The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period 2026: One Switch, Jan–Mar

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period 2026 in Orlando, FL: One Switch, Jan–Mar

Quick Answer: The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 through March 31 every year and is open only to people already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. It permits exactly one plan change during that window, and it does not create a Medigap guaranteed-issue right in most states. For Medicare Advantage members in Orlando, Orange County, Altamonte Springs, and Winter Park, this window is especially important for 2026 because of carrier network changes affecting access to AdventHealth and Orlando Health facilities.

Every fall, Annual Enrollment Period marketing fills mailboxes and TV ad breaks. Then January arrives, the ads stop, and a second, much smaller window quietly opens. A lot of people never learn it exists until they need it — or until they've already missed it.

What Is the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period?

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, often shortened to MA OEP, is a federal window that runs from January 1 through March 31 every year. It exists specifically for people who are already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan and want a do-over, not for people shopping for Medicare coverage for the first time.

During this window, someone currently in a Medicare Advantage plan — whether an HMO, a PPO, or an HMO-POS — can make exactly one change. They can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, with or without drug coverage, or they can drop Medicare Advantage entirely and return to Original Medicare. If they choose the Original Medicare route, they can also pick up a stand-alone Part D plan at the same time. The new coverage starts on the first day of the month after the request is processed, not automatically on January 1.

What the MA OEP will not do is let someone move from Original Medicare into a Medicare Advantage plan for the first time, or switch from one stand-alone Part D plan to another while staying on Original Medicare. Those moves require a different enrollment period or a qualifying Special Enrollment Period.

How Is the MA OEP Different From the Annual Enrollment Period?

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7 and is open to every Medicare beneficiary, with unlimited changes allowed. The MA OEP runs January 1 through March 31, is open only to current Medicare Advantage members, and allows just one change. Mixing the two up is the most common enrollment mistake seniors make.

During AEP, a beneficiary on Original Medicare can enroll in Medicare Advantage for the first time, switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another, switch from one Part D plan to another, or drop Medicare Advantage to return to Original Medicare and pick up a Part D plan. There's no cap on how many times a decision can be changed before the window closes, and whatever selection is active on December 7 takes effect January 1.

The MA OEP is narrower on every axis. It's a correction window, not a shopping window. A beneficiary who enrolled in a new Medicare Advantage plan during AEP, then realizes in February that the plan's network doesn't include a preferred cardiologist, can use the MA OEP to move to a different Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare — but only once. After that single change, the door closes until the following AEP, unless a Special Enrollment Period applies.

Who Can Use the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, and What Can They Change?

Only someone enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan as of January 1 can use the MA OEP, and they get one change between January 1 and March 31. Someone on Original Medicare, even with a stand-alone Part D plan, cannot use this window at all.

There's one added wrinkle worth knowing: a person who turns 65 and enrolls in a Medicare Advantage plan during their Initial Coverage Election Period also gets a version of this same one-time switch right, usable during the first three months they have Medicare Advantage coverage, even if that falls outside the January–March calendar window. Anyone reading this who is newly eligible should review the sequence laid out for turning 65 so the Initial Enrollment Period, the Medicare Advantage election, and this follow-up switch right don't get confused with one another.

For everyone else, the rule is simple: one plan already in force on January 1, one change allowed through March 31, and no second do-over. CMS enrollment data shows how many people this window actually touches — according to the CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment Dataset, Florida had 5,242,870 Medicare beneficiaries in 2025, with 2,969,536 of them — 56.6% — enrolled in a Medicare Advantage or other health plan. In a state where more than half of beneficiaries are in Medicare Advantage, the MA OEP is a meaningful safety valve for anyone who picked the wrong plan during AEP, and that includes a large share of the Medicare Advantage membership living in and around Orange County.

Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period 2026 in Orlando, FL: What Orange County Beneficiaries Should Check

Orlando and the surrounding Orange County market are home to two major hospital systems that dominate Medicare Advantage provider networks: AdventHealth and Orlando Health. Both systems operate multiple hospital campuses and affiliated physician groups across Orlando, Winter Park, and Altamonte Springs, which means a carrier's network status with AdventHealth or Orlando Health can determine whether a beneficiary's existing primary care doctor, cardiologist, or specialist is actually covered under a given Medicare Advantage plan.

For 2026, the carrier pullbacks described above landed directly on Central Florida. AvMed's statewide exit from Medicare Advantage removed a plan option that some Orange County members had relied on, and the county-level network reductions reported by UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and Aetna mean that a plan available in Orlando for 2025 may carry a narrower AdventHealth or Orlando Health network — or none at all — for 2026. A beneficiary in Winter Park who was automatically mapped into a similar plan during AEP, or who enrolled quickly to avoid a coverage gap, may not have confirmed whether their AdventHealth Winter Park campus or an Orlando Health physician group is still in-network until the first claim is denied in January or February.

