Can You Change From Medicare Advantage to Medigap? The Four Ways In for 2027

With doors one through three, the insurer must sell you a policy, cannot charge more for your health and cannot delay coverage for an existing condition. Door four is open to almost anyone, but the company decides whether to accept you.

Federal law gives a one-time trial period to people trying Medicare Advantage for the first time. It runs for 12 months after you first join, and it applies in two situations that work a little differently. Our Medigap trial right page walks through the deadlines in more depth.

Source: Medicare and CMS guaranteed issue rules. A trial right is used once; joining a second Advantage plan does not restart it.

After the trial year, the federal guarantee comes from specific events, most of them outside your control. You generally have 63 days after the coverage ends, or after the notice that it is ending, to apply. In some cases you may apply as early as 60 days before the coverage stops.

People eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020 can also choose Plan C or F. Rules summarized from CMS training materials; confirm the exact dates on your termination notice.

Keep every letter your plan sends. The insurer will ask for proof of the event, and the notice date can decide whether you are inside the 63 days. More detail on each event is in our guaranteed issue Medicare Supplement guide.

A few states give Advantage members extra openings. These rules change, so treat the table as a starting point and confirm with your state insurance department before relying on one.

Sources: KFF overview of federal and state Medigap guaranteed issue rules (2026) and Minnesota Department of Commerce. Details can change; verify before you act.

Outside protected windows, the application includes a health section. Insurers write their own questions, so a condition that ends one application may not end another. A denial from one company says nothing about the next.

A Medicare Advantage plan counts as creditable coverage, so someone approved soon after leaving one usually faces no pre-existing condition waiting period, provided the gap is shorter than 63 days. If you are turned down, you can stay in Medicare Advantage and try again in a later window.

Federal rules make it illegal for anyone to sell you a Medigap policy while you are in Medicare Advantage unless you are switching back to Original Medicare, so tell the insurer the planned end date of your Advantage coverage.

Our cost math for a 2027 switch shows the bills that replace your Advantage copays. Medigap premiums vary by age, ZIP code and insurer, so that line stays open.

2027 Part B figures are Medicare Trustees projections until CMS announces final amounts.