If your Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) or Medicare Advantage plan (MA or MADP) was discontinued at the end of last year (that is, your Medicare plan did not renew its contract for the present year or the plan had a
service area reduction), you are granted a Special Enrollment Period (SEP)
to join a current Medicare plan through the end of February (also known as the Service Area Reduction Special Enrollment Period (SAR SEP)).
Medicare Plan Termination vs. Medicare Plan Consolidation
Remember that the Service Area Reduction Special Enrollment Period is only for people previously enrolled in a “discontinued” Medicare plans and is not available to people with Medicare plans that were “consolidated” or merged into another Medicare plan.
How many people no longer have coverage because their Medicare plan was discontinued?
The number of people who might be out of coverage due to a Service Area Reduction changes every year. For example, over 7 million people are currently enrolled in non-renewing 2025 Medicare Part D (83,007) or Medicare Advantage plans (7,358,515) and may lose their Medicare plan coverage unless they choose to enroll in another 2026 Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan by the end of February. If they do not choose a new plan, they may spend the remainder of the year without Medicare prescription drug coverage or Medicare Advantage plan coverage.
You can also see Medicare plan consolidations and crosswalks in our PDP-Compare and MA-Compare tools.
What happens if you miss the SAR SEP deadline?
Important: As noted above, if your last-year's Medicare plan was discontinued this year and you do not join a Medicare plan before the end of the SAR SEP (last day of February), you may be without Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan coverage for the remainder of the year - unless you can take advantage of some other Special Enrollment Period allowing your to join a current Medicare plan outside the annual Open Enrollment Period (AEP).
To learn more...
You can also see our Frequently Asked Question, "Special Enrollment Period for Service Area Reduction (SAR SEP): When your Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan is cancelled or not offered next year." on this site or call a Medicare representative at 1-800-633-4227.
Medicare Plan Termination vs. Medicare Plan Consolidation
Remember that the Service Area Reduction Special Enrollment Period is only for people previously enrolled in a “discontinued” Medicare plans and is not available to people with Medicare plans that were “consolidated” or merged into another Medicare plan.
How many people no longer have coverage because their Medicare plan was discontinued?
The number of people who might be out of coverage due to a Service Area Reduction changes every year. For example, over 7 million people are currently enrolled in non-renewing 2025 Medicare Part D (83,007) or Medicare Advantage plans (7,358,515) and may lose their Medicare plan coverage unless they choose to enroll in another 2026 Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan by the end of February. If they do not choose a new plan, they may spend the remainder of the year without Medicare prescription drug coverage or Medicare Advantage plan coverage.
You can also see Medicare plan consolidations and crosswalks in our PDP-Compare and MA-Compare tools.
What happens if you miss the SAR SEP deadline?
Important: As noted above, if your last-year's Medicare plan was discontinued this year and you do not join a Medicare plan before the end of the SAR SEP (last day of February), you may be without Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan coverage for the remainder of the year - unless you can take advantage of some other Special Enrollment Period allowing your to join a current Medicare plan outside the annual Open Enrollment Period (AEP).
To learn more...
You can also see our Frequently Asked Question, "Special Enrollment Period for Service Area Reduction (SAR SEP): When your Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan is cancelled or not offered next year." on this site or call a Medicare representative at 1-800-633-4227.
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