Blog / Medicare Advantage

Can I switch from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare?

Yes, in two windows each year. The harder question is whether you can still buy the supplement that makes it affordable.

Updated August 17, 2026 · 3 min read

Leaving Medicare Advantage is allowed and it is not complicated. The complication is what you land on.

The two windows

• Annual Enrollment, October 15 to December 7, with the change effective January 1
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment, January 1 to March 31, effective the first of the following month

Certain circumstances also open a special window: moving out of the plan's service area, the plan leaving your area, gaining or losing Medicaid or Extra Help, or moving into or out of a nursing facility.

What you have to add

Returning to Original Medicare means returning to the structure with no cap on your share. To make it work you generally need two things:

1. A standalone Part D plan for prescriptions, which you must enroll in during the same window. Dropping Advantage does not give you drug coverage automatically, and going without accrues a penalty.
2. A Medicare Supplement to cover the 20 percent, which is the part that is not guaranteed.

The underwriting question

This is the whole issue. In Texas, outside a protected window, Medigap insurers can ask health questions and decline you or charge more.

You have a guaranteed right to buy a supplement without underwriting in specific situations:

• Within six months of your Part B starting, at or after 65. This is the main Medigap open enrollment window.
• Trial right: you joined an Advantage plan when you first became eligible at 65 and you drop it within twelve months.
• Trial right: you dropped a Medigap policy to try an Advantage plan for the first time, and you return within twelve months.
• Your plan leaves the area, loses its Medicare contract, or you move out of its service area.

If you cannot pass underwriting

You still have options, they are just different ones.

• Switch to a different Advantage plan with a lower out of pocket maximum or a broader network, particularly a PPO.
• If you qualify for Medicaid or a Medicare Savings Program, look at a dual eligible plan, which has far better cost sharing. See D-SNP plans.
• High deductible supplement plans exist and are cheaper, though they are still subject to underwriting.

The order of operations

1. Decide during Annual Enrollment, not in a hurry.
2. Apply for the Medigap policy first and wait for approval.
3. Enroll in a standalone Part D plan.
4. Only then disenroll from the Advantage plan, which happens automatically when you join a Part D plan while on Original Medicare.
5. Confirm your new coverage in writing before your old plan terminates.

See the comparison of both paths before deciding, and how cancellation actually works.