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Medicare Open Enrollment & the Government Shutdown - CNBC
As many already know, Medicare’s annual “open enrollment” period started on October 15th and will run through December 7th. This is the annual period when you can make changes to your healthcare coverage by switching from “original Medicare” to a private Medicare Advantage plan, switch from Medicare Advantage back to original Medicare, switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another, or change Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. And this year, when there is considerable turmoil in the Medicare Advantage market, it is especially important that you closely evaluate your current Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug plan to ensure they still meet your healthcare needs.
But how does the government shutdown affect your decision making process? Well, while it doesn’t directly affect your healthcare coverage, you may find that access to the information you need to make an informed decision about changing may not be available in a timely fashion. For this reason, one expert suggests in this CNBC article by Lorie Konish, there is still adequate time (until early December) to make your 2026 healthcare decision, so you may wish to wait a bit to make changes to your coverage.