Can I switch Medigap plans later?

• Your 6-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period runs from when your Part B starts.
• Outside it, the company can ask medical questions, charge you more or turn you down. Keep your current policy until the new one is approved.
• A guaranteed issue right is the exception. It comes with protections, listed below.
• Your state may give you more chances than Medicare's rules do.

With one, the company must sell you a Medigap policy. It must cover all your pre-existing conditions. It can't charge you more for past or present health problems.

Situations include:

• Your Medicare Advantage plan leaves or stops covering your area, or you move out of its area.
• You leave a Medicare Advantage plan you joined when you were first eligible, within the first year (a "trial right").
• Your Medigap company goes bankrupt, or your coverage ends through no fault of your own.
• The company misled you or broke the rules.
• You drop a Medicare SELECT policy and move.

You generally apply no more than 63 days after your coverage ends. Keep the letters or notices that show it ended. They're your proof.

Medicare.gov says: "Contact your State Insurance Department to find out if your state offers more opportunities for you to change your Medigap policy."

The Medigap open enrollment period and how to apply are in our enrollment guide.