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Usually, the Social Safety Administration broadcasts the COLA in mid-October, shortly after the discharge of September’s Shopper Worth Index knowledge.

However that schedule has been pushed again.

In accordance with the company, the 2026 COLA will now be introduced on Oct. 24, a few week later than deliberate. The delay stems from the federal government shutdown, which briefly halted the work of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Some furloughed BLS staff have since been referred to as again particularly to finalize and launch the September CPI knowledge, now additionally set for Oct. 24.

Whereas the official quantity isn’t but out there, The Senior Residents League initiatives that the 2026 COLA will probably be roughly 2.7%. That improve will take impact with the January 2026 profit funds.

The underside line: Funds will proceed on time, and whereas the COLA announcement is delayed, retirees can nonetheless count on their 2026 profit enhance to reach as scheduled.

Associated: Social Safety COLA for 2026: What retirees can count on to earn