Every fall, from October 15 to December 7, Medicare opens its Annual Enrollment Period — the one window when anyone with Medicare can change their Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plan for the coming year. The TV ads make it sound like an emergency. It isn't. It's a calendar, a letter you should actually read, and one honest question: does your current plan still fit?
Your plan mails an Annual Notice of Change: next year's premium, drug formulary, copays, and network changes. Most people recycle it. Don't — this letter is the whole game. If your medication moves to a higher tier, this is where it's announced.
From this date you can switch Medicare Advantage plans, move between Original Medicare and Advantage, or change your Part D drug plan. Nothing takes effect until January 1, so there's no prize for deciding on day one.
Re-run your prescription list through Medicare.gov's Plan Finder against next year's formularies, confirm your doctors are still in network, and compare total annual cost — not monthly premium. This is the 20 minutes that saves people real money.
The last change you make before December 7 is the one that counts. New coverage starts January 1. Miss the window and your current plan generally rolls over as-is — including whatever changed in that September letter.
What AEP is not: it has nothing to do with Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policies. And here Connecticut residents hold a quietly excellent card: Connecticut is one of only a few states where Medigap is community-rated and guaranteed-issue every month of the year. If a Supplement change makes sense for you, we don't have to wait for the fall to do it.
Your plan next year is not the plan you signed up for — it's the plan described in the ANOC letter. Formularies get rewritten every year. A drug that costs you a small copay in a Guilford pharmacy this December can land in a different tier on January 1. Networks shift too: the specialist you see in New Haven or the group in Old Saybrook may leave your plan's network without you hearing about it from anyone.
I run the same check for my clients every fall: prescriptions against next year's formularies, doctors against next year's networks, total annual cost across the plans I represent. If your current plan is still the right fit, that's the answer you'll get — most years, for most people, it is. If you'd rather work through it yourself first, the step-by-step fall checklist is the printable version of this page.
The celebrity TV ads and the "call now" mailers peak in October. Many advertise benefits that exist only in certain counties or for certain plans, and the phone number goes to a national call center — not to anyone who knows Connecticut plans. Bring the mailer to a local agent and ask what it actually means before you call the 800 number.
An AEP review takes about 20 minutes. Bring your ANOC letter, your prescription list, and your doctor list.
Book a free AEP review →Most plans auto-renew. That's convenient, and it's also how people end up three years into a plan whose drug coverage quietly stopped fitting them. Auto-renewal is a fine outcome — as a decision, not a default.
If you're in a Medicare Advantage plan, the Medicare Open Enrollment Period (January 1 to March 31) allows one switch — to another Advantage plan, or back to Original Medicare with a drug plan. It's a narrower door than AEP, but it exists. And if you're new to Medicare entirely, your own Initial Enrollment Period around your 65th birthday runs on its own calendar, independent of the fall season.
Not if you've checked that your plan still fits. But plans change every year — premiums, drug formularies, provider networks, extra benefits — and the changes are buried in the ANOC letter that arrives in September. A 20-minute review each fall is how you catch a change before it costs you in January.
Yes. You can return to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone prescription drug plan effective January 1. If you also want a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy, Connecticut is one of a small number of states where Medigap is guaranteed-issue year-round, so you can't be turned down for health history — a real advantage of being a Connecticut resident.
No. AEP covers Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans. Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policies aren't on the AEP calendar at all — and in Connecticut you can apply for or change a Medigap policy any month of the year.
Your current coverage generally continues as-is for the new year. If you're in a Medicare Advantage plan, the Open Enrollment Period (January 1 to March 31) allows one switch to another Advantage plan or back to Original Medicare. Outside of that, you'd need a Special Enrollment Period — moving, losing coverage, and certain other life events qualify.
One conversation, plain English. We'll check your prescriptions, your doctors, and next year's numbers — and if your current plan still fits, I'll tell you exactly that.
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