The rule itself
California Insurance Code section 10192.11(h) opens an annual open enrollment period of 60 days or more, commencing with your birthday, for as long as you hold a Medigap policy. During that window, you can switch to any other Medigap plan with equal or lesser benefits than what you currently have, without answering a single health question. No medical underwriting means your health history, current conditions, and past claims can't be used to deny the switch or charge you more for it. We can only place that switch with carriers we're appointed with. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
One version of this rule circulates online that describes a "30 days before and 30 days after" window. That version is wrong. The statute is clear: 60 days or more, starting on the birthday itself, not a symmetrical window around it.
Who this actually applies to
This is a switching right, not a starting right. It only applies if you already hold a Medigap policy. If you're enrolling in Medicare Supplement for the first time, your Initial Enrollment Period and its guaranteed-issue protections govern that decision instead, a different set of rules entirely.
It also only covers a move to equal-or-lesser coverage. Upgrading to a richer Medigap plan than the one you have now still goes through normal underwriting, so this window isn't a way to add benefits without a health question, only a way to move sideways or down without one.
The part almost nobody mentions
Insurers are required to notify you about this right 30 to 60 days before your birthday each year. If you've gotten a letter like that and set it aside, that letter is the state telling you this window is opening. It's worth reading rather than filing away, since it's one of the few pieces of Medicare-related mail that isn't trying to sell you something.
Why this is worth checking every year
- Your current Medigap premium may not be the lowest one available for the same or fewer benefits this year
- A carrier's rates can rise over time even when your coverage hasn't changed at all
- The window reopens every year on your birthday, whether or not you used it last year
We'll check what you currently have against what's available at equal or lesser benefits during your window, and tell you plainly whether switching is worth it or whether your current plan already holds up. A comparison that finds nothing worth changing is still a useful five minutes.
What this window doesn't cover
A few related California guaranteed-issue rights, including an additional trial-right period for people moving between Medigap and Medicare Advantage, exist alongside this one but work differently and aren't detailed here. Ask us directly if your situation involves a plan change outside this specific birthday window; we'll walk through whichever right actually applies to you rather than assuming this is the only one available.
For the state's own consumer guidance on Medicare counseling generally, see the California Department of Aging's HICAP page. HICAP counseling is free and unbiased, and each California county has its own local HICAP provider. We'd rather you use that resource alongside a review with us than skip either one.