Medicare Advantage
Switching From Medicare Advantage Back to Original Medicare During Open Enrollment
You can leave a Medicare Advantage plan in fall Open Enrollment and go back to Original Medicare. The hard part is Medigap. See the windows, the trial rights, and the health questions.
Key takeaways
- Fall Open Enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026. Changes take effect on January 1, 2027 (Ledger B4).
- In that window, a person in a Medicare Advantage plan can drop the plan and go back to Original Medicare.
- A second window runs from January 1 to March 31, 2027. It is open only to people who are in a Medicare Advantage plan at that time (Ledger B5).
- Under Original Medicare, the Part B premium is $202.90 per month in 2026 (Ledger A1). The Part B deductible is $283 for the year in 2026 (Ledger A2).
- Original Medicare has no yearly cap on what you pay out of pocket. A Medigap policy can help with those costs.
- A Medigap firm does not have to sell you a policy in most cases at this stage. It can ask health questions and can say no.
- Two trial rights can protect some people. Each one lasts 12 months and each one has strict terms.
Each fall, some people in a Medicare Advantage plan want out. The plan may have changed its network. A doctor may have left. The costs may not fit the year ahead. Leaving the plan is the easy part. The hard part sits on the other side. That hard part is Medigap, the extra policy that helps pay what Original Medicare leaves. This guide shows the windows for the switch, what you pay under Original Medicare, and the health question risk that waits. Our Medicare Advantage section holds more guides on plan choices.
The two windows for the switch
The fall window is the main one. Open Enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026, and it is in progress now (Ledger B4). In this window, you can drop your Medicare Advantage plan. You can go back to Original Medicare. The change starts on January 1, 2027 (Ledger B4).
The winter window is a back-up. The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs from January 1 to March 31, 2027 (Ledger B5). Only people in a Medicare Advantage plan can use it. In that window, you can switch to a new Medicare Advantage plan. You can also drop the plan and go back to Original Medicare.
Outside these windows, most people must wait. A life change can open a special window in some cases. A move is one case. A plan that leaves your area is one more case. Those windows have their own rules and their own clocks.
What Original Medicare costs on its own
Original Medicare is Part A and Part B. Part A covers hospital care. Part B covers doctor care and most care you get as an outpatient.
Most people pay no premium for Part A. Part B has a premium. The standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month in 2026 (Ledger A1). You pay that sum if you are in Original Medicare. You also pay it in most Medicare Advantage plans, on top of any plan premium.
Part B has a deductible. The Part B deductible is $283 for the year in 2026 (Ledger A2). After you meet it, you pay a share of each bill. For most Part B care, that share is 20% of the sum Medicare approves.
There is no cap on that 20% share. A long hospital stay or a year of costly care can add up. This is the gap a Medigap policy fills. It is also why the Medigap step matters so much in this switch.
Drug cover sits apart. If your Medicare Advantage plan covers drugs, that cover ends when you leave the plan. Most people who switch back join a Part D drug plan at the same time. Our guide on Medicare Advantage dental, vision, and hearing benefits shows which extra benefits end with the plan too.
The Medigap health question risk
Medigap is sold by private firms. It helps pay the costs Original Medicare leaves, such as the Part B deductible and the 20% share. It does not cover a service on its own. It pays toward the Original Medicare benefit.
The best time to buy Medigap is a six-month window. That window starts when a person is 65 or older and first has Part B. In that window, a firm must sell the policy. It cannot ask health questions that block the sale.
Most people who switch back are past that window. Past the window, a firm can ask about your health. It can charge more based on your health. It can turn you down. That is the risk in this switch. You can leave your plan with one form. You may not be able to buy the Medigap policy you want with the next form.
Some states give more rights than the federal rules give. A few states let people buy Medigap with no health questions at set times each year, or at any time. Your state insurance office can tell you the rules where you live. Check your state rules before you drop your plan.
The two trial rights
Federal rules give two trial rights. Each one lets a person try a Medicare Advantage plan and still get Medigap back with no health questions.
The first trial right is for a person who joined a Medicare Advantage plan when they first became eligible for Medicare at 65. If that person leaves the plan in the first 12 months, they can buy any Medigap policy sold in their state. No firm can turn them down for health reasons.
The second trial right is for a person who dropped a Medigap policy to try Medicare Advantage for the first time. If that person leaves in the first 12 months, they can get their old policy back if the same firm still sells it. If the firm no longer sells it, the person can buy one of a set list of plans. That list is Plan A, B, C, D, F, or G, with some plans open only to people who were eligible for Medicare before 2020.
Both trial rights have a clock. You apply as early as 60 days before your plan cover ends. You must apply no later than 63 days after it ends. Miss that clock and the right is gone.
Our guide on Medigap guaranteed issue rights lists the other cases where a firm must sell you a policy. Read it before you act. Some of those cases can help a person whose plan left the area or broke the rules.
Steps to make the switch
- Check the date. The fall window ends on December 7, 2026 (Ledger B4). A switch made in that window starts on January 1, 2027.
- Check your Medigap path first. Do you have a trial right? Does your state give you a right? If not, apply for Medigap and get an answer before you drop your plan.
- Line up drug cover. If your plan covers drugs, join a Part D plan for January 1 so you have no gap in drug cover.
- Drop the plan in the window. You can do this through Medicare. Keep proof of the date.
- Start Original Medicare on January 1. Your Part B premium of $202.90 per month in 2026 (Ledger A1) keeps being paid the same way as before.
- Keep each letter you get. The letters prove your dates if a Medigap firm asks about your trial right.
Who pays for what
- Original Medicare (Part A) pays its share of hospital care. Original Medicare (Part B) pays its share of doctor care and outpatient care.
- You pay the Part B premium of $202.90 per month in 2026 (Ledger A1). You pay the Part B deductible of $283 for the year in 2026 (Ledger A2). You then pay 20% of the approved sum for most Part B care.
- A Medicare Advantage plan pays for your care while you are in the plan. That role ends when you leave the plan.
- A Medigap policy pays toward the costs Original Medicare leaves. It pays only when Original Medicare pays first. It does not cover a service on its own.
- A Part D plan pays its share of drug costs if you join one. You pay the cost share the plan sets for each drug.
- Medicaid can help with Medicare costs for people who qualify through their state. Help runs through the state Medicaid office.
- Private pay covers care that no plan covers. Check cover before you book care in the new year.
Sample situation
Tom is 71. He joined a Medicare Advantage plan three years ago. This fall, his main doctor left the plan network. Tom wants to go back to Original Medicare. He acts in the fall window, which runs to December 7, 2026 (Ledger B4). His switch starts on January 1, 2027. Tom had Medigap years ago, but he dropped it when he joined the plan. He has been in the plan for three years, so the 12-month trial right does not help him. He applies for a new Medigap policy first. The firm asks health questions. It agrees to sell him a policy, at a price based on his health. Tom then drops his plan and joins a Part D plan for his drugs. On January 1, he is on Original Medicare. He pays the Part B premium of $202.90 per month in 2026 (Ledger A1) and works toward the $283 Part B deductible for the year (Ledger A2). His Medigap policy helps with the costs Original Medicare leaves.
What to check before you drop your plan
Leaving a plan is one form. What waits on the other side is the real choice. Check the Medigap path first, keep the dates in front of you, and the switch can work the way you plan.
- Name your reason. A network change, a cost change, and a move each point to a distinct next step.
- Count your time in the plan. Less than 12 months in a first plan can mean a trial right.
- Ask a Medigap firm for a firm answer in writing before you act.
- Ask your state insurance office about state rights that add to the federal ones.
- Make sure drug cover starts the same day the old plan ends.