When you first turn 65, you have a window to enroll in Medicare Advantage and your Medicare Prescription Drug coverage, which you can check using our Deadline Calculator. If for any reason you miss your initial deadline to enroll, don’t worry. You still have a couple of chances to get Medicare Advantage or your Part D.
1) Enrolling in Medicare Advantage or Part D during the Open Enrollment Period
Every year, there is a time frame called Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period, running from October 7th to December 15th, which allows seniors to enroll in Medicare Advantage Plan or a Part D Drug Plan, as well as switch and dis-enroll. This period is the same time each year and is also known as the Annual Election Period. Check out our Medicare Open Enrollment Toolbox to learn more.
2) Medicare Special Enrollment Periods (SEP)
There are also some periods that allow you to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan and Part D, provided you qualify for certain life events. If you missed your initial enrollment period but you still have coverage through work then you could use SEP to enroll in Medicare Advantage or Drug coverage. You can check all about it in our article Medicare Special Enrollment.
Next Steps
Even if you missed your initial deadlines, Senior65.com can help you enroll in Medicare Advantage or drug plan immediately if you qualify for a SEP. If you don’t qualify for SEP, give us a call during Open Enrollment (Oct. 15 through Dec 7) and we can sign you up for a plan right over the phone.
Whether or not you get drug coverage, you can use our free prescription discount card to get discounts of up to 80% on your drugs.