Enrollment
If you want to join a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, you must have Medicare Parts A and B. Your Part B premium will continue to be taken out of your Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits check, unless you are enrolled in a Medicare Savings Program (MSP) or have full Medi-Cal or Medi-Cal with a share of cost (SOC) under $500 (see our section on Low-Income Help).
You cannot be denied enrollment in an MA plan due to a pre-existing condition, unless you have end-stage renal disease (ESRD) — permanent kidney failure (see Medicare and People with ESRD (PDF) for more information). If you develop ESRD while enrolled in an MA plan, the plan cannot disenroll you.
If you want to join an MA plan, you must reside in the plan's service area and the plan you choose must be accepting new members.
You can only join MA plans during certain periods:
- Initial Coverage Election Period (ICEP): The 7-month period when you are first eligible for Medicare
- Annual Election Period (AEP): November 15 – December 31 each year
- Open Enrollment Period (OEP): January 1 – March 31 each year
To enroll, submit your application directly to the plan or a plan sales representative or call 1-800-MEDICARE. The date your coverage starts depends on the period in which you enroll.
Remember not to drop your existing coverage, if any, until your coverage with your MA plan has started. Note: You may enroll in a Medicare Medical Savings Account (MSA) only during your Initial Coverage Election Period and Annual Election Period. See our summary chart on Medicare Enrollment Periods for more information.
In addition, there are Special Election Periods (SEPs) during which you may be able to enroll in or disenroll from your MA plan, depending on your situation. See Special Election Periods (SEPs).
For enrollment information on other parts of Medicare, see:
- Enrolling in Medicare Parts A & B
- Enrolling in Medicare Part D
- Special Election Periods (SEPs) for Parts C & D
Disenrollment
If you want to leave your MA plan and don't want to join another MA plan, you must send a written request to the plan or call 1-800-MEDICARE during the enrollment periods outlined above. Your disenrollment will generally be effective the first day of the month following the month of your disenrollment request. Medicare will not pay if you use providers and services outside the MA plan's network before the effective date of your disenrollment.
Note: Medicare pays MA plans for your care at the beginning of each month. If you require medical care prior to the end of the month in which you request disenrollment, you must seek treatment from your MA plan or you will be responsible for paying for out-of-network services.
If you want to switch from one MA plan to another, simply submit an enrollment application to the new plan and once you are accepted, you will be automatically disenrolled from your current plan. In general, you can only make changes such as this during the AEP and OEP.
Note: This method of disenrollment also applies to Part D prescription drug coverage. For example, if you are in an MA plan with Part D coverage (MA-PD) and wish to switch to a stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP), enrolling in a PDP automatically disenrolls you from your previous MA-PD plan, and vice versa.
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