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, around
1.4 million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in 2022 Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plans that are no longer offered in 2023 and if these people have not enrolled in another Medicare plan by the end of February 2023, they may spend the remainder of the year without Medicare prescription drug coverage or Medicare Advantage plan coverage.
For a historical perspective - You can
click
here to read more about 2016 Medicare Part D plans that were discontinued or terminated in
2017. Also, you can see our article (
Q1News.com/605) for more about annual Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plan changes and 2016/2017 Medicare plan "crosswalks" (plan reassignments). 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." here:
Q1FAQ.com/613 or call a Medicare representative at 1-800-633-4227.