The easiest way to disenroll or cancel your Medicare Part D plan is to
call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227. You will need to have your
Medicare ID [MBI] number from your Medicare card.
You can also disenroll from your Medicare plan by contacting your
Medicare prescription drug plan provider, however your request to cancel
your plan should be in writing. You can call the Member Services
telephone number on the back of your Medicare plan Member ID or
membership card and a Member Services representative will be able to
tell you what should be in your letter and where it should be mailed.
In most cases, you can only disenroll during the
annual Open Enrollment
Period (AEP or Annual Coordinated Election Period) which is from October
15th through December 7th of each year. The cancellation of your
coverage would be effective Dec. 31st.
But wait, are you just switching to a different Medicare Part D plan during AEP?
Then there is no need to cancel your existing plan.
If you are enrolling in a new Medicare Part D plan for next year, you simply need to enroll in the new plan or call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 and join the new plan. You do not need to disenroll from your existing Medicare Part D plan. When Medicare learns of the new enrollment, Medicare will automatically notify your original insurance carrier or Medicare Part D plan provider that you have chosen a new plan and you will be dis-enrolled from your existing plan. This change may take a bit of time to be processed, but your new plan will be effective January 1st.
If you are currently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan (
MA or MAPD),
you can disenroll during the Annual Enrollment Period or during the annual Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (
MA-OEP) that runs from January 1st through March 31st of the new plan year.
When you disenroll from your Medicare Advantage plan, you will automatically be returned to Original Medicare Part A and Part B - and have the option to enroll in a
stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP).
Disenrolling from a Medicare Part D plan outside of the AEP?
To cancel or change your plan outside of the AEP, you must qualify for a
Special Enrollment Period (SEP). Read our FAQ to
learn which SEPs may be available to you.
Plan changes that you make outside of the AEP by using an
SEP go into effect the first day of the following month after the change.
Warning: No Medicare Part D or other creditable prescription coverage could mean a higher monthly premium later!
Remember, if you drop your Medicare plan, and you are without Medicare Part D coverage (or some other form of
creditable prescription drug coverage) for more than 63 days, you may accrue a
late-enrollment penalty when (or if) you decide to re-enroll into a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.
Click here to see the current premium penalty.