Original Medicare (Parts A and B), Medicare Advantage (Part C), and prescription drug (Part D) plans usually renew automatically. However, there are a few exceptions.

Many people take a “set it and forget it” approach to Medicare enrollment.

Although your coverage will likely renew without any additional action, you may find it useful to review your options before the annual open enrollment period (OEP). OEP occurs from October 15 to December 7.

If you have a Part C plan, you can change your coverage from January 1 to March 31. This is known as the Medicare Advantage OEP.

You can use this time to determine whether your current coverage meets your needs and, if necessary, make changes.

Your Part C or D coverage won’t automatically renew if your plan changes its contract with Medicare or if Medicare terminates the plan for underperformance.

Your annual notice of change (ANOC) will explain what happened and how to enroll in a new plan. For example:

  • If your plan no longer offers services, you can enroll in a new plan as soon as 2 months before your policy ends.
  • If Medicare doesn’t renew your plan’s contract, you can enroll in a new plan between December 8 and the last day of February.

In either scenario, you’ll be automatically enrolled in an Original Medicare plan if you haven’t selected a new Part C plan by the time your current coverage ends.

If you were previously enrolled in a Medicare plan but do not currently have Medicare coverage, you will not be automatically re-enrolled in the future.

You will have to manually re-enroll in Medicare coverage during an OEP. In some cases, you may be eligible for a special enrollment period (SEP).

For example, if you move back to the United States, you can reinstate your previous Medicare coverage in a SEP.

If you were disenrolled from Medicare for nonpayment of premiums, you may be able to reinstate your coverage under the Good Cause policy.

To qualify, you must pay your outstanding balance within 3 months of disenrollment. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until the next OEP.

You can change your coverage during the next OEP. During this time, you can:

  • switch from an Original Medicare plan to a Medicare Advantage plan
  • switch from a Medicare Advantage plan to an Original Medicare plan
  • switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan with or without drug coverage
  • switch to a different prescription drug plan

With a few exceptions, Medicare plans generally renew automatically every year. You typically do not have to re-enroll in an Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, or prescription drug plan.