Medicare Open Enrollment Starts Oct. 15th
(Oct. 14, 2025) LeadingAge National is offering an important resource to members and the individuals and families they serve with its updated "Medicare Open Enrollment 2026: What You Need to Know" resource. The annual Medicare Open Enrollment period begins Oct. 15th and ends Dec. 7th. It is the time of year when Medicare-eligible beneficiaries make decisions about how to receive their Medicare benefits, including selecting a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan.
As in years past, LeadingAge National has compiled an updated resource to help members educate their staff, residents, clients, and their caregivers about this process and beneficiaries' options. This resource can help LeadingAge members connect those they serve with unbiased resources to evaluate their options and help their staff answer questions from and share unbiased resources with older adults and their families. It also offers some ideas about questions a beneficiary should ask in evaluating their options and outlines which actions they must take during Open Enrollment (e.g., Part D coverage). LeadingAge National also explains the ways providers can assist beneficiaries under MA regulations, including sharing which MA plans they contract with and their merits.
This year, this information is even more important, as millions of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in MA plans have received notices that their current plan will no longer be offered in 2026. This means that they must make a new choice: return to traditional Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) or enroll in a new plan. For this special group of individuals who are losing their coverage, if they return to Medicare FFS, they will also be eligible for certain guaranteed issue Medicare Supplemental Insurance plan coverage (sometimes called Medigap) for their Medicare cost sharing. Guaranteed issue means that the plans cannot deny the person coverage or charge higher premiums if the person has a pre-existing condition, but this is a limited opportunity.
Check out this year’s Medicare Open Enrollment resource here.
Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org