As of this writing, the 2021 AEP Season (annual election period) has been over for 8 days. Many are celebrating the end of phone calls and junk mail. However, as I spoke with many during this time, I realized there is plenty of confusion as to when a beneficiary (that’s you) can change his or her plan. Some people thought they MUST change their plan during AEP or lose their coverage. Not true. If you’re happy with your plan, you don’t need to do anything, it will just rollover. So, let’s take a look at when you can change your Medicare Advantage plan and how SEP (special election period) codes provide flexibility in unusual circumstances.

Election Periods: What Are They?

You may hear the words election and enrollment be used interchangeably. For instance, the Annual Election Period is also known as the Annual Enrollment Period. So, regardless of which on you see or hear, it’s the same thing, whether it’s the annual, open or special election/enrollment period.

Therefore, to answer the question, an election period is a set time when you can either enroll for the first time in the plan of your choice or change your existing plan. There are five (5) election periods, with two being very similar and used interchangeably, but there is a difference. They are:

1. IEP – Initial Enrollment Period
2. ICEP – Initial Coverage Enrollment Period
3. AEP – Annual Enrollment Period (October 15^th through December 7^th)
4. OEP – Open Enrollment Period (January 1^st through March 31^st)
5. SEP – Special Enrollment Period (dates vary depending on the circumstances)

Let’s parse these individually.

Initial Enrollment Period

You only get one IEP. This is the time when you are first eligible for Medicare. It lasts seven months, beginning three months before your 65^th birthday month, your birthday month, and ends three months after your birthday month. If your birthday were April 15^th, your IEP would begin on January 1^st and end on July 31^st.

Initial Coverage Enrollment Period

The ICEP can run concurrently with your IEP. However, the difference is when you decide to take your Medicare. If you decided to continue working past 65 and were covered by group insurance, you can elect to take your Part-A (hospital portion of Medicare insurance), since it’s $0 premium to qualified individuals. However, since Part-B requires paying a monthly premium, many choose to wait to take it until they retire.

Now, you decided it’s time to retire. You will lose your creditable coverage (group insurance) on July 31^st. You now have eight (8) months to get your Part-B from Medicare and enroll in either a MediGap supplement with a standalone Part-D (prescription) plan or Medicare Advantage plan with Part D. This is your ICEP, and it ends the last day of the month prior to your Part-B being effective or eight months have elapsed. Confusing. I know. (You have 63 days to ger your Part-D plan: but that’s for another article).

Example. You applied for your Part-B in August and hypothetically, it’s effective date will be October 1^st. Your ICEP will end on September 30^th. However, let’s say you procrastinated and took your time, and now had to apply for your Part B during OEP (January 1^st through March 31^st). Your Part B will now be effective July 1^st, but that’s 11 months after you lost your group coverage. Since April 30^th was the end of the eight-month period, your ICEP ended three months prior. This is important because you may incur some lifetime penalties (for more on penalties, click here).