A frequent question people have about Medicare is, does Medicare automatically renew your enrollment? Most of us will sign up for a Medicare healthcare plan when we turn 65. This is (usually) a once-in-a-lifetime event, so shouldn’t Medicare enrollment also be a once-in-a-lifetime deal?
To understand whether or not there is a Medicare renewal process, let’s first understand the 3 major phases of Medicare enrollment periods:
- Initial
- General
- Annual
Medicare also has Special Enrollment Periods. As the name suggests, these are applicable during certain situations and circumstances that are considered out of the ordinary.
Phase 1: Medicare Initial Enrollment Period
For most senior adults, the Initial Enrollment Period starts 3 months before your 65th birthday. It runs through your birthday month, and continues for another 3 months.
This 7-month period is when you will enroll in a Medicare plan as a senior adult, quite likely for the very first time in your life.
When will my coverage start?
Your coverage will start depending on when exactly you signed up. Let’s take ‘Anne’ as an example to see how different sign-up dates affect when coverage starts.
Anne’s birthday is June 15. Her 7-month Initial Enrollment Period runs from March through to September.
If Anne enrolls in Medicare on
- April 1 (two and a half months before her birthday), her coverage will begin on June 1.
- June 14 (one day before her birthday), coverage will begin retroactively on June 1.
- June 16 (the day after her birthday), her coverage will begin on July 1.
- September 30 (the last day of her individual timeline), coverage will begin on October 1.
Do I have to renew, or re-enroll every year?
No. Once you enroll in a Medicare plan during your individual Initial Enrollment Period, your enrollment will be renewed automatically, and you will remain in your chosen plan for as long as you continue making all the required payments.
If you wish to modify your plan in whole or part, you can do so during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period.
Re-enrollment in Medicare
All Original Medicare (Part A and Part B), and most Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Prescription Drug (Part D) plans renew automatically. Re-enrollment is usually required only if
– Your Medicare Advantage plan provider terminates your particular plan and/or coverage.
– You decide to enroll in a new plan.
What if I miss the Medicare Initial Enrollment Period?
If you miss your individual Initial Enrollment Period, you move on to the next phase: Medicare General Enrollment Period.
Phase 2: Medicare General Enrollment Period
Let’s say you were supposed to enroll in a Medicare plan this year, but for whatever reason, you didn’t. Maybe you forgot, maybe you were getting round to it tomorrow, maybe there’s just so much going on in your life at the moment.
The entire 7-month period went by, but you couldn’t sign up. Now what?
Now you wait for the General Enrollment Period to roll around.
The dates of the General Enrollment Period are fixed. Every year from January 1 to March 30, anyone who became eligible for Medicare in the previous year, but missed their Initial window, can sign up to a Medicare plan.
However, you may have to pay a penalty fee. The penalty fees are currently 10% of the premium amount if your Initial period was a year ago, and 20% if it was 2 years ago.
When will my coverage start?
When enrolling during the General period, coverage will commence from the month after you sign up, regardless of your birthday since you are already 65 years old at this point.
For example, if Anne signs up on February 25, her coverage will commence from March 1.
Do I have to renew, or re-enroll every year?
No. The format is the same as that for the Initial period.
What if I miss the Medicare General Enrollment Period?
If you miss the General Enrollment Period, you sit tight until the coming January 1, for the next General Enrollment Period. Make sure to enroll this time or your penalty payments will increase.
Phase 3: Medicare Annual Enrollment Period
Like the General period, dates of the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period are fixed. From October 15 to December 7 every year, you get the chance to revise your health coverage and see if you might like something different for the coming year.
Every September, senior adults enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan receive a notification, known as the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), from their insurance provider. The ANOC lays out all the updates taking place in the healthplan they are enrolled in.
Usually, the updates are a small increase in premiums and other costs, drugs moved to different tiers, changes to extra coverage (vision, dental, hearing), and additions or subtractions to the doctor, hospital, and pharmacy networks.
Updates to Medicare 2025: Get the facts
The ANOC can help you decide whether you should update your health coverage for the coming year. Should you decide an overhaul is needed, between Oct 15 and Dec 7, you can add to your current plan, drop part of your current plan, or switch to an entirely new plan altogether.
When will my coverage start?
If you have decided to revise your healthcare plan, your updated coverage will begin from January 1.
Do I have to renew my coverage, or re-enroll every year?
No. You will have to enroll in a new plan only if your insurance provider is terminating your current plan, or you decide to change your current coverage.
What if I miss the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period?
If you miss the Annual Enrollment Period, you will continue in the same healthcare plan you currently have. You will just have to accommodate for any changes made to the plan by the insurance company.
Medicare Special Enrollment Periods
Under certain circumstances, you can make good use of Medicare’s Special Enrollment periods. These circumstances could be that you have moved to a new county or state, lost your coverage, terms of contract between Medicare and your current plan have changed, and any of several other reasons.
Doing a Benefits Review
The Medicare Benefits Review is a very useful exercise when wondering if you should modify your healthcare coverage or not.
The Medicare Benefits Review is a very simple, 2-step process where:
- You look at your current healthcare coverage and ask, “Is this enough for me, or do I want more?”
- You go through available programs and benefits and see what else you may qualify for.
For help, guidance, and support when doing a Medicare Benefits Review, please speak to a member of staff at any of our health center locations, or call our Patient Relations Team helpline 800-941-1106 between 8 AM and 5 PM CST, Monday through Friday.
Our team members understand your concerns and are always happy to help.