{"id":488,"date":"2026-02-10T19:44:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/thinking-about-an-upgrade-how-the-5-star-special-enrollment-period-works\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T19:44:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:44:17","slug":"thinking-about-an-upgrade-how-the-5-star-special-enrollment-period-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/thinking-about-an-upgrade-how-the-5-star-special-enrollment-period-works\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking About an Upgrade? How the 5-Star Special Enrollment Period Works"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"https:\/\/trustedmedicareanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2026.01.12_February-Medicare-Blog.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"float:right;margin:0 0 10px 10px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If a <strong>5-Star<\/strong> Medicare Advantage or Part D plan is offered where you live, you can use a <strong>one-time Special Enrollment Period<\/strong> to switch <strong>anytime from Dec 8 through Nov 30<\/strong>\u2014including right now in February. It\u2019s a handy option if you missed AEP or your January experience wasn\u2019t what you expected.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What \u201c5-Star\u201d means<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Medicare rates plans <strong>1\u20135 stars<\/strong> for quality and performance so you can compare options. A 5-Star plan earned the highest overall score in the latest ratings cycle. You can check what\u2019s available in your county on Medicare\u2019s Plan Finder.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How switching works<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You can use the 5-Star SEP <strong>once<\/strong> during the window.<\/li>\n<li>If you apply now, new coverage generally <strong>starts the first of the month after<\/strong> the plan gets your request. (Example: apply in February \u2192 starts March 1.)<\/li>\n<li>Be careful about <strong>drug coverage<\/strong>: moving from an MA-PD (with drugs) to a 5-Star MA plan <strong>without<\/strong> drugs could leave you without Part D until your next enrollment chance (and a penalty could apply). Your broker will help you avoid gaps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>5 quick steps to decide<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>List your meds<\/strong> (name\/dose) and preferred pharmacies.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Confirm your doctors\/hospitals<\/strong>\u2014are they in the 5-Star plan\u2019s network?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Compare total costs<\/strong> (premium + copays + drug costs) on Plan Finder.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check extras<\/strong> (dental, vision, OTC, fitness) and any prior-auth rules.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Choose timing<\/strong>: You can also use the <strong>Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period<\/strong> (Jan 1\u2013Mar 31) if you\u2019re already in MA\u2014your broker can tell you which path fits best.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Want to see if a 5-Star plan is in your area\u2014or run a side-by-side with your current plan?<\/strong> Send your broker your medication list and doctor wish-list. We\u2019ll compare options and, if it\u2019s a win, handle the switch for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If a 5-Star Medicare Advantage or Part D plan is offered where you live, you can use a one-time Special Enrollment Period to switch anytime from Dec 8 through Nov 30\u2014including right now in February. It\u2019s a handy option if you missed AEP or your January experience wasn\u2019t what you expected. What \u201c5-Star\u201d means Medicare [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,8,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coverage","category-enrollment","category-medicare","category-part_d"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}