Your Medicare dates, calculated exactly
Most people miss a deadline because nobody told them which one mattered. Enter your birthday and get your real dates — including the one 6-month window that never reopens.
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The 6-month Medigap window opens once
Your Initial Enrollment Period gets all the attention, but missing it mostly costs you a penalty you can calculate. The Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment window is different: for 6 months after your Part B starts, no insurance company may ask about your health or decline you.
After it closes, most Medigap applications in Utah and Colorado are medically underwritten. A diagnosis that arrives between now and then can narrow your choices permanently. That's not a sales pitch — it's the reason to put a date on the calendar today rather than in the fall.
Have your timeline sent to you
We'll email your dates and follow up before your window opens — so the deadline isn't something you have to remember.
Turning 65 — the parts people get wrong
When exactly can I sign up for Medicare when I turn 65?
Your Initial Enrollment Period is 7 months long: the 3 months before the month you turn 65, your birthday month, and the 3 months after. If your birthday falls on the first day of a month, Medicare treats you as turning 65 during the previous month, so your whole window shifts one month earlier.
When does my coverage actually start?
If you enroll during the 3 months before your birthday month, coverage begins the first day of your birthday month. If you enroll during your birthday month or any of the 3 months after, coverage begins the first day of the following month. That second rule changed in January 2023 — older guides still describe delays of up to 3 months, which no longer apply.
Why does the 6-month Medigap window matter so much?
Your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment is a separate 6-month window that starts the month your Part B takes effect and you are 65 or older. During it, no carrier can ask you a health question or turn you down. Once it closes, most Medigap applications in Utah and Colorado go through medical underwriting — so a health event before you apply can limit your options for the rest of your life. It is the single most time-sensitive decision in the whole process.
I'm still working at 65 and have employer coverage. Do I have to enroll?
If your employer coverage comes from active employment at a company with 20 or more employees, you can usually delay Part B without a penalty and take a Special Enrollment Period later — you get 8 months after the employment or the coverage ends, whichever comes first. Retiree coverage, COBRA and small-employer plans generally do NOT protect you. This one is worth a phone call rather than a guess, because the penalty for getting it wrong lasts as long as you have Part B.
What happens if I miss my window?
The Part B late enrollment penalty adds 10% to your premium for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't, and it stays on your premium for life. Part D has its own separate penalty. Both are avoidable with a calendar.