The Annual Enrollment Period ends December 7, and many agents treat January as the off season. It is not. The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs from January 1 to March 31, and it comes with real opportunity and real marketing restrictions. Understanding both is what separates agents who grow in the first quarter from agents who accidentally step outside the lines.
Short answer: a window from January 1 to March 31 when people already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan can make a one-time change.
During the MA OEP, someone enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, or drop Medicare Advantage and return to Original Medicare, with the option to join a standalone prescription drug plan. It is a one-change window, and it only applies to people who are already in a Medicare Advantage plan. People on Original Medicare without an MA plan do not get an OEP. The details are laid out on Medicare.gov, which is always the right place to point a beneficiary who wants the official rules.
Short answer: no. CMS prohibits knowingly targeting the OEP as a second enrollment season.
This is the part that trips people up. CMS marketing rules specifically prohibit sending marketing that targets the OEP as an opportunity to make additional enrollment changes, or knowingly marketing to beneficiaries who are in the OEP because they used their AEP election. You cannot run “It’s not too late to switch!” campaigns in January aimed at MA enrollees. The current Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines on CMS.gov spell out what is and is not permitted, and they are worth rereading at the start of every year because they change.
What you can do is respond. If a beneficiary reaches out to you on their own, you can help them. You can also continue normal educational content, marketing to people in other valid enrollment windows (like someone turning 65), and marketing that does not reference the OEP.
Short answer: educate, stay visible, and serve the people who come to you.
The compliant January playbook looks like this:
Short answer: the trust you build in the quiet months is what converts in the loud ones.
Beneficiaries rarely choose an agent the first time they see a name. They choose the agent they have seen answering questions all year. Agents who publish helpful content, collect reviews, and keep their online presence sharp between January and September walk into AEP with an audience already assembled. Agents who go quiet in January start over every October.
If keeping your website, content, and online presence working all year sounds like a job in itself, that is the job we do. Medicare Marketing Experts builds and runs compliant, professional websites for Medicare insurance agents so you can stay focused on the people you serve. See how it works or schedule a demo.
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