Can I Switch From Medicare Advantage to Medigap? The 63-Day Rule for 2027

Can I switch from Medicare Advantage to Medigap?

Yes, but two separate things have to happen, and only one of them is automatic. First you leave the Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare. Then a Medigap insurer has to agree to issue you a policy.

To buy a Medigap policy you generally must have Medicare Part A and Part B, and you may not be able to buy one while you are still enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. The second step is where people get stuck. Once your one-time Medigap open enrollment period has passed, companies can medically underwrite, review your history, turn you down or charge higher rates, unless a protection applies.

If your plan is one of the ones exiting for next year, read our breakdown of carriers dropping Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 first, because a plan exit is itself one of the protections.

Which federal guaranteed issue rights skip the health questions?

Guaranteed issue rights are the situations where the insurance company must sell you a policy, must cover pre-existing conditions, and cannot charge you more because of health problems. The main triggers for someone in a Medicare Advantage plan are these.

• Your Medicare Advantage plan is leaving Medicare or stops giving care in your area, or you move out of the plan’s service area.
• You have Original Medicare plus an employer group, retiree, COBRA or union plan that pays after Medicare, and that coverage is ending.
• Trial right: you joined a Medicare Advantage plan or PACE when first eligible for Part A at 65, and within the first year you want Original Medicare back.
• Trial right: you were in Original Medicare, enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan for the first time, dropped a Medigap policy to do it, and want to disenroll within the first 12 months.
• You have Original Medicare and a Medicare SELECT policy and you move out of that policy’s service area.

The clock matters more than anything else here. In a plan-exit situation you can apply as early as 60 calendar days before your coverage ends and no later than 63 calendar days after it ends, and the Medigap coverage cannot start until your Medicare Advantage coverage ends. For a plan that terminates on December 31, 2026, the 63-day deadline lands in early March 2027. Confirm your exact date against the letter your plan sends.

Guaranteed issue does not open every plan letter to you. Plans C and F are limited to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. Our beginner’s guide to Medicare Supplement plans walks through what each letter covers before you pick one.

Does the Medigap birthday rule help if you are leaving Medicare Advantage?

Usually not, and this is the point most search results blur. Birthday rules were written for people who already hold a Medigap policy and want to shop it. Idaho’s rule applies to Medicare Supplement policyholders, who may change company or plan annually regardless of health during a 63-day period beginning on the policyholder’s birthday. Oregon’s rule applies to a person enrolled in a Medicare supplement policy, beginning 30 days before the birthday and running 30 days after. If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, you are not in that group.

Illinois is narrower than most people expect: the 45-day window covers ages 65 to 75 and moves to an equal or lesser plan through the current insurer or an authorized affiliate. Washington takes a different approach entirely. A person already in a Medigap plan B through N can switch at any time to another plan B through N with no written health screening questionnaire, while someone moving from a different type of coverage into Medigap may still face one. That last clause is the trap for Medicare Advantage members in Washington.

Other states have adopted their own versions, and legislatures keep changing them. Check your state insurance department, or ask us. We work by phone and video in more than 40 states, and California is not one of them.

What happens if you do not qualify for guaranteed issue?

Then you are applying with health questions, and approval is not certain. Underwriting standards and state protections vary, so the same medical history can produce different outcomes in two states. Nothing about the application is instant, which is why the order of operations matters: get the Medigap policy approved and issued before anything else changes.

It is also worth comparing what you actually gain. Our Medicare Advantage vs Medigap comparison for 2027 lays out the cost structure differences, and comparing Medicare Supplement plans shows how the lettered plans line up once you decide to apply. Start at our Medicare hub if you are still deciding which direction fits.

How does the January 1 to March 31 window fit in?

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 to March 31 and applies only to people already in a Medicare Advantage plan. You get a single change: switch to another Medicare Advantage plan, or leave for Original Medicare with or without a stand-alone Part D plan, effective the first day of the following month.

That window moves you out of Medicare Advantage. It does not create a Medigap guaranteed issue right by itself. The two calendars also do not match when a plan terminates. Washington’s insurance regulator notes that if your plan was discontinued, the related special enrollment period ends February 28, and a change made after that date costs you some of those special rights. Treat February as your real deadline, not March 31.

How do you make the switch without a coverage gap?

One last timing note for this fall. If your 2027 notice shows your plan is going away, the guaranteed issue clock is tied to your coverage end date, not to the October 15 to December 7 Annual Enrollment Period. You can miss nothing in December and still lose the right in March. Bring the notice to us or to your state’s SHIP counselor and get the dates on paper.