Medicare Special Enrollment Periods
Life events that open a window, and the deadlines that close it.
Special Enrollment Periods (SEPs) let you sign up for Medicare, or change a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, outside the usual windows when certain things happen. There are two families: SEPs for signing up for Parts A and B, and SEPs for joining or switching private plans.
Signing up for Part B after job-based coverage
If you or your spouse had group health coverage from current employment, you can sign up for Part B any time you're still covered, or within 8 months after the job or the coverage ends, whichever comes first. You won't pay a late enrollment penalty for those months.
COBRA and retiree coverage don't count as coverage from current employment. The 8-month clock starts when the job ends, even if you take COBRA. This SEP isn't available to people who qualify for Medicare only because of ESRD.
Exceptional-circumstance SEPs (since 2023)
Medicare added SEPs for signing up for Part A and B in situations such as:
- Losing Medicaid coverage.
- A natural disaster or other emergency that stopped you from enrolling.
- Your employer or health plan gave you wrong information about enrolling.
- Release from incarceration (you have 12 months).
- Losing TRICARE, or returning from certain volunteer work abroad.
- Other exceptional conditions, decided case by case by Social Security.
SEPs for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans
- You move out of your plan's service area, or to a place with new plan options.
- You lose other coverage, such as employer or Medicaid coverage.
- Your plan leaves Medicare or stops serving your area.
- You want to join a plan with a 5-star rating (once between December 8 and November 30).
- Your plan has been rated below 3 stars for 3 years in a row.
- You move into, live in, or leave a nursing home or other institution.
- You have both Medicare and Medicaid or get Extra Help: since 2025, you can switch once a month to a standalone drug plan (keeping Original Medicare), and full dual eligibles can join an integrated D-SNP monthly.
Timing and proof
Each SEP has its own deadline and start date, often 2 months for plan changes. You may need to show proof, such as an employer's form confirming group coverage (CMS-L564) or a Medicaid termination notice. Don't wait until the end of a window.
Common questions
No. The Part B SEP is based on coverage from current employment. COBRA doesn't count, and the 8-month window starts when employment ends.
Since 2025, you can switch once a month, but only to a standalone Part D plan (or from a Medicare Advantage drug plan to Original Medicare with a Part D plan). Other changes wait for the usual enrollment periods.
It lets you switch to a Medicare Advantage, Part D or Cost plan that has a 5-star overall rating, once between December 8 and November 30 of the following year.
Want help with your own choices?
Every state runs a State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) with trained counselors who give free, unbiased Medicare help and do not sell plans. Find yours on our Medicare by state pages, or call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) (TTY 1-877-486-2048, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week).
Planning the rest of your coverage in retirement? We can help with life insurance later in life and final expense coverage.
Sources
- When does Medicare coverage start?, Medicare.gov. Checked September 29, 2026.
- Special Enrollment Periods, Medicare.gov. Checked September 29, 2026.
- CY 2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D Final Rule (CMS-4205-F) fact sheet, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Checked September 29, 2026.
- Working past 65, Medicare.gov. Checked September 29, 2026.
General information about the federal Medicare program, not advice about your situation. Figures are for 2026 unless stated and change every year; last reviewed September 29, 2026. Quote My Policy is a private company. Not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program.
Quote My Policy does not sell Medicare plans on this site. For plan-specific help, contact Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) (TTY 1-877-486-2048, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program.