Medicare Special Enrollment Periods: Common Life Events and Your Timing
A Medicare Special Enrollment Period (SEP) is a chance to sign up for Medicare or make changes to your Medicare Advantage or drug coverage outside the usual yearly windows, when certain events happen in your life, like moving or losing other coverage. The changes you can make and how long you have depend on the event. Many SEPs for plan changes last 2 full months after the event.
Source: Medicare.gov: Special Enrollment Periods
Key takeaways
- What it is: a limited-time window tied to a life event, outside Initial Enrollment, Open Enrollment and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period.
- Two kinds: SEPs for signing up for Part A and Part B, and SEPs for joining or changing Medicare Advantage and drug plans.
- Timing varies: many plan SEPs last 2 full months after the event; the Part B SEP for job-based coverage lasts 8 months.
- Moving: a move out of your plan's service area, or to an area with new plan options, opens an SEP.
- Medicaid and Extra Help: if you have Medicaid or get Extra Help, you can change your drug coverage once a calendar month.
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This guide lists common Special Enrollment Periods from Medicare.gov, what each one lets you do and how long it lasts. We don't show prices or recommend a plan; we explain the timing rules so you know which window applies to you.
What is a Medicare Special Enrollment Period?
You can make changes to your Medicare Advantage and Medicare drug coverage when certain events happen in your life, like if you move or you lose other coverage. These chances to make changes are called Special Enrollment Periods. The types of changes you can make and the timing depend on your life event (Medicare.gov).
There are two kinds:
- SEPs to sign up for Part A and Part B after your Initial Enrollment Period, without a late enrollment penalty, such as when you have health coverage from current work.
- SEPs to join or change Medicare Advantage or drug plans after life events, such as a move or losing other coverage.
Special Enrollment Periods to sign up for Part A and Part B
If you didn't sign up when you were first eligible, these SEPs let you sign up for Part B (and premium Part A) without a late enrollment penalty (Medicare.gov):
- You have or had coverage through your job or your spouse's job: your SEP starts the first month after your Initial Enrollment Period ends and ends 8 months after the group health plan coverage or the employment ends, whichever happens first. COBRA isn't considered group health plan coverage. See still working at 65.
- You lost Medicaid coverage (on or after January 1, 2023): it starts the day you're notified your Medicaid is ending and ends 6 months after your Medicaid coverage ends.
- A natural disaster or emergency kept you from signing up: it lasts 6 months after the declaration ends.
- You got inaccurate or misleading information from your health plan or employer: it lasts 6 months from the day you tell Social Security.
- You were released from incarceration: it lasts until the last day of the 12th month after the month you're released.
- You volunteered in a foreign country: it lasts 6 months after you're no longer a volunteer outside the U.S. or lose the coverage you had there.
- You have TRICARE: it lasts 12 months after Social Security notifies you.
Medicare.gov lists situations that don't qualify for a Part B SEP: your COBRA or retiree coverage ends, you missed your 8-month window after you stopped working or lost job-based coverage, you have or lose Marketplace coverage, or you have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). See Medicare enrollment dates and our Medicare penalty calculator.
