Open enrollment for Medicare begins on October 15, and seniors will then have roughly two months to make their selections for the next year.
During this time, current Medicare enrollees can make changes to their coverage.
Why It Matters
Nearly 70 million U.S. adults depend on Medicare for their health coverage, but the specific choices you make during enrollment can dramatically impact your level of coverage and long-term costs.
What To Know
Open enrollment for Medicare runs from October 15 to December 7. It’s during this time that seniors can opt to switch from different Medicare Advantage plans as well as Medicare Part D drug plans.
Beneficiaries also can opt to sign up for Medicare Advantage for the first time or transition to original Medicare.
“A senior’s best move is to treat open enrollment as an annual check-up for their coverage. Between October 15 and December 7, they can review whether their plan still fits their health needs and their budget,” Kumar Dharmarajan, co-founder and chief medical officer of World Class Health, told Newsweek.
“The Annual Notice of Change is essential reading — it spells out shifts in costs, drug coverage, and provider networks that can hit hard if overlooked. Even if nothing feels different, costs and drug lists change every year, so comparing options is key.”
The open enrollment only applies to existing Medicare participants, as those who are enrolling for the first time must make their selections somewhere between three months before the month of their 65th birthday and three months after that month.
Those who miss the initial enrollment can sign up during general enrollment, from January 1 to March 31, but that differs from fall open enrollment.
Making changes during this time can affect the price of prescription co-pays as well as the number of in-network providers attached to your Medicare Advantage plan.
You also should look out for changes to out-of-pocket costs, premiums, deductibles, and the list of benefits.
“This annual enrollment period is gonna be full of a lot of changes and we encourage every Medicare beneficiary to review their annual notice of changes which should be coming out within the next two to three weeks,” Chris Fong, CEO of Smile Insurance and a Medicare specialist, told Newsweek.
“The ending of VBID (Value Based Insurance-Design) well affect many people who are on Medicare advantage plans specifically regarding the extra non-Medicare benefits. So we are encouraging all of our clients to carefully read their changes and contact us to get help understanding what those changes are.”
In 2025, Medicare drug plans will now have a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket costs, making this one of the most significant updates moving into the open enrollment period.
“Seniors should also know that Part B premiums and deductibles are rising, and Medicare Advantage plans continue to broaden extras like dental, vision, and hearing,” Dharmarajan said.
What People Are Saying
Fong told Newsweek: “In large part, the disruptions since the beginning of the Trump administration at the agency level regarding staffing has caused some issues. This past year we have also seen higher than usual premium increases in Medicare Supplement and prescription drug plans. It is likely these are going to continue going into the 2026 year.”
Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: “The Trump Administration has placed an emphasis on Medicare Advantage which some see as the “privatization” of this entitlement program. The increase in payments to insurers could be seen as a way to entice Medicare beneficiaries to move to Medicare Advantage. The massive cuts to the program remain to be seen as prices continue to creep ever higher for beneficiaries.”
Dharmarajan told Newsweek: “The Trump administration has emphasized flexibility in Medicare Advantage — expanding supplemental benefits like dental, hearing, and transportation, and streamlining plan rules. That flexibility has encouraged more innovation and given seniors more choices, while aiming to make the program sustainable long-term.”
What Happens Next
Even those who are happy with their current plan are encouraged to shop around starting October 15.
“Small upticks to pricing can be expected, but if your plan has multiple ‘small’ increases, those can really add up over time,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
“Shopping around can ensure you find a plan that best matches your needs and that includes saving some money. Open enrollment is less than two months and ends on December 7, so the short timeframe equates to seniors having to make the most of that limited time to research which plan is best for them.”
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