When a Client's Plan Is Leaving
Plans that won't renew for 2027 leave clients with a deadline and a real risk of losing drug coverage. Here are the dates, the options and a workflow for your affected book.
Key Dates for a Plan That Won't Renew
For Medicare Advantage plans that end, or leave a county, on December 31, 2026.
Letters reach members
The plan must send a personalized non-renewal notice (CMS requires at least 90 days' notice). Have the client save that notice, postmark included, as proof of their rights.
Annual Enrollment Period
The cleanest option: pick new coverage now for a January 1 start with no gap.
Non-renewal Special Enrollment Period
Requests in December start January 1. In January they start February 1, and in February they start March 1.
Old plan ends
A client who hasn't chosen anything moves to Original Medicare on January 1, without Part D.
Medigap guaranteed issue closes
The window opens with the notice and closes 63 days past the plan's last day. Apply early so the policy starts January 1.
Three Paths Forward
Another Medicare Advantage plan
Enroll during AEP for January 1, or with the non-renewal SEP through February. Check doctors, drugs and pharmacies against the new plan before you submit. Joining another MA plan does not use the Medigap guaranteed-issue right.
Original Medicare + Medigap + Part D
The client can buy Medigap Plan A, B, D or G without health questions (A, B, C or F if they were eligible for Medicare before 2020). Some states add more plans, such as K or L. Add a standalone Part D plan so drug coverage starts the same day.
Original Medicare + Part D only
For clients who don't want either. Make sure they understand the cost-sharing in Original Medicare without a supplement, and that a gap of 63 days or more without drug coverage can bring a late enrollment penalty.
Mistakes That Cost Clients
- Doing nothing. There's no automatic move to another Medicare Advantage plan. The default is Original Medicare with no drug plan.
- Mixing up a crosswalk and a non-renewal. If the carrier folds the plan into a different plan it offers and the client is carried over, that's a crosswalk, not a non-renewal. It doesn't create the special enrollment period or a Medigap guaranteed-issue right.
- Extra Help clients. People who get Extra Help and do nothing are reassigned to a Part D plan by CMS. Check that the plan fits their drugs.
- Dual-eligible clients. Since 2025, the monthly dual/Extra Help SEP only allows standalone Part D changes, not moves into a different Medicare Advantage plan. Use the non-renewal SEP or AEP instead.
- Trial rights. A client who joined Medicare Advantage for the first time within the last 12 months may also have a trial right to go back to Medigap. Check both rights and use whichever is broader.
- Medigap start date. A Medigap policy can't start before the Medicare Advantage coverage ends. Ask for a January 1 effective date.
Work Your Affected Book
Find who's affected
Use the Medicare plan map to see which plans aren't returning in each county, then match your book against it.
Reach out early
Contact clients you already serve. Don't cold call; CMS rules on unsolicited contact still apply.
Scope and record
Get a Scope of Appointment before the meeting and give the TPMO disclaimer before discussing benefits.
Review the needs
Doctors, drugs, pharmacies, costs and health needs, then compare all three paths.
Document it
Note which period you used, keep the non-renewal letter on file, and confirm the new coverage starts with no gap.
Agent Questions
What happens if a client's Medicare Advantage plan isn't renewing and they do nothing?
They are moved to Original Medicare when the plan ends, with no Part D drug coverage. Clients with Extra Help are reassigned to a drug plan by CMS. Everyone else needs to join a Part D plan to avoid a gap and a possible late enrollment penalty.
How long does a client have to pick a new plan?
AEP (Oct 15 through Dec 7) works for a January 1 start. After that, the non-renewal Special Enrollment Period runs from December 8, 2026 through February 28, 2027, with coverage starting the month after the request.
Can a client whose Medicare Advantage plan is ending get a Medigap plan without health questions?
Yes, if they go to Original Medicare. Federal guaranteed issue covers Medigap Plans A, B, D and G, or A, B, C and F for people eligible before 2020, starting when the notice arrives and ending 63 days past the plan's last day. Some states add more plans.
Is a plan crosswalk the same as a non-renewal?
No. A crosswalk moves members into another plan from the same carrier, so it does not create the non-renewal Special Enrollment Period or a Medigap guaranteed-issue right. Read the client's Annual Notice of Change to see which applies.
Printable Version in the Resource Hub
Brock agents can download a PDF of this guide, plus our state playbooks and California guides, from the Resource Hub. Sign in with your NPN and email.
Where This Comes From
- CMS: CY 2027 MA and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
- eCFR: 42 CFR 422.62 (election periods) and 422.506 (non-renewal)
- Social Security Act §1882(s)(3) Medigap guaranteed issue (42 U.S.C. 1395ss)
- CMS: Choosing a Medigap Policy (2026)
- Medicare.gov: Change in plan availability (non-renewal notice)
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For licensed insurance agents. General information as of October 18, 2026, drawn from federal and state sources; rules change, so confirm with CMS, the carrier or the state insurance department before advising a client. Not legal or tax advice. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program.