Common Special Enrollment Periods to join or change plans
From Medicare.gov's list of plan SEPs (Medicare.gov):
| Life event | What you can do | When |
|---|---|---|
| You move to a new address outside your plan's service area | Switch to a new Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare drug plan | Starts when you move and lasts 2 full months after. If you tell your plan before you move, it starts the month before you move. |
| You move to a new address in your plan's area with new plan options | Switch to a new Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare drug plan | Starts when you move and lasts 2 full months after |
| You move back to the U.S. after living outside the country | Join a Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare drug plan | 2 full months after the month you move back |
| You live in, or recently moved out of, an institution like a nursing home | Join or switch Medicare Advantage or drug plans | As long as you live there, and 2 full months after the month you move out |
| You leave coverage from your employer or union (including COBRA) | Join a Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare drug plan | 2 full months after the month your coverage ends |
| You involuntarily lose drug coverage that's as good as Medicare's (creditable) | Join a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage or a Medicare drug plan | 2 full months after the month you lose it, or after you're notified, whichever is later |
| You're no longer eligible for Medicaid | Join or switch to a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage or a Medicare drug plan | 3 full months from when you're no longer eligible or are notified, whichever is later |
| You have Medicare and Medicaid, or get Extra Help | Switch to a different Medicare drug plan | Once a calendar month; the change starts the first day of the next month |
| Your plan's contract with Medicare ends | Switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare drug plan | Depends on who ends the contract; see the details below |
| A plan with a 5-star quality rating is available in your area | Switch to the 5-star plan | Once between December 8 and November 30 of the following year |
| You have a severe or disabling condition and a Chronic Condition SNP serves it | Join that Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan | Any time; once you join, this SEP ends |
| You're in a Special Needs Plan and no longer have the condition it serves | Join a Medicare drug plan or another type of Medicare Advantage plan | Starts the month you lose your special needs status |
Source: Medicare.gov: Special Enrollment Periods. Some SEPs allow other changes too, such as dropping a plan; Medicare.gov lists every change each SEP allows.
When your plan's contract with Medicare ends
- Your plan ends its contract, or your plan and Medicare agree to end it: your chance to switch starts 2 months before the contract ends and ends 1 full month after.
- Medicare ends your plan's contract: your chance to switch starts 1 month before the contract ends and ends 2 full months after.
- Your plan's contract isn't renewed: you can switch between December 8 and the last day of February of the following year.
See Medicare Advantage plan ending in Utah for 2027 and can a Medicare Advantage plan drop you?.
Medicaid and Extra Help
If you have Medicaid or get Extra Help, you can make changes to your drug coverage once a calendar month, and the change takes effect on the first day of the next month. This SEP isn't available if your plan's drug management program identifies you as an "at-risk" or "potentially at-risk" beneficiary. If you have Medicare and full Medicaid benefits, you can also join or switch to an integrated Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan once a calendar month, if one is available in your area. See Medicare Special Needs Plans.
The 5-star Special Enrollment Period
If a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare drug plan or Medicare Cost Plan with an overall 5-star rating is available where you live, the 5-star Special Enrollment Period (5-star SEP) lets you join it or switch to it from your current Medicare plan. You can use it only once between December 8 and November 30 of the following year (Medicare.gov). Medicare rates plans each year on a scale of 1 to 5 stars and posts the ratings in Medicare Plan Finder. The 2027 ratings were posted on October 8, 2026 (CMS), and a plan rated 5 stars for 2027 can be joined with this SEP from December 8, 2026, through November 30, 2027 (42 CFR 422.62 and 423.38).
Check drug coverage before you switch. If you move from a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage to a 5-star Medicare Advantage plan without drug coverage, you may lose your prescription drug coverage, have to wait until your next enrollment opportunity to get it back and owe a Part D late enrollment penalty. If you move from a Medicare Advantage plan to a 5-star stand-alone drug plan, you return to Original Medicare for your health coverage (Medicare.gov). Not every area has a 5-star plan. To see whether one is available where you live, check Medicare Plan Finder or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048).
Find the Special Enrollment Period for your event
Pick a life event to see what Medicare.gov says you can do and how long you have.
How SEPs fit with Medicare's other windows
| Window | When | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Enrollment Period | 7 months around your 65th birthday | Signing up for Medicare and joining a plan for the first time |
| Medicare Open Enrollment | October 15 to December 7 each year | Joining, switching or dropping a Medicare Advantage or drug plan |
| Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period | January 1 to March 31 each year | One change if you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan |
| General Enrollment Period | January 1 to March 31 each year | Signing up for Part B if you missed your first chance |
| Special Enrollment Period | Tied to a life event | The changes that event allows, for a limited time |
Sources: Medicare.gov: When does Medicare coverage start? and Special Enrollment Periods
Special Enrollment Periods are for Part A and Part B and for Medicare Advantage and drug plans. Medigap has its own timing; see Medigap Open Enrollment Period. See also Medicare Open Enrollment, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period and turning 65 in Utah.
