My Medicare Advantage plan is being discontinued: what are my options?

Published by MedicareQuotesForYou. Published July 30, 2026. Last reviewed July 30, 2026.

Short answer

If your Medicare Advantage plan is leaving Medicare or is no longer being offered where you live, you get two separate rights, and most people only hear about the first one.

1. A Special Enrollment Period. When a plan is not renewed at the end of the year, you can normally make a change from December 8 through the last day of February, on top of the regular October 15 to December 7 Annual Enrollment Period. You can join a different Medicare Advantage plan, or return to Original Medicare and add a Part D drug plan.

2. A guaranteed-issue right to buy Medigap. Because your plan is ending through no choice of your own, you can buy certain Medicare Supplement policies without medical underwriting — no health questions, no being turned down. That window generally runs from 60 days before your coverage ends to 63 days after it ends, and it does not come back. This is the right people most often lose by waiting.

If you do nothing, you are generally returned to Original Medicare on January 1 — with no drug coverage and no Medigap policy. That is a worse position than either option above, and it can create a permanent Part D late enrollment penalty.

First, check which letter you actually received

Three different notices arrive in the autumn and they mean very different things. People often act on the wrong one — or ignore the one that matters. The letter itself will tell you which it is.

What each autumn notice means and what rights it carries.
Notice	What it means	What it gives you
Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)	Your plan continues next year, but the costs, drug list, network or extra benefits are changing. Arrives in late September.	No special rights. You can change during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 to December 7, like everyone else.
Plan non-renewal notice	Your plan will not exist next year, or will no longer be offered in your county. Usually arrives in early October.	A Special Enrollment Period, normally December 8 to the last day of February, plus a guaranteed-issue right to buy Medigap.
Mid-year contract termination	Uncommon. The plan's contract with Medicare ends part-way through the year.	A Special Enrollment Period set by Medicare around the termination date. The dates are stated in the letter — use those, not the ones on this page.
Notice that you are being moved to another plan	Your insurer is consolidating plans and intends to enrol you automatically in a similar plan of its own.	You are not obliged to accept it. You keep the same windows to choose something else, including a different company.

Do not let the automatic move decide for you If your insurer is transferring you into another one of its plans, that transfer is a business decision made for the insurer's convenience, not a recommendation. The replacement plan may have a different network, a different drug list and different copays. Check whether your own doctors and prescriptions are covered under the new plan before you let it take effect — and remember that a non-renewal may still have opened your Medigap window even though you have somewhere to land.

Your four options, side by side

Structural comparison. Premiums and copays vary by plan, insurer, state and age, so no dollar figures are quoted here.
Option	Best suited to	Watch out for
Join a different Medicare Advantage plan	People happy with how Advantage works who simply need a plan that still operates in their county.	Networks and drug lists differ between plans. Check your own doctors and prescriptions, not the headline benefits.
Return to Original Medicare and add Medigap plus Part D	People who want any provider that accepts Medicare, predictable costs, and no prior authorisation — and who want to use the underwriting-free window while it is open.	Three moving parts to arrange, and a hard 63-day deadline on the Medigap side. Higher monthly cost, far less to pay when you use care.
Return to Original Medicare with Part D only	People who want provider freedom and are willing to carry the risk of uncapped cost sharing.	Original Medicare on its own has no annual out-of-pocket maximum. If you later want Medigap and your window has closed, you may face underwriting.
Do nothing	Nobody, realistically.	You land in Original Medicare with no drug coverage and no Medigap. The Part D penalty is permanent, and your guaranteed-issue Medigap window expires.

The guaranteed-issue Medigap right, in detail

This is the part of the situation worth the most money, and the part that is easiest to miss because your Advantage plan has no reason to tell you about it.

Normally, once your initial six-month Medigap open enrollment period has passed, an insurer in most states may review your medical history and decline you or charge you more. A plan being discontinued is one of the recognised situations that suspends that. In plain terms: for a limited period you may buy without answering health questions.

