Finding your Medicare plan just got simpler

Medicare is health insurance for:

• People who are 65 or older.
• People under 65 years old who are disabled and have been receiving Social Security disability benefits for at least 24 months.
• People suffering from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Learn more about Medicare.

If you are a US citizen 65 or older, or a permanent resident of the US who has been in the United States for more than five years, you qualify for Medicare. You may also qualify for Medicare if you are younger than 65 but have certain chronic conditions.

Learn more about whether you may qualify for Medicare.

You are only allowed to enroll in Medicare during certain life milestones and certain times of the year. Here are the dates to mark on your calendar:

If you are a first-time enrollee, you can sign up for Medicare in the period of time starting 3 months before and the 3 months after your birthday.

Anyone 65 and older can sign up for original Medicare from January 1 to March 31. Coverage would begin on July 1.

If you want to make a change to your coverage, you can do so from January 1 to March 31.

If you want to enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can do so from October 15 to December 7, which is open enrollment. Your coverage would begin in January.

Learn more about enrollment deadlines.

The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) - also called the Medicare Open Enrollment Period - is an election period that allows you to make changes to your Medicare coverage each year. Your new coverage would take effect January 1 of the following year.

What changes can you make during AEP?

• Change from Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) to a Medicare Advantage plan.
• Change from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Disenroll from your Medicare Advantage plan, go back to Original Medicare, and add a Prescription Drug plan if needed.
• Disenroll from Medicare Advantage, go back to Original Medicare, add a Medicare Supplement plan, and add a Prescription Drug plan if needed.
• Change from one Prescription Drug plan (Medicare Part D) to another.
• Enroll in a Prescription Drug plan.
• Cancel your Prescription Drug plan coverage.

Learn more with our 2024 annual enrollment guide.

There are two main categories of Medicare coverage including Original Medicare (with optional Medicare Supplement and prescription drug insurance) and Medicare Advantage (which provides benefits through private insurers).

Part A (Original Medicare) provides coverage for inpatient and hospital care.

Part B (Original Medicare) provides coverage for doctors and outpatient services.

Part C (Medicare Advantage Plan) typically covers Parts A, B and D with one bundled insurance policy for all Medicare coverage.

Part D (Medicare Prescription Drug Plan) provides coverage for the cost of your medications.

Plans A-N (Medicare Supplement or Medigap) coverage varies by plan benefits, but these plans help pay the costs that Medicare A and B don't cover. Plans C, E, F, H, I and J are no longer sold to new enrollees.

If you're over 65 or turning 65 in three months and not receiving Social Security benefits, you need to sign up on your own. There are 3 ways to enroll:

Go online to www.SocialSecurity.gov.

Call Social Security at 1-800-722-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0078).

Visit your local Social Security office in person.