Why Would I Want to Dis-Enroll From a MAPD Plan?
There are a few instances as to why someone would want to dis-enroll from a Medicare Advantage Plan. The most common being that their health has taken a turn, and they are incurring more copayment charges than they can afford. Another reason may be that they are sick of dealing with networks while traveling during retirement and want to deal with less 'hoops' to jump through when receiving healthcare. These are not the only reasons, but are certainly the more common instances.
When Can I Dis-Enroll?
The Medicare Advantage Plan dis-enrollment window is from January 1st through February 14th of every year in accordance with the guidelines of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The purpose of this period is to allow MAPD individuals experiencing an issue described above, to revert back to Original Medicare if they desire to.
Important Things to Note:
This period is not an additional enrollment period, meaning you cannot pick up a MAPD plan or switch MAPD plans while using this election. The effective date of dis-enrollment will be the first of the month following the input of the request. For a dis-enrollment request made in January, the dis-enrollment will take effect February 1st. This election is considered a Special Election change by Medicare's CMS. It is also important to note that a member of a MAPD plan who enrolls in a stand-alone PDP will automatically be dis-enrolled from their MAPD and reverted back to Original Medicare. There will not be an option for them to enroll in another MAPD plan.
