Medicare enrollees whose coverage is ending have a federal right to buy a Medigap policy in a window that starts 60 days before the coverage ends and closes 63 days after. Medicare.gov says an insurer cannot turn the applicant down during that period. The right matters most this fall, when plan cancellations for 2027 are reaching mailboxes.
The right is narrower than it sounds. It attaches to specific events, and it comes with a condition that catches many people: the buyer has to be going to Original Medicare. A person who simply picks a different Medicare Advantage plan does not use it.
For anyone holding a cancellation notice, the first task is to read what the notice says happened. A plan that is ending in the member’s county is one kind of loss. A doctor or hospital leaving a plan’s network while the plan continues is another, and the two do not lead to the same Medigap rights.
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The dates that open and close the right
Medicare.gov’s page on when to buy a Medigap policy says an applicant can use the guaranteed-issue right starting 60 days before the coverage ends and no more than 63 days after it ends. For a Medicare Advantage plan that ends Dec. 31, a simple count puts the window at Nov. 1 through March 4, 2027.
The page adds that the rights may last an extra 12 months in certain circumstances. Medigap coverage can start only after the Medicare Advantage coverage ends, so a person cannot hold both policies at once. Anyone applying early should expect the start date to fall on the first day without the plan.
Which losses count and which do not
For Medicare Advantage members, Medicare.gov lists four situations. The plan is leaving Medicare. The member moves out of the plan’s coverage area. The plan will no longer cover where the member lives. Or the plan did not follow the rules or misled the member.
A separate trigger covers people who lose Medigap coverage through no fault of their own, such as when the insurer goes bankrupt. Each of these describes the plan or policy itself going away or failing. The page does not list a doctor or hospital leaving a plan’s network as a trigger. A member whose plan continues but loses a hospital system has to look at other options, which may include changing plans during an enrollment period.
The catch about Original Medicare
Medicare.gov is direct on the condition. It says the right applies only to people who switch to Original Medicare, not to those who join another Medicare Advantage plan. A member who does nothing during Open Enrollment, which runs through Dec. 7, is placed in Original Medicare automatically, according to the page.
That default matters. A person placed in Original Medicare without a Medigap policy has no supplement behind it. The guaranteed-issue window is the stretch in which a Medigap insurer cannot refuse that person over health history.
Which Medigap plans come with the right
Under the right, Medicare.gov says the buyer can purchase Medigap Plan A, B, C, D, F, G, K or L sold by an insurance company in the buyer’s state.
The page also notes that these answers describe federal rights only. Medicare.gov tells applicants to contact their State Insurance Department, because a state may add more opportunities than the federal rule provides.
What Iowa shows about the scale
The Iowa Insurance Division reported on Oct. 15 that more than 87,000 Iowa Medicare beneficiaries, out of more than 700,000 in the state, received notice that their plan is being canceled or discontinued in their county. The division named the Wellmark and Medica Medicare Advantage PPOs.
Kristin Griffith, director of the state’s SHIIP-SMP counseling program, said in the division’s release that “having the ability to switch from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare with guaranteed issue is a rare opportunity.” The division lists Dec. 31 as the deadline to choose new coverage with no gap, and Feb. 28, 2027 as the end of the special enrollment period for people whose plans were canceled. Counselors can be reached through SHIIP at 1-800-351-4664 or through 1-800-MEDICARE.
Where else the rules get posted
CMS posts plan-year announcements on its newsroom, and Medicare.gov holds the Medigap rules in one place. Anyone with a notice in hand can match the notice’s wording against the four Medicare Advantage situations above before calling an insurer.
Plan ending, but Medigap still an open question?
The risk is landing in Original Medicare with no Medigap policy and finding out later that the 63-day window has closed. After that, an insurer can look at health history and say no.
The Medicare Money Bundle holds all 8 Medicare guides in one download, with large print. Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage covers Medigap rights, state rules, and both paths priced, and Open Enrollment in an Afternoon gives a Plan Finder walk-through and a keep-or-switch answer.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
