Medicare’s annual open enrollment period begins Oct. 15, giving roughly 69 million beneficiaries the opportunity to make changes to their health coverage.
What you can do during open enrollment depends on the type of coverage you have now:
- Change your Medicare Advantage plan. You can join, drop, or switch to another Medicare Advantage plan – with or without drug coverage – or add or drop drug coverage.
- Change your drug plan. If you’re in Original Medicare, you can join, drop, or switch to another Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.
- Change how you get coverage. You can switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan, or from a Medicare Advantage plan back to Original Medicare.
Coverage for any changes will begin on Jan. 1, as long as the plan receives your request by Dec. 7.
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If you’re returning to original Medicare
If you switch back to original Medicare, you may need to join a separate drug plan and might also consider adding Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap).
Medigap is extra insurance you can buy from a private health insurer to help cover your share of out-of-pocket costs under original Medicare – but there are limits on when you can add it.
What to know during the government shutdown
Because of the government shutdown, Medicare’s website is alerting beneficiaries that “updates to information on this website may be limited or delayed. Your Medicare benefits and coverage will continue as before, and you can go to your doctor and access the health care services you need.”
And since Medicare employees are considered essential workers, beneficiaries who call Medicare’s helpline at 1-800-633-4227 will still be able to get the help they need. That was confirmed in a phone call to the helpline on Sunday.
What Medicare experts say you should — and shouldn’t — do during the shutdown
So what do Medicare experts advise beneficiaries to do, given that vital updates to Medicare’s website may be delayed or limited during the government shutdown?
“Relax for now,” said Melinda Caughill, co-founder of Sixty-Five Incorporated. “There are absolutely no bonus points and no better deals for completing your Medicare open enrollment on October 15.”
Medicare’s open enrollment period runs until December 7, giving beneficiaries nearly two months to make changes to their coverage. “Since we have just shy of two months in which to make changes and there’s no extra deal or bonus for getting done sooner, just relax a bit to see what happens,” Caughill said.
She also noted this isn’t the first time Medicare’s open enrollment has coincided with a government shutdown. The 2013 shutdown, which lasted 16 days, caused some administrative delays and confusion — but open enrollment still went forward.
“If the current shutdown drags on,” Caughill added, “it’s likely the government will extend the Medicare open enrollment deadline.”
Why this year feels different
According to Caughill, a bigger issue this year isn’t the shutdown at all — it’s the fact that major insurers have stopped paying commissions to agents for Part D drug plan sales.
“This means anyone with a standalone Part D drug plan is on their own this year,” she said. “Agents used to be busy as heck helping seniors compare Part D plans. This year, they’re out. And if they’re not out, they’re probably steering people toward Medicare Advantage plans. Good luck with that.”
Caughill also warned against relying too heavily on the Medicare.gov Plan Finder tool. “Despite all the glorification of the Medicare.gov plan finder, it ain’t all that,” she said.
“People have a very hard time understanding how to compare plans on their own — if they even remember to do it,” Caughill added. “They just don’t know the tricks professionals use every day to find the best coverage.”
Medicare and the government shutdown: “an inconvenience, not a crisis”
Tom Wright, founder of The Turning 65 Workshop, echoed Caughill’s view that beneficiaries should stay calm. Wright and his wife are Medicare beneficiaries themselves, “personally along for the ride during the unprecedented disruption of this year’s annual open period.”
As for Medicare.gov updates, Wright sees the slowdown as mostly “an inconvenience.”
“Fortunately, there are numerous other sources where needed info can be found,” he said. These include:
- Directly contacting health or drug plans or visiting their websites
- Consulting SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) counselors
- Attending Medicare education events at local councils on aging
- Speaking with trusted insurance professionals who specialize in Medicare
- Checking with state insurance departments for information on Medigap policies
- Reviewing the 2026 Medicare & You handbook
“Medicare.gov is still functioning quite nicely, in my opinion,” Wright said. “It’s just not updating as frequently as usual.”
What Medicare beneficiaries should do next
“This is definitely a year for Medicare beneficiaries to be proactive and ready to do a bit more homework than usual,” Wright said.
If you need help reviewing your coverage options during open enrollment, contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for free, unbiased Medicare counseling. Find your local SHIP at shiphelp.org or call 877-839-2675 (say “Medicare” when prompted).
Social Security payments will continue, but COLA announcement delayed
Meanwhile, Social Security’s website is assuring visitors that “Social Security and SSI payments will continue during the government shutdown.” That’s because these benefits are considered mandatory spending– their funding isn’t tied to the annual federal budget process.
What’s less clear to many retirees is when they’ll learn about next year’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Normally, the Social Security Administration announces the COLA in mid-October, shortly after the release of September’s Consumer Price Index data.
But that schedule has been pushed back.
According to the agency, the 2026 COLA will now be announced on Oct. 24, about a week later than planned. The delay stems from the government shutdown, which temporarily halted the work of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Some furloughed BLS employees have since been called back specifically to finalize and release the September CPI data, now also set for Oct. 24.
While the official number isn’t yet available, The Senior Citizens League projects that the 2026 COLA will be roughly 2.7%. That increase will take effect with the January 2026 benefit payments.
The bottom line: Payments will continue on time, and while the COLA announcement is delayed, retirees can still expect their 2026 benefit boost to arrive as scheduled.
Related: Social Security COLA for 2026: What retirees can expect to earn
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