Medicare Annual Enrollment in Florida: Your 2027 Plan Guide

Medicare annual enrollment in Florida runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026, and the choices you make in that window set your coverage for 2027. If you do nothing, most plans renew automatically, but a plan that renews is not always the same plan: networks, drug lists, and costs can all change from one year to the next. Here is what the window lets you do, what to check before you decide, and the Florida-specific details that national guides tend to skip. (If you are approaching Medicare for the first time, start with our turning-65 Florida Medicare checklist instead, because your first enrollment runs on its own clock.)

Medicare annual enrollment in Florida: the key dates

• October 15 to December 7, 2026: the Annual Enrollment Period, sometimes called Medicare Open Enrollment. The plan must receive your enrollment request by December 7, and changes take effect January 1, 2027.
• January 1 to March 31, 2027: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another Advantage plan or drop it and return to Original Medicare. This window is only for people already in an Advantage plan; it is not a second general enrollment period.

These dates are set in federal law and are the same every year, in every Florida county. Unlike the ACA Marketplace schedule, they are not the subject of any court case we are aware of.

What you can change during the Annual Enrollment Period

• Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan.
• Switch from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare.
• Change from one Medicare Advantage plan to another, with or without drug coverage.
• Join, drop, or switch a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan.

If you make more than one change during the window, the last one the plan receives by December 7 is generally the one that takes effect.

Start with your Annual Notice of Change

If you are in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, your plan sends an Annual Notice of Change each fall, usually by the end of September. It lists what is changing for the coming year: premiums, deductibles, copays, the drug list, and the provider network. It is the single most useful document for this decision, and the one most often thrown away with the mail. Read it before October 15 and look for four things:

1. Your doctors and hospitals. Provider contracts can end between plan years, and in a large metro area that can mean a whole health system leaving a plan's network. Confirm every doctor you rely on is in network for 2027, not just 2026, using the plan's own 2027 provider directory.
2. Your prescriptions. Check every drug against the 2027 formulary, including its tier and any prior authorization or step therapy requirement.
3. Your out-of-pocket maximum. For Advantage plans, the annual ceiling matters more than the monthly premium in a bad health year.
4. The service area. If your plan is leaving your county, you will be told, and you get a separate enrollment window to choose a replacement.

Why Florida makes the annual review more important

Florida has 67 counties, and Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are approved county by county. A neighbor two counties over may be choosing from a different list of plans with different networks. Florida is also one of the most heavily enrolled Medicare Advantage markets in the country, which means more plans to compare and more marketing to sort through. The volume of advertising is not a guide to which plan fits you. Our Florida Medicare Advantage guide explains how to read the county-level differences.

Seasonal residents have an extra question. Advantage plans generally cover routine care inside a local service area, with emergency and urgent care covered while you travel. If you spend months at a second home, ask any plan how it handles routine care at your other address before you enroll.

Leaving Medicare Advantage? Check Medigap first

You can move from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare during this window, but many people also want a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy to cover what Original Medicare leaves behind. Florida does not have an annual "birthday rule" for Medigap. Outside your initial six-month Medigap open enrollment window and a few federal guaranteed-issue situations, a Florida insurer can generally review your health history and decline you or charge more. Price and apply for the Medigap policy before you drop the Advantage plan, not after. Our comparison of Medicare Advantage vs Original Medicare in Florida covers this in depth.

If you miss December 7

Your current plan generally continues into 2027. After that, changes are limited to specific situations, including:

• The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 to March 31), if you are already in an Advantage plan.
• Moving out of your plan's service area, or your plan leaving Medicare or your area.
• Qualifying for Medicaid or Extra Help, which gives you additional chances to change certain coverage during the year.
• A one-time switch into a plan with a 5-star overall rating, where one is offered in your area.
• A federally or state-declared emergency, such as a hurricane, that kept you from using an enrollment period you were otherwise eligible for. This is narrower than it is often described: it is not a general chance to switch whenever a storm is named.

Eligibility for any special enrollment period is confirmed by Medicare, so check your situation at Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE before relying on one.

Get a second set of eyes before December 7

A licensed Florida agent can check your doctors, prescriptions, and county against the 2027 plans we offer, and walk you through the Medigap timing if you are thinking of leaving an Advantage plan. Get a free, no-obligation review or call (888) 880-4335. We are a licensed Florida insurance agency, not a government agency and not Medicare. We do not offer every plan available in your area; any information we provide is limited to the plans we do offer. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHINE in Florida) to get information on all of your options.