How to Switch From Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare for 2027

People new to Medicare who join an Advantage plan also get a one-change window during their first three months of Medicare.

Outside these windows, you generally stay in your plan until the next one opens. If your plan’s network is the problem, ask Medicare whether a special enrollment period applies. CMS has granted them after major network changes and, for plans starting in 2026, to people who enrolled through Medicare’s plan finder and then found their doctor was not actually in network.

Original Medicare alone has no yearly limit on what you pay. Most people who leave Advantage want a supplement. Whether an insurer must sell you one, at standard rates and without health questions, depends on your situation. Federal guaranteed-issue rules cover these cases:

Plans C and F are only for people first eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. Apply as early as 60 days before and no later than 63 days after your Advantage coverage ends.

The first two rows are the trial right. Our page on the Medigap trial right covers how the 12 months are counted.

Most long-time Advantage members fall into this group. You can still apply for Medigap, but the insurer can ask health questions, charge more, or decline you. That is why the order of steps matters.

A few states go further than federal law. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners lists New York and Massachusetts as states with year-round Medigap open enrollment. Birthday-rule states, such as California, Oregon and Kentucky, mainly help people who already hold a Medigap policy. Texas and Tennessee have no birthday rule. See guaranteed-issue Medicare Supplement rules for more detail.

Our count of the CMS 2027 files shows 5,481 individual Advantage plans nationwide. Two out of three are HMOs or HMO-POS plans, which limit routine care to a network. That network limit is a common reason people leave.

Many Advantage plans include drug coverage, so leaving one also ends your drug coverage. If you go 63 days or more in a row without creditable drug coverage, you can owe a Part D late enrollment penalty that lasts as long as you have Part D.

See Part D enrollment periods if you need to time a drug plan around another kind of coverage, such as a retiree plan or VA benefits.

Original Medicare with Medigap and Part D usually costs more each month than a low-premium Advantage plan, but it can cost less in a year with heavy medical use. Add up the pieces before you switch.