Medicare in California

California has a Medigap birthday rule. Once a year, around your birthday, you can switch to another Medigap plan with equal or lesser benefits without answering health questions. The exact window length and rules are set by state regulators, so the details matter. Outside that window, and outside your original six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, standard medical underwriting usually applies.

Pinnacle Insurance Advisors is licensed in California. Our independent advisors compare Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage, and Part D options available where you live, explain the trade-offs in plain English, and help you enroll, all at no cost to you. Most California clients work with us entirely by phone.

California's regulators describe the window as 60 days of open enrollment following your birthday each year, during which you can buy a new Medigap policy without a medical screening or a new waiting period. The new policy must have the same or lesser benefits as your old policy.