How to use a Special Enrollment Period
Note your life event and its date
Write down what happened and when: the date you moved, the date your coverage ended or the date on a notice you got.
Check which changes the SEP allows
Each SEP allows specific changes. Medicare.gov lists them, or you can call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048).
Count the time you have
Many plan SEPs last 2 full months after the event. Some last longer, and some start before the event.
Compare plans in your county
Compare the plans available where you live in Medicare Plan Finder, with your doctors and prescriptions in hand.
Enroll before the window ends
Coverage usually starts the first day of the month after the plan gets your request, though some SEPs have different start dates. If you're not sure you qualify, call 1-800-MEDICARE.
For the Utah picture, see Medicare Advantage plans in Utah. To compare the two coverage paths, see Medicare Advantage vs. Medicare Supplement or try our Original Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage comparison tool. New to Medicare Advantage? See What is Medicare Part C? and Medicare Advantage HMO vs PPO.
How our team helps
We're Boo Insurance Services, a licensed independent Medicare agency in Draper, licensed since 2014. We can show you options from more than one company. We've helped 1,000+ Utahns with Medicare and have 170+ 5-Star Google Reviews. Appointments are by phone or video, anywhere in Utah. You won't pay us a fee. Insurance companies pay us when you enroll, and that doesn't change your plan's benefits, coverage or premium. Before we talk about specific plans, you'll confirm what we'll discuss with a short Scope of Appointment form, which Medicare rules require. You decide, with no obligation.
Bring the date of your life event and your list of doctors and prescriptions, and we'll walk through your options by phone or video.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a Medicare Special Enrollment Period?
It's a chance to sign up for Medicare or make changes to your Medicare Advantage or drug coverage outside the usual yearly windows, when certain events happen in your life, like moving or losing other coverage. The changes you can make and the timing depend on the event.
How long does a Medicare Special Enrollment Period last?
It depends on the event. Many SEPs for plan changes last 2 full months after the event. The Part B SEP for job-based coverage lasts 8 months after the coverage or the job ends, whichever happens first.
Do I get a Special Enrollment Period if I move?
Yes, if you move out of your plan's service area, or to a new address in your plan's area that has new plan options. You can switch to a new Medicare Advantage or drug plan. Your chance starts when you move and lasts 2 full months after; if you tell your plan before you move, it starts the month before.
Do I get a Special Enrollment Period when I lose employer coverage?
Yes. To sign up for Part B, you have 8 months after the job or the group coverage ends, whichever happens first. To join a Medicare Advantage or drug plan after leaving employer or union coverage, you have 2 full months after the month your coverage ends.
Does COBRA count for the Part B Special Enrollment Period?
No. COBRA isn't considered group health plan coverage, and getting COBRA doesn't change when your Part B Special Enrollment Period ends. Your COBRA coverage ending doesn't qualify you for a Part B SEP.
Can I change plans if I have Medicaid or Extra Help?
Yes. If you have Medicaid or get Extra Help, you can make changes to your drug coverage once a calendar month, unless your plan's drug management program identifies you as at-risk. The change starts the first day of the next month.
What happens if my Medicare Advantage plan's contract ends?
You get a Special Enrollment Period to switch to another Medicare Advantage or drug plan. If your plan ends its contract, your chance starts 2 months before the contract ends and ends 1 full month after.
Is there a Special Enrollment Period for 5-star plans?
Yes. If a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare drug plan or Medicare Cost Plan with a 5-star quality rating is available in your area, you can join it or switch to it once between December 8 and November 30 of the following year. Before you switch plans, check whether the 5-star plan includes drug coverage, since moving to a plan without it can mean losing your prescription drug coverage.
Serving Utah residents. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 9 organizations which offer 58 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
Related guides
Sources
- Medicare.gov, Special Enrollment Periods
- Medicare.gov, When does Medicare coverage start?
- CMS, 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings (fact sheet, Oct. 8, 2026)
Not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. Fores Boo, licensed independent Medicare agent, NPN 17255694, Boo Insurance Services, 61 W 13490 S Ste 201, Draper, UT 84020.
Last updated: October 21, 2026.