The honest answer is: it depends on which coverage you're asking about, since Medicare doesn't run on one single clock.

Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans follow the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 through December 7 every year, with changes taking effect January 1. This is your one truly wide-open window: switch plans, switch drug coverage, move from Original Medicare to Medicare Advantage or back, all fully on the table.

There's a second, lesser-known window if you're already on a Medicare Advantage plan: January 1 through March 31, called the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. It's a one-time do-over, letting you switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan or drop it and return to Original Medicare. It doesn't let you newly join Medicare Advantage from Original Medicare, and it doesn't guarantee you a Medigap policy without health questions if you're returning to Original Medicare, so know that before you count on it.

Medicare Supplement, or Medigap, plans work completely differently. There's no annual window at all in most states, including Texas. You generally get one guaranteed shot, a six-month period starting when you first have Part B at 65 or older, to buy any Medigap policy without health questions. Outside that window, or a handful of specific protected situations, applying later usually means answering health questions, and the insurer can charge more or decline you.

Ancillary coverage, dental, vision, hearing, hospital indemnity, cancer, final expense, life insurance, annuities, isn't tied to Medicare's calendar at all. You can generally apply any time of year, though new coverage typically involves a health questionnaire.

AEP opens in about two weeks. If any of this makes you want a second opinion before then, now's genuinely the time, not after December 7. Which of these windows do you think applies to you? Tell us in the comments and we'll help you figure it out