How to Disenroll From Medicare Advantage

Millions of elderly and disabled receive their health care benefits through Medicare. The health insurance plan is administered by the U.S. government. Many Medicare enrollees receive these benefits through private plans, known as Medicare Advantage plans. Medicare recipients choose which provider best meets their needs. If enrollees need to change their plan, there are rules and regulations for how and when they can disenroll.

Instructions

• 1

  Determine whether you are in an enrollment period. You cannot make changes to your health care plan, even disenrolling, unless you are in an enrollment period. These enrollment periods include your initial enrollment period, which occurs around the time you first become eligible, the annual coordinated election period which lasts from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31 each year, and the open enrollment period which is Jan. 1 to March 31. You may also qualify for a special enrollment period. To determine if you qualify, contact the Social Security Administration.

• 2

  Decide whether you are going to switch to traditional Medicare or switch to another Medicare Advantage plan.

• 3

  Call 1-800-MEDICARE and ask to be disenrolled from your Medicare Advantage plan and to be placed back into traditional Medicare if this is the choice you made. You could call the plan directly to disenroll, but Medicare Interactive recommends calling 1-800-MEDICARE. Processing times seem to be longer if you make the change through the Medicare Advantage plan.

• 4

  Call the plan you want to switch to first and enroll if you want to switch to a new Medicare Advantage plan. During the open enrollment period and the special enrollment period, you are limited to one change. If you disenroll from your Medicare Advantage plan before you enroll in a new one, you will have wasted your change and have no coverage.

  Enroll in the new plan by calling the plan directly, enrolling through 1-800-MEDICARE or using online enrollment tools. You do not need to contact your old Medicare Advantage plan. By enrolling in the new plan, you will trigger a disenrollment from the old plan. This will also prevent any gaps in coverage.