2027 Dropped-Plan Educational Kit · $29 USD
Track your 63-day Medigap window, check federal guaranteed-issue plans, and return to Original Medicare without broker calls.source
Problem → Statutory Timeline
When a Medicare Advantage organization decides not to renew its contract for the coming year, federal rules require it to mail a written notice to each affected enrollee at least 90 calendar days before the non-renewal takes effect.source Missing how the three windows overlap can leave you or your parent without prescription drug coverage or past the Medigap cutoff.
From October 15 through December 7 each year, any Medicare enrollee can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and join a standalone Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) for coverage starting January 1.source
Because your Medicare Advantage plan is leaving your area, you also get a Special Enrollment Period from December 8 through the last day of February to pick a replacement plan.source If you do not choose a new Medicare Advantage plan before December 31, federal law returns you to Original Medicare on January 1.source
If you return to Original Medicare, your federal guaranteed-issue right to buy a qualifying Medigap policy without medical underwriting runs from 60 days before your plan ends until no later than 63 calendar days after coverage ends.source You must keep your plan’s non-renewal notice to attach to your Medigap application as proof.source
Federal Statutory Rules · 42 U.S.C. § 1395ss
When a federal guaranteed-issue right applies, insurers must sell you a qualifying Medigap policy, must cover all pre-existing health conditions, and cannot charge you a higher premium because of past or present health problems.source However, federal law limits which standardized plan letters are covered after an involuntary Medicare Advantage termination.source
| Medigap Plan Letter(s) | Federal GI After Involuntary MA Termination? | Statutory Rule & Eligibility Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Plans A, B, D, G, High-Deductible G, K, L | YES — FEDERAL GI | Federally guaranteed-issue for any Medicare beneficiary returning to Original Medicare after an involuntary Medicare Advantage plan termination or service-area exit, from any insurer that sells those plans in your state.sourcesource |
| Plans C, F, High-Deductible F | PRE-2020 ONLY | Federally guaranteed-issue after an involuntary termination only if you first became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020; for anyone newly eligible on or after January 1, 2020, federal law substitutes Plans D and G (including High-Deductible G).source |
| Plan N | NO — NOT FEDERAL GI | Not federally guaranteed-issue after an involuntary Medicare Advantage termination.source Insurers can require medical underwriting for Plan N unless you are using a first-year Medicare Advantage Trial Right or live in a state whose state law grants wider guaranteed-issue or open-enrollment rights.source |
How It Works & What’s Inside
It is illegal for anyone to sell you a Medigap policy while you remain enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan unless you are switching back to Original Medicare.source And because Medigap policies sold since 2006 do not include prescription drug coverage, returning to Original Medicare requires joining a separate standalone Medicare Part D drug plan.source The kit turns those moving parts into a step-by-step paper trail.
Log the mailing date on your October non-renewal letter, calculate your exact 60-day pre-termination and 63-day post-termination Medigap cutoff dates, and assemble the proof packet insurers require with a guaranteed-issue application.source
Keep the federal guaranteed-issue plan list (Plans A, B, D, G, High-Deductible G, K, and L; plus C and F only if eligible before January 1, 2020—with Plan N clearly marked as excluded from federal termination guaranteed issue) side by side with a checklist for verifying state-specific Medigap rules with your State Department of Insurance or SHIP.source
Compare quotes you gather from Medicare.gov for federally guaranteed-issue Medigap letters (such as Plan G, High-Deductible G, Plan D, or Plan K/L) alongside standalone Part D premiums and deductibles—with zero carrier steering or pre-filled insurer rates.source
List every current prescription, dosage, and preferred pharmacy before using Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder, and confirm which clinicians accept Original Medicare assignment so January prescriptions and appointments do not lapse.
Bring a structured one-page question sheet to your free SHIP appointment (shiphelp.org) or 1-800-MEDICARE call so you or an helping adult child can verify effective dates, disenrollment timing, and state rules in one call.source
First, copy and date-stamp your plan’s non-renewal notice.source Second, log your drugs and compare standalone Part D and Medigap options using Medicare.gov or SHIP.source Third, submit your Medigap application with your notice copy before day 63.source
Verified Free Official Route
Every rule in this kit comes from public federal statutes, regulations, and official Medicare handbooks. You never need to pay us—or hand your phone number to a lead-generation site—to exercise your rights.source
What the $29 kit removes: instead of piecing together statutory tables, tracking three separate enrollment clocks on scratch paper, or risking an accidental application for non-guaranteed Plan N, you get a clean, printable set of worksheets and checklists you and a family caregiver can fill out tonight.source
Objections & Straight Answers
No, not under federal involuntary-termination rules. Under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 1395ss(s)(3)(C)(i), (w), and (z)(4)), when your Medicare Advantage plan leaves your service area or non-renews its contract and you return to Original Medicare, federal guaranteed-issue rights apply only to Medigap Plans A, B, D, G (including High-Deductible G), K, and L—plus Plans C and F only if you first became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.sourcesource Plan N is not included in the federal termination list, so insurers can apply medical underwriting unless you qualify under a first-year Medicare Advantage Trial Right or live in a state with broader state-law Medigap protections.source
You do not have to pay a cent: Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, and your local SHIP provide official tools and unbiased counseling for $0.source Many commercial “free guides,” however, are lead-capture funnels for commission-paid Third-Party Marketing Organizations (TPMOs) that earn commissions when you enroll.source This $29 kit is for beneficiaries and adult children who want a private, ad-free, no-broker-call organizer with every deadline and federal rule cited in one place.