This is precisely the scenario the MA OEP exists to fix. Someone in Altamonte Springs who discovers in January that their new plan dropped AdventHealth Altamonte Springs from its network can use the one allowed MA OEP switch to move to a different Medicare Advantage plan that still includes that hospital, or to return to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D plan. Before using that single switch, Orange County beneficiaries should pull up their plan's current provider directory and confirm — in writing or through the carrier's online tool — that AdventHealth or Orlando Health facilities and the specific physicians they see are listed as in-network for 2026, rather than assuming prior-year coverage carried over.

Star rating shifts compound the Central Florida picture. A plan that looked strong in an October comparison chart may have had its rating — and the supplemental dental, vision, or hearing allowance tied to it — change by January, and a lower-rated plan sold heavily in the Orlando market during AEP may also have a thinner AdventHealth or Orlando Health network than the plan it replaced. Checking both the network and the star rating before using the MA OEP switch is the more reliable approach than checking either one alone.

Star ratings shifted too, and ratings affect the supplemental benefits a plan can afford to offer. Nationally, the CMS weighted average climbed to 3.98 stars for 2026, and 73% of Medicare Advantage members are in plans rated 4 stars or higher. But the carrier-level picture is uneven: Aetna's share of members in 4+ star plans fell from 89% to 81%, Humana's fell from 25% to 20%, while Centene's WellCare contracts jumped from just 1% to 18% in 4+ star plans and Elevance Health rose from 40% to 53%. A plan that looked solid in October's AEP comparison chart may have had its rating — and its dental, vision, or hearing allowance — shift by January. The MA OEP is the mechanism for fixing that without waiting a full year.

The Medicare Supplement vs. Medicare Advantage comparison written for one Florida market still applies here in principle: the trade-off between network restriction and premium is the same trade-off nationally, it's just that the specific plans, premiums, and hospital networks — including AdventHealth and Orlando Health in the Orlando area — differ by county.

Does Switching Plans During the MA OEP Give You a Right to Buy Medigap?

No. In most states, dropping Medicare Advantage during the MA OEP to return to Original Medicare does not create a federal Medigap guaranteed-issue right, meaning a Medicare Supplement insurer can medically underwrite the application and can deny coverage or charge more based on health history.

Federal guaranteed-issue protections are triggered by specific events — such as a plan leaving the area, moving out of a plan's service area, or being within the first year of trying Medicare Advantage under certain trial-right rules — not simply by using the MA OEP on its own. Medigap issue rules vary by state: some states offer broader guaranteed-issue or birthday-rule protections than federal law requires, while others follow only the federal minimum. Anyone considering a return to Original Medicare during the MA OEP should check their own state's Medigap rules before assuming the door to a Supplement plan will be open on favorable terms. The underwriting trade-off that decision involves is covered in detail in the comparison of Medigap Plan G vs. Plan N, which applies to any state even though it was written around one market's premiums.

This is also where the 2026 Part D changes matter. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 on every path — Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare plus a stand-alone Part D plan — with the catastrophic coverage phase eliminated entirely. That cap strengthens the case for pairing Original Medicare with a Medigap policy and a stand-alone Part D plan in years when underwriting allows it, since the drug-cost ceiling is now identical regardless of which path someone takes. The mechanics of that cap and the new Medicare Prescription Payment Plan are explained fully in the 2026 Part D out-of-pocket cap article.

2026 Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period if I'm on Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan?

No. The MA OEP is only available to people already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan as of January 1. Someone on Original Medicare who wants to change their Part D plan outside of AEP needs a qualifying Special Enrollment Period, not the MA OEP.

What happens if I use my one Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period switch and then change my mind again in February?

Once the one allowed change is made and processed, the window closes for that person until the next Annual Enrollment Period in the fall, unless a separate Special Enrollment Period — such as moving to a new address or a plan leaving the service area — applies.

If my Medicare Advantage plan left my area for 2026, does the MA OEP apply to me?

A plan exit, like AvMed's statewide withdrawal from Florida for 2026, typically triggers its own Special Enrollment Period with different rules and timing than the MA OEP, and it may also open a Medigap guaranteed-issue right depending on the state. Affected members should confirm which window applies to their specific situation rather than assuming the standard January–March rules cover them.

How do I know if AdventHealth or Orlando Health is still in-network for my Orange County Medicare Advantage plan in 2026?

The most reliable way is to check the plan's current 2026 provider directory directly, either online or by calling the carrier, rather than relying on 2025 coverage information. Beneficiaries in Orlando, Winter Park, or Altamonte Springs who find that a plan's network no longer includes their AdventHealth or Orlando Health providers can use their one MA OEP switch to move to a plan that does, or to return to Original Medicare.

Sources

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, "Medicare Costs" — https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/medicare-costs (accessed October 2026)
• Medicare.gov, official Medicare enrollment information — https://www.medicare.gov/ (accessed October 2026)
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, "Medicare Monthly Enrollment" dataset — https://data.cms.gov/summary-statistics-on-beneficiary-enrollment/medicare-and-medicaid-reports/medicare-monthly-enrollment (accessed October 2026)
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS Newsroom — https://www.cms.gov/newsroom (accessed October 2026)

We do not offer every plan available in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day/7 days a week, to get information on all of your options. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.