Medicare says a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare drug plan or Medicare Cost Plan whose contract is not renewed opens a special enrollment period that runs from December 8 through the last day of February, which is February 28, 2027. The window starts the day after the annual enrollment period closes on December 7, and it is a separate right that belongs only to people whose plan is leaving.
What Medicare says happens to a plan that is not renewed
On its special enrollment periods page, Medicare lists the trigger as a plan whose contract with Medicare “isn’t renewed.” People in that plan can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan, drug plan or Cost Plan during the window. Anyone who does not join another Medicare Advantage plan before the old one ends is enrolled in Original Medicare, according to the same Medicare page. For a household, that choice sets next year’s monthly premium, which prescriptions are covered and which doctors stay in the network. The first job is to find the plan’s non-renewal letter and mark December 8 and February 28 on the calendar.
A plan that is not renewed leaves a household with a December 8 start date and a last day of February to sort out premiums, prescriptions and doctors. The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit includes a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, plus a prescription-by-plan comparison for the replacement plans on the table.
Line up replacement plans in a cost calculator spreadsheet →
How the December 8 window differs from the annual period
Medicare’s annual enrollment period runs October 15 to December 7, 2026, and a request has to reach the plan by December 7. Someone whose plan is leaving can use that period, and then has the non-renewal window starting December 8 as a second chance. Medicare also says that a person who makes no choice is moved automatically into Original Medicare with no drug coverage, which is the outcome that surprises people at the pharmacy counter in January.
A different rule covers a plan that Medicare itself ends. In that case, the special enrollment period opens one month before the contract ends and closes two full months after it ends, according to Medicare. The December 8 to end of February window applies to the non-renewal case.
People already in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1 also have a separate Medicare Advantage open enrollment, January 1 to March 31, 2027, listed in the Medicare & You 2027 handbook. It is not part of the non-renewal window.
What the choice means for a household budget
Moving between plans changes more than a name on an insurance card. A replacement Medicare Advantage plan can carry a different monthly premium, a different list of covered prescriptions and a different set of doctors and hospitals. Going back to Original Medicare shifts the cost structure again and leaves the household without drug coverage until it joins a drug plan, according to Medicare. Because the special enrollment period lasts roughly twelve weeks, from December 8 to February 28, a household can compare plans before the old one ends and keep a record of the choice.
The 63-day Medigap right
Anyone who decides to return to Original Medicare may also want a Medigap supplement policy. Medicare says the Medigap guaranteed-issue window opens 60 days before coverage ends and closes no more than 63 days after it ends. If coverage ends on December 31, the 63rd day after is March 4, 2027, a few days longer than the special enrollment period. Medicare tells people to keep the plan’s non-renewal letter as proof of when coverage ended.
The two clocks are separate. The special enrollment period decides when a person can join a new Medicare Advantage or drug plan. The Medigap window decides when a person leaving a Medicare Advantage plan has the guaranteed-issue right to buy a supplement.
Using the December 8 window and the Medigap right together
The plain starting point is Medicare itself: the special enrollment periods page explains the non-renewal rule, and 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) handles enrollment questions. TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048. A household can take care of most of the work before December 8.
Gather the non-renewal letter, a list of every prescription with its dose, and the names of each doctor and hospital the household uses. Then compare each replacement on three numbers: the monthly premium, what the drugs cost, and whether the doctors are in the network. The printed Medicare & You 2027 handbook says 2027 premiums and drug costs were not available when it went to print, so the numbers have to come from the plan listings themselves.
If Original Medicare with a Medigap policy is on the list, count the days from the date coverage ends, because the guaranteed-issue window can run a few days past February 28. Medicare’s Medigap page is the place to check the dates against the non-renewal letter.
A December 8 start and a 63-day Medigap clock
The special enrollment period closes on February 28, 2027, and the Medigap window can close a few days later, so a household with a leaving plan has two calendars to keep straight. The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit supplies the Open Enrollment calendar and a provider call script for confirming that each doctor takes the replacement plan.
Work a leaving plan with the Decision Kit’s calendar and doctor call script →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