No. The kit provides general educational explanations of public federal rules and blank comparison worksheets.source It contains zero carrier names, zero plan recommendations, zero affiliate links, and zero lead forms passed to agents or insurers.source
First, anyone with Medicare can switch plans during fall Open Enrollment from October 15 to December 7.source Second, if your plan is non-renewing at year-end, you get a Non-Renewal Special Enrollment Period from December 8 through the last day of February to choose another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and pick a Part D drug plan.source Third, if you return to Original Medicare, your federal Medigap guaranteed-issue window starts up to 60 days before your Medicare Advantage plan ends and closes no later than 63 calendar days after it ends.source
Under 42 CFR § 422.506(a)(2)(ii), a non-renewing plan must mail affected enrollees a written notice at least 90 calendar days before year-end.source Medicare.gov instructs you to keep copies of letters, notices, emails, or claim denials with your name on them as proof of termination to include with your Medigap application.source
Medigap policies sold after 2005 do not cover prescription drugs.source When you return to Original Medicare (Part A and Part B), you need to join a separate standalone Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) during your enrollment window if you want prescription drug coverage.source
Under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 1395w-21(e)(4)), an enrollee whose Medicare Advantage plan terminates and who has not elected another Medicare Advantage plan is deemed to have chosen Original Medicare fee-for-service coverage.source You still have through the last day of February under the non-renewal Special Enrollment Period to add a standalone Part D drug plan (or pick another Medicare Advantage plan) and up to 63 calendar days after your old plan ended to apply for a federal guaranteed-issue Medigap policy.sourcesource
Email [email protected] within 30 days of purchase for a full refund—no questions asked.source
One-Time Download · No Broker Follow-Up
Built for Medicare beneficiaries and helping adult children who want a calm, cited worksheet packet without entering a phone number into an insurance lead form.
Selected focus: Eligible on/after Jan 1, 2020 — highlights Federal GI Plans A, B, D, G, High-Deductible G, K, and L (and flags Plan N & pre-2020 C/F exclusions).
Every factual claim on this page carries a “source” button that opens the exact quote and primary link from Medicare.gov, the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), the United States Code, shiphelp.org, or our published site terms.
“...no later than 63 calendar days from the date your coverage ends.”
medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap/ready-to-buy/when · medicare.gov/publications/02110-medicare-and-medigap-policies.pdf · 42 U.S.C. § 1395ss(s)(3)(E)
“1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048”
“State Health Insurance Assistance Programs: Local Medicare Help”
“Third-party marketing organization (TPMO) means organizations and individuals, including independent agents and brokers, who are compensated to perform lead generation, marketing, sales, and enrollment related functions as a part of the chain of enrollment (the steps taken by a beneficiary from becoming aware of an MA plan or plans to making an enrollment decision).”
Money You’re Owed is an independent educational publisher and receives no compensation from any insurer, plan, agent, or broker, and performs no lead generation, marketing, sales, or enrollment functions for any plan.
“The individual is enrolled with a Medicare+Choice organization under a Medicare+Choice plan under part C, and there are circumstances permitting discontinuance of the individual's election of the plan under the first sentence of section 1395w–21(e)(4) of this title.”
42 U.S.C. § 1395ss(s)(3)(B)(ii) · medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap/ready-to-buy/when
“Subject to clauses (ii) and (iii), a medicare supplemental policy described in this subparagraph is a medicare supplemental policy which has a benefit package classified as ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, or ‘F’ (including the benefit package classified as ‘F’ with a high deductible feature, as described in subsection (p)(11)), under the standards established under subsection (p)(2), or a benefit package described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (w)(2) and that is offered and is available for issuance to new enrollees by such issuer;”
“Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, on or after January 1, 2020, a medicare supplemental policy that provides coverage of the part B deductible ... may not be sold or issued to a newly eligible Medicare beneficiary.” “In the case of a newly eligible Medicare beneficiary, except as the Secretary may otherwise provide, any reference in this section to a medicare supplemental policy which has a benefit package classified as ‘C’ or ‘F’ shall be deemed, as of January 1, 2020, to be a reference to a medicare supplemental policy which has a benefit package classified as ‘D’ or ‘G’, respectively.”
“(A) First new benefit package (Plan K)... (B) Second new benefit package (Plan L)...”
“You joined a Medicare Advantage Plan or Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) when you were first eligible for Medicare Part A at 65, and within the first year of joining, you decide you want to switch to Original Medicare. (Trial right).” “You have the right to buy... Any Medigap policy that's sold by an insurance company in your state.”
“If an MA organization does not intend to renew its contract, it must notify— ... (ii) Each Medicare enrollee by mail at least 90 calendar days before the date on which the nonrenewal is effective.”
“October 15 – December 7” · “Open Enrollment”
medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/get-more-coverage/joining-a-plan
“CMS or the organization has terminated the organization's contract for the plan, discontinued the plan in the area in which the individual resides, or the organization has notified the individual of the impending termination of the plan, or the impending discontinuation of the plan in the area in which the individual resides.”
“Between December 8 and the last day in February of the following year.”
eCFR: 42 CFR § 422.62(b)(1) · medicare.gov Special Enrollment Periods
“Such an individual who fails to make an election during such period is deemed to have chosen to change coverage to the original medicare fee-for-service program option described in subsection (a)(1)(A).”
“Keep any letters, notices, emails or claim denials from your previous coverage, in case you need to prove your coverage ended.”
medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap/ready-to-buy/when · CMS Pub. No. 02110 (PDF)
“Limited situations when insurance companies must sell you certain Medigap policies, cover your pre-existing health conditions, and can't charge you more because of health problems.”
“It's illegal for someone to sell you a Medigap policy if you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, unless you're switching back to Original Medicare.”
medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap/ready-to-buy/how/illegal-practices
“Medigap plans sold after 2005 don't include prescription drug coverage. If you want prescription drug coverage, you can join a separate Medicare drug plan (Part D).”
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