Use this calendar on paper or in a private document. It separates Medicare enrollment windows that allow different actions. It does not enroll you, determine eligibility, or guarantee penalty-free enrollment. Guidance was checked November 2, 2026. The fall 2026 plan window generally selects coverage for January 1, 2027; other windows depend on your circumstances.
1. Establish your starting point
Record these facts without placing your Medicare number on a shared copy:
- Basis of eligibility: age, disability, ALS, or ESRD: ______.
- Medicare Part A effective date, if already enrolled: ______.
- Medicare Part B effective date, if already enrolled: ______.
- Current health and drug coverage, with termination dates: ______.
- Whether coverage is based on current employment: ______.
- Questions about which insurer pays first: ______.
Use Medicare's sign-up guidance. People eligible through disability, ALS, or ESRD need the instructions for that route. Do not apply an age-65 example automatically to them.
2. Initial Enrollment Period: first eligibility
For the usual age-65 pathway, the Initial Enrollment Period is seven months: three months before the eligibility month, that month, and three months after it. A birthday on the first day of a month affects Medicare's timing; use the official instructions to establish the correct month.
- My official Initial Enrollment Period begins: ______.
- It ends: ______.
- Enrollment already automatic or application required: ______.
- Intended Part B start date and submission date: ______.
Coverage start rules depend on the part and enrollment timing. For the usual age-65 case, signing up for Part B before the eligibility month generally starts it in that month; signing up during the eligibility month or remaining initial months generally starts coverage the following month. Verify your actual confirmation.
3. General Enrollment Period: January 1–March 31
This is an opportunity to enroll in Part B and premium Part A when the applicable initial or special window was missed. Coverage generally starts the following month, and late-enrollment penalties may apply. Premium-free Part A has different enrollment rules.
- Need this period, or another opportunity applies: ______.
- Planned submission date and expected effective date: ______.
- Penalty or special-circumstance question for Social Security: ______.
The General Enrollment Period is not the fall health-and-drug-plan window and is not the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, even though two windows share January–March dates.
4. Annual plan enrollment: October 15–December 7
The annual health and drug plan window permits eligible people to join, switch, or leave Medicare Advantage or drug plans as allowed. Changes generally take effect January 1 when the plan receives the request by December 7.
- Coverage year being selected: ______.
- Doctors, prescriptions, pharmacy, and plan costs rechecked: ______.
- Request submitted, confirmation retained, and start date verified: ______.
Medicare Advantage generally requires both Parts A and B; a standalone Part D plan requires Part A or Part B, along with applicable eligibility and service-area conditions. This window does not replace enrollment in Parts A or B.
5. Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1–March 31
This window is for people already in Medicare Advantage. It generally allows one switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or a return to Original Medicare with the opportunity to join a separate drug plan. It does not let someone in Original Medicare newly join Medicare Advantage simply because it is January.
- Current Medicare Advantage enrollment confirmed: ______.
- Permitted change, submission date, and effective date: ______.
A separate opportunity can apply during the first three months of Medicare for people who joined Medicare Advantage when first eligible. Check the official rule rather than assuming it resets every calendar quarter.
6. Special Enrollment Periods: event-specific
Part A/B special enrollment rules differ from health and drug plan special enrollment rules. For qualifying current-employment coverage, the Part B opportunity generally extends eight months after employment or that coverage ends, whichever happens first. COBRA does not extend that clock.
- Event, date, and specific enrollment opportunity confirmed: ______.
- Evidence required, deadline, and effective date: ______.
Other situations can create different windows. Confirm the actual rule with Medicare or Social Security rather than assuming every coverage loss grants eight months.
7. Add a separate Medigap check
The federal Medigap Open Enrollment Period generally lasts six months starting the first month you are at least 65 and enrolled in Part B. It does not repeat every fall. Other guaranteed-issue circumstances and additional state protections can apply.
- My Medigap protected period or other confirmed right: ______.
- Policy availability, start date, and written confirmation: ______.
Returning from Medicare Advantage does not automatically guarantee a Medigap policy. Read Medicare Advantage versus Medigap and Medicare versus Marketplace coverage before ending existing coverage. Record every replacement effective date and retain enrollment receipts; this completed calendar is a planning record, not proof of active insurance.