Medigap (Medicare Supplement) Guaranteed Issue Rights

If you are no longer in your Medigap open enrollment period, there are several situations in which you may still have a guaranteed right to buy a Medigap policy. Guaranteed issue rights (also called "Medigap protections") are rights you have in certain situations when insurance companies are required by law to offer you certain Medigap policies even if you have health problems and must cover any pre-existing conditions.

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In general, your guaranteed issue rights include the following situations.

1. You are in a Medicare Advantage Plan, and your plan is leaving Medicare or stops giving care in your area, or you move out of the plan's service area. You only have this right if you switch to Original Medicare rather than joining another Medicare Advantage plan.
2. You have Original Medicare and an employer group health plan (including retiree or COBRA coverage) or union coverage that pays after Medicare pays and that plan is ending.
3. You have Original Medicare and a Medicare Select policy. You move out of the Medicare Select policy's service area. You can keep your Medigap policy, or you may switch to another Medigap policy.
4. (Trial Right) You joined a Medicare Advantage plan or Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) when you were first eligible for Medicare Part A at age 65, and within the first year of joining, you decide you want to switch to Original Medicare.
5. (Trial Right) You dropped a Medigap policy to join a Medicare Advantage plan (or to switch to a Medicare Select policy) for the first time; you have been in the plan less than a year, and you want to switch back.
6. Your Medigap insurance company goes bankrupt and you lose your coverage, or your Medigap policy coverage otherwise ends through no fault of your own.
7. You leave a Medicare Advantage plan or drop a Medigap policy because the company hasn't followed the rules, or it misled you.

Some states have additional rights. You should contact a licensed agent for more details and information on which Medigap plans are included.

To learn more about Medicare Supplement plans and enrollment, you can use the Medicare plans quoting tool above and connect with a licensed professional agent.