The Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a one-time six-month window at 65 when insurers must sell any policy without denying coverage or raising premiums due to health. Original Medicare has no annual out-of-pocket cap, leaving retirees exposed to costs like a $1,736 Part A deductible per benefit period that can reset multiple times yearly. Switching from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare does not reopen the Medigap federal window, and trial rights that permit guaranteed access expire quickly after first enrollment.
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Two years and one cancer diagnosis later, she tried to switch to Original Medicare and buy a Medigap Plan G policy. The insurer reviewed her medical history and quoted a premium more than triple what she remembered seeing at 65. Another carrier could have declined her application outright.
Her federally protected buying window had closed six months after her Medicare Part B coverage began, and the cancer diagnosis now helped decide which doors remained open. The Medigap Open Enrollment Period is one of Medicare's most misunderstood deadlines. It begins the first month someone is 65 or older and enrolled in Part B, lasts six months, and does not repeat annually.
During that window, an insurer must sell any Medigap policy it offers without rejecting the applicant or charging more because of health problems. Coverage for a pre-existing condition can sometimes face a waiting period, but the application itself cannot be denied on medical grounds. This window is separate from Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period every fall, which allows changes to Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription-drug coverage.
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