Which policies: Medigap Plans A, B, C, D, F, G, K and L, sold in your state by any company that offers them. If you became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, Plans C and F are not available to you — Plan G is generally the most comprehensive option you can buy.
When you can apply: as early as 60 days before your Advantage coverage ends, and no later than 63 days after it ends. Applying early is better; it means the Medigap policy can start the day the old coverage stops, with no gap.
What to send with the application: keep the non-renewal letter. Insurers ask for proof that your coverage is ending involuntarily, and that letter is the proof.
Drug coverage is separate: Medigap policies sold today do not include prescription drugs. You must also join a stand-alone Part D plan.

Some states grant broader Medigap rights than the federal minimum, and a few allow you to buy at other times of year. Rules genuinely differ by state, so confirm your own before assuming either that you have no rights or that you can do this later.

What to do, in order

Read the letter and write down the dates it gives you. Your own dates govern. Everything else here is the general rule.
Decide the direction first: Advantage again, or Original Medicare. Do not start comparing individual plans until you have settled that, or you will compare things that are not comparable. Our Advantage versus Original Medicare guide covers the trade.
If Medigap is even a possibility, apply for it early. It is the only piece with a deadline that cannot be recovered. You can apply before your coverage ends and decline it later if you change your mind; you cannot get the window back once it has closed.
Sort out drug coverage in the same conversation. Whichever direction you go, do not end up with no creditable drug coverage. Check that your current prescriptions are on the new plan's drug list, not just that the plan exists.
Check your doctors by calling their office, not just the plan's directory. Directories are frequently out of date. Ask the office whether they are contracted with the specific plan for the coming year.
Get written confirmation of whatever you enrol in, and keep it until your new card arrives and the first claim is paid correctly.

The one deadline you cannot undo Missing the Advantage enrollment window is uncomfortable but recoverable — another window will open. Missing the 63-day guaranteed-issue Medigap window is different. After it closes, in most states an insurer may decline you on the basis of your health, and there may be no later opportunity at all. If you are weighing Medigap, treat that deadline as the one that sets your timetable.

Frequently asked questions

My Medicare Advantage plan is being discontinued. Will I lose my Medicare?

No. Your Medicare itself is not affected. Part A and Part B continue. What is ending is the private plan that has been administering your benefits. If you make no choice, your coverage generally reverts to Original Medicare on January 1, which is still Medicare — but without drug coverage and without a supplement.

How long do I have to pick a new plan if my Advantage plan is not renewed?

You can change during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 to December 7, and you also get a Special Enrollment Period that normally runs from December 8 through the last day of February. Acting during the Annual Enrollment Period is better, because your new coverage then starts on January 1 with no gap. Your notice letter states the dates that apply to you.

Can I be turned down for a Medigap policy when my Advantage plan is discontinued?

Not for the policies covered by your guaranteed-issue right, provided you apply within the window — from 60 days before your coverage ends to 63 days after it ends. Within that window an insurer must sell you one of the eligible plan letters regardless of your health. Outside it, in most states, medical underwriting applies again.

My insurer says it is moving me to a different plan automatically. Do I have to accept?

No. An automatic transfer is a default, not an obligation. You can choose any plan available where you live, from any company, or return to Original Medicare. Compare the replacement plan's network and drug list against your own doctors and prescriptions before accepting it.

Will my new plan cover my current prescriptions?

Not necessarily. Every plan sets its own drug list, and drugs move between tiers or come off the list from one year to the next. Check each of your medications against the specific plan you are considering before enrolling, including the pharmacy you use — costs often differ between a plan's preferred and standard pharmacies.

What happens if I miss all the deadlines?

You will generally be in Original Medicare with no drug coverage. You would then normally wait until the next Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 to December 7, to join a Part D or Advantage plan, and a Part D late enrollment penalty may be added to your premium permanently. Your guaranteed-issue Medigap right will have expired. This is the outcome worth a phone call to avoid.

Find out what is available where you live

Tell us a little about yourself and a licensed insurance agent can go through the plans still offered in your county, and check whether your guaranteed-issue Medigap window is open. There is no cost and no obligation.

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Related guides

How to switch back to Original Medicare — the mechanics, step by step
Medicare Advantage vs Medigap — what you would be buying with that underwriting-free window
Medicare enrollment periods and deadlines — every window, with dates
My doctor left my plan's network — the other common reason people need to change