Medicare before December 7: what to do, even if you have no plan

Medicare's open enrollment is open now. It runs from Thursday, October 15 to Monday, December 7, 2026. Anything you change in those weeks starts on January 1, 2027.

Most people think this window is only for people who already have a Medicare Advantage plan or a drug plan. It is not. Some of the costliest mistakes belong to people who have no plan at all.

Find yourself on this list

• You have Medicare but no drug plan. Waiting is costing you money for the rest of your life.
• You have Medicare and pay 20 percent of every bill. There is no limit on what that can add up to.
• You are 65 or older and still on a Marketplace plan. You may be getting savings you will have to pay back.
• You already have a Medicare Advantage or drug plan. Four things to check before December 7.
• You turn 65 soon. This is not your window. You have one of your own.

No drug plan? The penalty never goes away

If you go 63 days or more without drug coverage after you first become eligible, Medicare adds a penalty to your premium.

It is about 39 cents a month for every month you went without. Go two years without it and you pay about $9 more every month. Not for a year. For as long as you have Medicare drug coverage.

People who get Extra Help do not pay it. Everyone else does.

There is good news on the other side. There is now a yearly limit on what you pay for covered prescriptions. In 2027 it is $2,400. Once you have paid that much, your covered drugs cost you nothing for the rest of the year. And no drug plan may charge a deductible higher than $700. Many charge less, and some charge nothing.

Paying 20 percent of everything, with no ceiling

With Original Medicare by itself, you pay 20 percent of the cost of most services after your deductible. Medicare.gov says it plainly: there is no yearly limit on what you pay out of pocket.

A healthy year costs you very little. A bad year has no ceiling at all.

There are two ways to put a ceiling on it:

• A Medicare Supplement policy, also called Medigap, which pays the share Medicare does not.
• A Medicare Advantage plan, which has a yearly out-of-pocket maximum built in and usually includes drug coverage.

You can join a Medicare Advantage plan during this window. Medigap works differently, and that is the next part.

The Medigap door opens once

You get one window of six months to buy a Medicare Supplement policy with no health questions. It starts the first month you are 65 and have Part B. A company cannot turn you down or charge you more because of your health.

After that window closes, in most states a company may ask about your health, and it is allowed to say no.

So if you have been telling yourself you will get a supplement later, find out now whether later is still possible. Some states give you extra rights, so it is worth asking about yours.

Still on a Marketplace plan at 65 or older?

This one costs people real money. Once you can get Medicare Part A for free, you no longer qualify for the savings that lower your Marketplace premium. That is true even if you have not signed up for Medicare yet.

A Marketplace plan also does not end by itself when Medicare starts. If you keep taking those savings afterward, you have to pay them back when you file your taxes.

If this is you, call us before December 7. It is a short conversation and it can prevent a large bill.

If you already have a plan, check four things

Your plan mailed you an Annual Notice of Change by the end of September. It is the only paper that tells you how your own plan is changing. Against it, check:

• Your medicines. Drug lists change every year. A pill that is covered today may not be covered in January.
• Your doctors and your pharmacy. Make sure they are still in the network for 2027.
• What you pay. The premium, the deductible and the copays can each go up.
• Your extra benefits. Dental, vision, hearing and over-the-counter money can change or go away.

If you do nothing, and if December 7 passes

If you have a plan and it is offered again next year, it renews on its own, with next year's prices and rules. If your plan is ending, you have to pick another one, or you go back to Original Medicare with no drug coverage.

If you have no plan at all, nothing happens. That is the whole reason for this article.

After December 7, people already in a Medicare Advantage plan get one more chance from January 1 to March 31, for a single change. If you turn 65 soon, you have your own window of seven months: the three months before your birthday month, that month, and the three months after. Moving and some other life events open windows of their own. Otherwise the next chance comes in October 2027.

You do not have to work it out alone

We help people with Medicare compare their options in English and in Spanish, at no cost to you. Call us at (800) 305-7709 before December 7, or read more on our Medicare page.

You can also compare every plan in your area yourself at Medicare.gov, where next year's plans have been posted since October 1. For information on all of your options, contact Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), which gives free counseling. For the history of why this period falls on these dates, see Why Medicare open enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7.

Sources

• Medicare.gov, Open Enrollment
• Medicare.gov, Part D late enrollment penalty
• Medicare.gov, Costs for Medicare drug coverage, for the 2027 out-of-pocket limit and the deductible cap
• Medicare.gov, Medicare costs, for the 20 percent coinsurance and the absence of a yearly limit
• Medicare.gov, When to get a Medigap policy
• HealthCare.gov, Changing from Marketplace to Medicare
• Code of Federal Regulations, 42 CFR 422.62, Medicare Advantage election periods

Rules have exceptions and change from year to year. Medicare.gov is the authority on your own situation. Sources consulted October 15, 2026.