Medicare Open Enrollment is open — and fake Medicare sites are already at the top of search.
Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7. Before you search for a plan, know this: the Federal Trade Commission warns that scammers buy the top search spot with fake Medicare lookalikes.
What is Medicare Open Enrollment?
Medicare Open Enrollment is the yearly window when people with Medicare can change their health and drug coverage for the next year. In 2026, the window runs from October 15 through December 7. Changes made during this window take effect on January 1, 2027, and the plan must receive the enrollment request by December 7.
You do not have to change anything. If your current coverage still fits and is still available, staying put is an option.
What can you change between October 15 and December 7?
- Medicare Advantage: join, drop, or switch to another Medicare Advantage Plan, with or without drug coverage.
- Drug coverage: join, drop, or switch to another Medicare drug plan if you are in Original Medicare.
- How you get coverage: switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage Plan, or from a Medicare Advantage Plan back to Original Medicare.
That list comes from Medicare.gov, the official Medicare site. If you switch to Original Medicare, Medicare.gov notes you may also need a separate drug plan and may want to consider Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap), which has limits on when you can add it. Switching back does not automatically mean a Medigap policy will be available to you.
What is the fake Medicare site scam?
On September 28, 2026, the FTC warned that health insurance scams pick up during Open Enrollment. In its own summary, scammers and dishonest businesses sometimes pay to appear at the top of search results.
The sites use web addresses that look similar to a government address, plus keywords and official-looking logos, so a person can think they are on Medicare.gov when they are not. Using the link or phone number in that ad can potentially lead to a plan that is not real health insurance, or to medical identity theft — someone using your Medicare number.
In plain English: the first result is not always the real result. Sometimes it is an ad — and the ad was bought.
What is the one safe rule?
Type the address yourself: Medicare.gov. Do not start from a search ad. Look for the small “Ad” or “Sponsored” label, scroll past paid ads, and check that the address ends in .gov.
- Official site: Medicare.gov
- Official phone: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)
- Free local help: your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) or local Senior Medicare Patrol, listed by the FTC as a source of Medicare help
- Report a suspected scam: ReportFraud.ftc.gov — and, for a Medicare scam, Medicare.gov or 1-800-633-4227
If someone called you first and wants your Medicare number, slow down. Hang up, then contact Medicare yourself at the number above. Urgency is the pitch — it is not how you have to decide.
What is the tax angle?
Your income can affect what you pay for Medicare. People with higher income may pay an extra amount for Part B and Part D premiums. That extra amount is called IRMAA — the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount.
Social Security generally looks at the income on a tax return from two years earlier. So income reported for 2025 can potentially affect Medicare premiums in 2027. That is why a one-time income event — for example a large retirement-account withdrawal, a Roth conversion, or a property sale in one year — can potentially show up as a higher Medicare premium two years later.
This post does not give the 2027 IRMAA brackets or premium amounts, because those final figures had not been published when this post was drafted. Do not plan around a projected number as if it were final. If your income has dropped after a life-changing event, ask Social Security whether a reconsideration applies in your case — that decision is theirs, not a website’s.
What should you do today?
Nothing rushed. You have until December 7. Read the change notice from your current plan, compare options only on Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE, and get free help from SHIP if you want a second set of eyes.
And if a tax question is driving the decision — for example, how a 2025 income event could potentially affect future premiums — talk it through with a CPA before you act, not after.
The bottom line: Open Enrollment is October 15 to December 7, and changes start January 1. Type Medicare.gov yourself, skip the ads, and never rush a Medicare number to someone who contacted you first.
Alex Volkov, CPA is a New York-licensed CPA with over two decades in accounting, focused on resolving IRS tax problems — back taxes, liens, levies, garnishments, and audits — for individuals and businesses nationwide.
A tax question behind your Medicare cost?
Wondering how your income could potentially affect what you pay for Medicare? Ask the question bar — or call free and talk it through with a CPA.
Sources: Medicare.gov, “Open Enrollment” (accessed October 15, 2026). Read the official page; Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice, “What to know ahead of Open Enrollment to avoid health insurance scams” (September 28, 2026). Read the FTC alert; Social Security Administration, “Medicare Premiums: Rules for Higher-Income Beneficiaries” (publication EN-05-10536).